Since we live in 2003 and people on welfare have color TV's, is it possible we can see San Jose in Blue play Chicago in Red? I would be thrilled to see San Jose in blue tops and white short and Chicago in all red OR Chicago with red tops and white shorts and San Jose in their blue and black. Actually, I see no reason why both couldn't play in their full home kits, but I am trying to be reasonable. In pre-season games they seemed able to pull it off - how would they not be able to do it in the MLS showcase? Watching MLS goals and saves of the year on MLS Wrap, 2/3 of the time I could not tell who the other team was because they are IN ALL WHITE. Why in MLS does it have be color v absence of color? I would love to see a visually colorful MLS Cup - but I am not confident we will. Minor issue? Perhaps. But one easily solved.
completely agree....i don't see why this can't happen for the entire season...color verse color is awesome, color verse white is boring...
352gialloblu Agreed, the "away whites" thing has to stop. I hear the Fire are making a third jersey, but I'm not sure when they'd ever be able to use it. Hopefully it would just replace the white (though I like Chicago's whites).
The common issue with this is that ABC/ESPN use black and white monitors in their truck and so it is easier to identify players/teams with a color uniform vs. a white uniform. Think about it, all the other major sports do the color vs. white, so ABC/ESPN really don't ever have to worry about getting a color monitory, or maybe its just because its MLS and they don't want to use their best equipment on us. Maybe we'll get what we want this time though.
from what i understand... it's already been decided and the quakes will wear blue and the fire red...
this is taken from the Fire board --- The latest one was about the colors the teams picked for the final. The story was that the Earthquakes had the first pick because the Fire picked the hotel (they were able to pick two out of three things: hotel, colors and Saturday practice time) and they picked blue jerseys, black shorts and blue socks. The Fire was rumored to pick white (because the weather was supposed to be warm) but they decided to go with red red red. So I wanted to let everybody know that red is the color everybody should wear, not white. Long story I guess.
ABC/ESPN doesn't produce MLS games. Warriner Communications (or something like that does) does. And I don't think they own the production equipment used in MLS 2000 (where the whole MLS Cup colors thing really got rolling), they rented it. They might have better luck getting color equipment in NFL-less and TV production filled LA than in Washington, DC. Plus, the HDC may even have it's own production facilities, but I doubt it.
Garber mentioned several years ago this was done because of TV trucks with b&w monitors. This to me is a BULLCRAP reason and it's obvious the ENTIRE WORLD does color vs color, and the USA being the tv-whores we are can figure out how to produce a game with lighter & darker shades ... and stop using strips that just look like your whites laundry bag. One of the beauties of this game is all the colors of the strips, people, flags, banners, flares, etc. No reason to shoot ourselves in the foot with this silly and unrationally long practice. Paul Gardner once wrote something to the effect of "you can picture in your mind what the kits of a game with Brazil and Argentina look like" I always think of that when I see one MLS club in colors and one in white and have no idea who the other team is. It's such a let down to see all white kits almost every MLS game. MLS .. HELLLLOOOO ... FIX THIS ... FOREVER!
Two reasons "color" vs. "white" has always been the default for MLS: 1) It's the way the NFL, NHL, and NBA (except for the Lakers) have always done it, for TV. 2) MLS uniforms, like all American sports uniforms, tend to eschew distinctive, bright, and bold color combinations for simple, muddled, and boring uniforms: usually one main color + another color for decorative and stylized trim + same colors for shirts, shorts, and socks. So, except for very few matchups like Chicago vs. San Jose, the teams primary kits are usually not distinctive enough to wear against each other. Now, why the 2nd kit has to always be white is a different question, but in what American sport is white not a default main color for every team? But still, when the opportunity presents itself, as for this final, both teams should ALWAYS wear their true colors. Glad it's going to apparently happen.
the more colors, and therefore the more festive, the better. i'm looking forward to a spectacle...and hopefully a great game.
Very Nice. I'm optomistic now. It never made any sense to me that the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader in Sports" in the worlds most powerful country couldn't handle what production trucks in Guatemala seem to handle without any problem. I hope this is behind us as far as MLS Cup is concerned and the all-whites are something we see less and less of during the regular season.
So the question is, do you want to be a US version of a soccer league, or do you want to be the soccer version of a US sports league? There is enough middle ground to be both, but on the cosmetic things that don't really affect the game in how it is played, there is no reason NOT to be like world soccer leagues. In other words, the Fire in RED can play the Quakes in blue, and any other non-clashing combination, but if the teams' primary jersey colors are similar, then someone has to wear an alternate color (that doesn't necessarily have to be white). And just to quash this "B&W TV monitors" crap once and for all, who is to say that one of the teams couldn't wear white shorts with their dark jersey and socks? The Wizards did this a few times and looked sharp. As far as I can tell, the earth is still spinning on its axis. Tom
For me, certainly the former. I was just trying to provide cultural reasons as to why MLS kits look the way they do. Certainly, the least MLS can do is encourage teams whose primary uniforms do not clash to wear said uniforms against each other. Metro could play KC, Chicago could play DC, and LA could play Colorado, all in their "color" uniforms. In the long run, though, I am of the opinion that aesthetics do matter. A lot. What is sports if not an aesthetic experience? A beautiful goal is enhanced by a crisp, clean grass field, the roar of the crowd in the background, and the uniform the player is wearing. The same goal, in a cavernous and empty stadium, on an artificial turf field, and from a player in the original SJ Clash unis, is laughable in comparison. MLS has already turned to the world standard on most rules issues, now they should move to the world standard on aesthetics issues too. But with Nike et al. moving hard into the world soccer market - witness the cookie-cutter uniforms from WC 2002 - I fear the momentum is headed in the opposite direction.
TRUE! I can also tell you that this complete BULLSH!TE because Ive seen lots of games where teams had similar color jerseys and they still played. And guess what? The camera man had no problem telling whos who. Ive also seen games where they had the same pattern and same value colors and they still played. Its just an excuse MLS uses to pass the BUCK and keep us conformed. Even if they had the same color, like lets say Fire vs Metro for example, even if you had the thing in B&W you can CLEARLY tell who is who by the pattern, and there arent 2 teams except Metro vs Rapids that will conflict enough to change jerseys.
You forgot Columbus and DC! But anyway, the camera should be following the ball, not just the players.
I was watching Boca Juniors vs San Lorenzo (iirc) on fox sports world, and boca is playing in their blue and SL presumably in thier primary kit. Maroon and blue. Damn hard to tell the two apart in the sun, and impossible in the shadow. Then watching the english premier league, I find some of the 2nd kits baffling. The color changes make no sense, as their primary colors are completely diffenent then their secondary. Hey, nothing says aresenal like yellow and blue right? Or is it white and red? Makes perfect sense either way right? My point? Hey, when teams can where their traditional jersies, Im all for it. But having a designated 2nd kit that you know will not clash with an opponents primary makes sense. Just because no one else does it doesnt mean its not a good idea. But I was an MLS fan before I started following foreign soccer leagues at all. And I was a fan of more traditional american sports before that. So I see absolutely nothing wrong with the color conventions that MLS uses. I think some of the white unis could be better done (like say the hospital gowns the metros wear), but nothing intrinsicly wrong with the use of white unis around the league. Some of them, like LA and NE I like better than their home colors, as they are both distinctive, well done and easily recognized.
White uniforms are laundry. Do we want to aim at the creative ineptitude of other American sports leagues? Baseball comes to mind ... white pinstipes are home. Grey is away. Wow what a feast for the eyes. MLS should be BOLD, vivid and unique!
I seem to recall MLS Cup 2000 when KC played Chicago....pre-game talk was that since the colors didn't clash(blue versus red) , each team could wear their home jerseys...then, behold, last second, the camera crew said they needed a team to be in white.Hence, Chicago wearing their tighty white-ies....I wouldn't be surprised if this happens yet again...remember...this is MLS. (And camera crew guys are likely to be people who do all types of sports, so they are likely to keep the attitude that "one team has to wear white...otherwise we can't do our jobs"!?!....that's right, folks...working a camera is rocket science!?!)