We all know those first year uniforms were a little overboard... OK, way overboard. TB was lime, navy, sky and yellow... LA was black, juniper, orange, and gold... SJ was jade, yellow, green, red, and black... KC had the whole Crayola box... you get the picture (ugh!) Now the uniforms are BORING beyond belief. Dallas is red and black... NYNJ is well, red and black... San Jose is blue and black and of course Colorado is black and blue. Chicago is red... KC is blue... Uh, is there a league rule banning green, orange and purple? I can't tell the teams apart because everybody looks the same. What's worse they are just copying other shirts. Colorado Inter? NYNJ Milan? No thanks. Of course I ain't talikng about bringing back the clownsuits worn back in 1996. But c'mon why in the world did Colorado move away from the original green? Ah, wait it's to get another kind of green... Anyway, may I suggest the jerseys be just a tad more original? Imagine orange accents on the Quake uniforms. How about Dallas switching to maroon? Actually, there is another thing worth noting: most teams have never really established an image. The cool soccer thing is to be forever known for certain colors. Real Madrid always white for decades... Arsenal always red with white sleeves... Celtic Glasgow in their classic green and white forever... America Mexico's yellow... Roma's maroon... Fiorentina (lives!) purple... Holland orange... Aston Villa's claret and sky... identity... So instead NYNJ went from black to red to black and red... LA went from black to juniper to gold... the Colorado case... make up yo mind fellas. Look at DC United! They got it right. Keep the tradition or create it. Anyway, I hope the expansion teams are identifyable at least. Then again I can see it now... one is red and black the other blue and black. It figures. End of pointless, stupid commentary...
the mls does alot of these stupid things,remember when almost all the teams had the same exact design.not to mention civas usa,etc..i am convinced that the people who make decisions in the mls not only dont know anything about soccer but dont know anything about sports business in general..if we had some SMART people running this league there is know doubt in my mind they can be further ahead than they are now.
Firstly, I basically agree with you. The first years unis were AWFUL, with the exception of the DC UNITED. They have had basically the same colors and uniform from day one. The only major change was the shield/ logo, and it was only to refine it down from its origonal VERY nazi like eagle clutching a soccer ball in his talons as if perched on top of it. There have been 3 DC UNITED logos, and that first one was never actually played under. It was canned before the first game. Again, I agree with the exception of the DC UNITED. UNITED, and thier black and red colors have been the same since day one, with only minor uniform variations. This is probably at least in small but signifigant part the reason that the DC UNITED is the most recognized MLS team worldwide. From day one, the guys involved with the teams startup wanted nothing to do with anything other than traditional soccer name, uniform, shield / logo etc.... and I (and alot of other DC UNITED fans) thank them still to this day for that kind of foresight, and respect for the tradition/ non bastardization of any of it. Ive always leaned towards and liked the more tradition uniforms and names in all sports, but its espeically important in soccer, and ice hockey. I feel pretty lucky that I just h append to grow up here, and we just happend to be the team that kept everything traditional, and IMHO awesome looking. Id really like to see maybe alittle more color variation league wide sure... but as for the unis and logos.. and even team names.... keep em as close to traditional as possible. I say get rid of all the catchy little monikers like earthquakes, galaxy, crew, wizzards, (one of the most awful I think). Fire, and burn arent BAD.. but fire is alot better of the two. MetroStars I think isnt bad at all either, and thier shield is pretty nice. Revoloution is also a pretty decent name choice IMHO. I think it would be AWESOME if Philly ever did get an expansion franchise if it were named the Arsenal. There is already a hatred between Washington and Philly, espeically in every sport where the two compete, but imagine the implications of a UNITED / Arsenal rivalry here in the U.S.! I think it would be an awesome move for lots of reasons... and a great marketing tool for the league, and the two franchises, and might lend itself to improving the visiblity of the MLS, and perhaps soccer in general in the U.S. Just MHO
But all the current MLS team colors are just fine. The expansion teams simply need to pick different color variations from the current teams. As for the current team names... they're just fine too. Personally, I really like the MLS team-names that have something to do with the area, whether geographically (San Jose Earthquakes, Colorado Rapids) or historically (Chicago Fire, New England Revolution). DC United is also a cool name in and of itself, as well as being located in the nation's capital and the fact that every English-speaking nation on earth has at least one team called "United" (just as every Slavic nation on earth has at least one team called "Dynamo" ). But the other names are fine as well. If Philadephia or whoever else gets an MLS team, I would hope that the team-name has something to do with the area and/or has a long-standing local soccer tradition (such as Atoms for Philadelphia). When looking at MLS and A-League teams such as the San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, Vancouver Whitecaps, etc., those team names are both pretty cool and have been been around in one form or another for decades... and the fans of those teams by and large really like those names for their teams. You can't get much more "traditional" than that, and it sure beats borrowing a "traditional" name from somewhere else just for the sake of doing so! -G
MLS uniforms in recent years are just fine. Football/soccer teams all around the world wear combinations of colors and styles that are similar to each other and there really are only a handful of teams that have very distinctive jerseys. So as long as the jerseys are not loud like the early years, I'm o.k. with them. (Juve's retro pink jersey surely is more recognizable than their "traditional" b & w jersey since there are a lot of teams wearing the b & w stripes. Imagine, in order to further establish a distinct image, MLS "metrosexualizes" the league and goes for tight pink jerseys...) I do agree that there is a need for teams to really establish their colors and styles. But the league is still young. So there is time for the teams to pick and stick on their colors from now on. And I think most of them have found nice combinations for themselves. BTW, DC isn't the only one that has had the same color scheme from year one. Columbus' black and gold is quite recognizable although the bumble bee kit was horrible. Dallas and Chicago have always been red. SJ and LA both went through a whole lot of colors and I am still not certain if they have made up their minds. But I am glad that KC decided to get rid of the rainbow. That rainbow jersey was one of the ugliest things ever.
Sweet Jesus, I hope that if Philly gets a team, they don't call themselves the Atoms. Oy, I don't care that it has history. It's a dumb name. Call em the Talons or something. I think I can agree 100% with this. I think I even started a similar thread when I had about 10 posts under my belt. That said, I still like DC and Chicago's kits, although DC is getting a bit too complex. I also love the current LA kits. They are by far the most recognizable, if by the colors alone (I like the sash across as well, even if we look like Crayola boxes). I don't mind the Colorado/NY/Milan thing, because at least they look like uniforms MADE for that particular team. KC, SJ, Dallas - they all look like they bought a bunch of jerseys in bulk from Big 5 sports, and they ironed-on their logos.
MLS team colors and logos should be based around the flag and colors of the city they represent, not something arbitrary........ People need to take pride in their city by taking pride in their soccer team........
Makinig an arsenal-dc united in the US? Oh yeah. That would be awesome. Think of the image we would get in England for that.
Yeah, think of it. They might actually think we have finally gotten real over here, instead of naming our teams silly names like wizzards or earthquakes, or after natural disasters. But seriously, who gives a rats ass WHAT they think of the team names over here. Were n ot trying to get this up and going overe HERE to impress THEM or worry about what THEY think. All we care about in terms of them is what they see coming OUT of our league, the MLS. That is what should, and hopefully will speak to them the most. When it comes down to it, the rest just doesnt really matter. I used that name because it, and United, are 2 of the the, if not THE most recognizable team names in soccer worldwide. I mean c'mon. There are HOW many teams named United in the permiership? Do they care what the other teams think? We have a United here in the MLS, so why not an Arsenal too. Not to metion the name recognition the two teams would have in this country, but the marketing possibilities are there also, for both teams, and the MLS. The main object here is as much visiblity over HERE in the U.S. Using a storied team name in the MLS sure is a hell of alot better than using bushleague names like Rhinos, Mutiny, Wizzards, Rapids...etc. BLECK! Even names like Liberty, Independance, Cannons, Gunners ...etc.. those arent bad for a PHILLY team, or any team for that matter if you can tie it in to the area they play. Honestly, the Brits are already so caught up in thier own leagues, (and for good reason) I wonder if they would even notice if there was another Arsenal over here.
dc has definatly done a good job in this area..name for a philly team,how about philadelphia brothers sc.
Ok off the top of my head, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, Middlesborough, and Charlton all wear red. Leicester, Chelsea, Everton, Portsmouth and Birmingham all wear blue. Tottenham, Leeds, and Fulham all wear white. Thats fourteen out of twenty EPL teams that I can think of represented primarily by three colors. Maybe when MLS gets twenty teams, there will be more colors. Some of you people were so against the arbitrary changes teams made in their jersey colors in the early days but now you are are for arbitrary colors that you think are cool. Get over it.
I think one of the worst decisions made in MLS with regard to colors was the Rapids switching out green for blue. They had the only green shirts in MLS, and were highly recognizable... now, even if they're the only blue/black team, there's also the Quakes and the Revs wearing blue as their primary color. I also liked the Galaxy's distinctive teal/gold scheme, though gold/green isn't bad either and still looks quite unique. It would be nice to have teams in purple (made Fiorentina famous, and to a lesser extent in the US, the Dallas Sidekicks) and orange. And another green team. Actually, if we promoted the Rhinos (green/white stripes) we'd have that green team. Otherwise, the Seattle/Portland plan would help with colors too - the Timbers wear green and the Sounders wear black and sky blue.
I hope that if we ever get a team in Detroit we bring back the Express name with the orange and blue kits. Orange and black would work too though...
I think the MLS kits look very good right now. I can tell you first hand that the Dallas Burn will be changing suppliers (hopefully moving to Adidas like the other HSG teams) and completly redesigning the logo, kits, and maybe even changing the name in conjunction with moving into the new stadium in 2005. I think orange is a front contender if a color change goes thru.
Actually it is 15 wear red white or blue. The other 5 are: Blackburn: Blue and White Southampton: Red and White Villa: Claret and Blue Newcastle: Black and White Wolves: Orange Hell, the only team that doesn't have red white or blue making up a lot of their home shirt is Wolves.... Red Man U Middlesbrough Liverpool Charlton Arsenal Blue Chelsea Birmingham City Portsmouth Man City Everton Leicester White Leeds Bolton Fulham Spurs
Man I was disappointed when the AFL took the name Soul, the MLS I am sure was drooling over that one. Other Philly possiblities: Valley Forgers Cracks (pun intended) Constitutioners Unionized Bitches This could go on forever...with the color scheme of orange and green to cover for the lack of these colors elsewhere in MLS.