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Tweaking The MLS – Part I

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MLS Tweaks Hed 1


By Phil Hecken

A few months back, I had the pleasure of bringing you some of the wonderful uniform “tweaks” of Lance Hall, who had taken on the monumental task of redesigning the SEC. At the time, Lance said he had a few more ideas in the works, and now he’s back with tweaks of an entirely different nature — the MLS. Yes, that’s “Major League Soccer” for those of use who don’t know the nomenclature. I did know that, but I did not know that the 2011 MLS season actually kicks off this Tuesday, with the Seattle Sounders playing the LA Galaxy, in a game we can see on ESPN. Um…sweet?

I will be the first to tell you I really don’t follow soccer (unless it’s the World Cup), and if I did, it probably wouldn’t be the American game. However, I know that both world-wide and states-side there is quite a contingent of soccer (football) fans, and Lance is certainly among them. So, to follow-up his tremendous SEC-tweaking effort, Lance has decided to take on the entire MLS. But he didn’t just grab a cheesy template and MS Paint in some colors — Lance actually created an entirely new template, based off of the Nike Pro Combat template that everyone and their sister has been using to create football concepts. And, if that’s not enough, he’s sharing that template with us.

So, allow me to reintroduce to you Lance Hall, as he takes us through the first nine teams he’s concepted. Because there are so many teams, and Lance takes us through the design process of each one, this is going to be Part I — the second Part will follow next weekend. Here’s Lance:

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Tweakin’ the Other Major League
By Lance Hall

It’s time to launch another Major League season”¦ no not the pajama pants league. Major League Soccer kicks off Tuesday with the LA Galaxy at Seattle Sounders FC. That means we have a whole summer to sit in sports bars watching third priority standard def TVs perched in corners over Golden Tee machines, wondering to ourselves, “Is that Real Salt Lake or DC United playing against Houston?”

In an attempt to get excited about this year’s MLS season, I’ve redesigned the kits for all 18 teams. I borrowed (stole) some ideas from Brian Strauss’ excellent article, which is a great place to find photos of all the official MLS jerseys. I’ve also thrown in two bonus teams just so we can have a full 20 team table.

I did my best to follow a few necessary rules for designing soccer uniforms. First, I put a sponsor on every shirt, even if the team doesn’t currently have one. Any soccer kit has to support a potential sponsor since you never know when the corporate suits are going to cut a deal with an international bread company. Second, since all the uniforms are made by a single company, I tried to follow the Adidas design styles and use the three stripes on the shoulders, shorts and socks as much as possible. Finally, there’s a long tradition in soccer of “victory stars” over the team crest/badge. Currently, MLS only recognizes the winner of the MLS Cup tournament with a victory star. I added stars for winners of the Supporters Shield as well. The Shield is awarded to the team with the most table points at the end of the season. Frankly, I think that’s a much bigger accomplishment.

I created the custom Photoshop template along the lines of the infamous Nike Pro-Combat football template that’s become so prevalent in the last year, and I’m happy to share it with the Uniwatch faithful (that’s the jpg) and if you go here, you should be able to download the photoshop PSD file. Yes, that’s England superstar John Terry as the template image. That photo was the best image I could find for building the template. It could’ve been worse. It could’ve been Beckham or Rooney. If nothing else, we get to see John Terry wearing MLS kits of all colors and styles. I think he looks smashing in the KC alternate shirt. So here goes”¦

1. Chicago Fire: The Fire have carved out an iconic look with the single white chest stripe and a monochrome red kit. Best Buy is no longer a sponsor, so this year they’re back to just “FIRE” on the stripe. I opted for a fake sponsor, and added two victory stars over the badge for their MLS Cup win in 1998 and the Supporters Shield win in 2003. The victory stars are of the six-sided variety, instead of the standard five, to reflect the six-sided stars on the Chicago City flag. The sky blue away shirt is for the same reason, and overall I’ve tried to decrease the number of all white kits so we can tell who the hell that is on the corner TV at the wing joint.

2. Chivas USA: The first thing that had to be done with Chivas USA was redo their badge. I’ve replaced the seal of the City of Guadalajara with the seal of the City of Los Angeles. You know, the city where they play! Their current home kit consists of red vertical stripes, navy pants and navy socks. It’s a classic look borrowed from their namesake and so I just lost some of the more modern and evil Adidas piping that keeps creeping into decent good-hearted jersey designs.

3. Colorado Rapids: A new victory star is added to the badge for their MLS Cup win last year. The main colors are the same as the current kit, burgundy shirt and white shorts. I say stick with a look once you win a championship. I added banded socks to try and give it some soccerish gusto. More work went into the away shirt, drawing off the two toned highlights in the team badge. Finally, the alternate jersey is a fauxback to the original green/black look the team sported in their early years. Oddly, I love the look of the fake Coors sponsor.

4. Columbus Crew: The Crew badge looks like an intern went down to the corner construction site and took a picture of a few random dudes, then half-assed Photoshop filtered them, threw his hands in the air and said, “What the hell, let’s call it a logo!” This new and improved badge is the product of some great work on the part of Crew fans found here. I added the 96 to mark them as a founding MLS member and the victory stars for their MLS Cup win in 2008 and the Supporters Shield wins in 2003, 2008, 2009. Their main look can’t really be tweaked too much because they own yellow monochrome and it makes them instantly recognizable no matter how many Yuenglings I’ve had. The away jersey is an older one that originally had the “Glidden” sponsor, which was dropped this year, and so the single yellow “paint stripe” doesn’t make as much sense. I still like it better than this year’s invisible pinstripes. I used full collars because how can those three blue collar guys be on the badge and then NOT go full collar on the shirt? The alternate shirt is an experiment with using the three Adidas stripes in a different way, which isn’t unheard of in MLS.

5. DC United: DC is the Real Madrid of MLS and has earned the right to the all white look. (Sorry Real Salt Lake.) I’ve added a gold star at the top of the badge for the “double” win of the MLS Cup and Supporters Shield in the same season (1997) and then three white stars on each side for the three other MLS Cups and Shields they’ve won. A team with that much silverware needs something more than a generic Adidas uniform. I used a classic sash reminiscent of the most recent US Men’s Team kit. It seemed appropriate for the team in the nation’s capital to draw from the national team. The circular VW logo works better with this than a wordy sponsor would.

6. FC Dallas: I didn’t mess with this badge. It is a perfect reflection of the team with all the right elements in place. I especially like the flame on the bull’s head, a nice nod to the team’s past as the Dallas Burn. They use classic hoops which are like the soccer version of UCLA stripes. The large fonted “FC DALLAS” messes with the hoops, but getting the right sponsor would solve that problem in an instant. The only major change I made was adding the hooped socks as well. The alternate kit incorporates the flag of the City of Dallas in the shirt and socks. Although, considering where they actually play, it’s probably more apropos to use the flag of Frisco, TX. Does Frisco even have a flag?

7. Houston Dynamo: They are orange/white. It’s another iconic MLS look that can’t be messed with because it’s completely recognizable even after multiple Jager shots. I added victory stars for MLS Cup wins (2006, 2007) and Supporters Shield in 2008. The full collar is also back for all three shirts because we need more full collars in soccer. Finally, I used black for the third shirt since it’s actually one of their colors and therefore would be no BFBS transgression.

8. Sporting Kansas City: With the wave of a magic wand the Wizards have been transmogrified into Sporting Kansas City or Sporting KC or Sporting Club Kansas City. Who really knows for sure? I’ll just refer to them as SCKCSC to make sure the bases are covered. I gave the new Sporting Club a more modern look with some semi-hoops. I mean, come on, you can’t give us a new badge like that without putting hoops on your damn shirt! The designers of the current shirt are proud of the subtle “state line” stitching along the left side of the shirt, which symbolizes the border between the two states that comprise the Kansas City area. I stuck with them on that choice and, just like an underage bride from Topeka, I didn’t take the hoops past the state line. Of course, the big fun in this set is the old Wizards throwback. Notice that the three red stripes in the rainbow are Adidas stripes, as was the case in the old design.

9. LA Galaxy: I didn’t know what to do with the Galaxy. Honestly, does anyone? They’re a dynamic team with no uniform tradition or anything from which to build a tradition. They should just rename themselves “The Beckham” since that’s been the main identity for the franchise since 2007. In true soccer fashion I gave up on the win, settled for a draw, and went with a sash. The constellation of victory stars commemorates all the MLS Cup and Supporters Shield wins. Like the KC tweak, the best part of this set is the LA Aztecs throwback alternate.

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OK, boys and girls, that’s going to do it for Part I. Huge thanks to Lance for creating these and sharing them with us. We’ll have Part II next week, but let Lance know what you think of his work so far. Pretty amazing stuff.

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Benchies Header

Benchies

by Rick Pearson

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Oh, joy, the neighborhood Foreign Policy Experts are still out expressing their views.

d-jog 2

And as always, here is the full size.

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all sport uni tweaks

Uni Tweaks

The tweaks have slowed a bit, but we still have a full batch today..a very special batch.

If you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.

Remember, if possible, try to keep your descriptions to ~50 words (give or take) per tweak. You guys have been great a keeping to that, and it’s much appreciated!

In the words of Apollo Creed, “Here we go!”:

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First up today is a very special set of tweaks, since they come from someone who actually wore the uniforms he’s tweaking. That’s right, today I have the following set of tweaks from Jerry Reuss. Here’s Jerry:

Hi Phil,

When I see the Cardinals and Dodgers uniform logos, I think DCAT! (Don’t Change A Thing!) However, when put into context of the uniform top as we see it on TV or at the ballpark, there appears to be a vast expanse of white. It’s too much white, especially with baggy pants covering the shoes. So, here’s a different look that frames and finishes a few of my favorite uniforms.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS HOME

To the Cardinals current home uniform, I added a thin band of red piping around each sleeve and down the outer seam of each pant leg. Instead of solid red socks, I incorporated the striped stirrups worn over white sanitary socks. Here’s the “tweak.”

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS ALTERNATE HOME

To the Cardinals current Sunday alternate home uniform, I added a thin band of navy piping sandwiched with red piping around each sleeve and down the outer seam of each pant leg. Instead of solid red socks, I incorporated the striped stirrups worn over white sanitary socks. Here’s the “tweak.”

LOS ANGELES DODGERS HOME

Since the Dodgers road gray uniform has a thin band of royal blue piping around each sleeve and on the outer seam of each pant leg, this is what the home uniform would look like with the same piping. For the “stirrup-enlighted” brethren at UniWatch, I added stirrups over white sanitary socks. Here’s the “tweak.”

Enjoy!

Jerry Reuss

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Next up is Andrew DeFrank, who has a couple football concepts for us:

So after sending in my Redskins and Chargers last week, here are my latest ones…

I revised my previous Bills and Seahawks uniforms and put them on the new Illustrator template.

BUFFALO BILLS

Home … Away … Red … All-Blue … All-White

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

Home … Away … All-Blue … Away-Alt … Neon

Hope you like these as well! Expect my Steelers and Vikings updates, then after that the Eagles as my seventh team.

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And finally, we have Terry Duroncelet, who not only has a bunch of tweaks for us, but he is also celebrating his 20th Birthday today. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERRY. And, here are Terry’s tweaks:

‘Sup? I’ve been busy with school and everything, but I have some new tweaks and revisions for you guys. Explanations for some, but not for others.

Bills: Basically a throwback to the Bills of the early 60s, but with a red helmet. I did this before their uni-overhall announcement in early February, so I might scrap this one depending on what I see with the new duds.

Ravens

Chiefs

Bears

Titans: I saw this from you Phil and was inspired. I just swapped out the red belt for a light blue one, and kept the current number font.

Dolphins

Browns

Baseball Giants

Lions: I went with a grey facemask for two reasons:
1) They had more success in the grey facemask
2) I wasn’t able to create a feesable Honolulu Blue facemask. MS Paint only allows you to do so much =(
But nonetheless, I’m happy with the end result.

Hope you guys enjoy! =)

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Thanks to all today’s tweakers — great stuff one and all. Check back tomorrow for more.

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Everyone have a great Saturday. Hope you enjoyed today’s post — got another good one in the works for tomorrow. See ya then.

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Twenty years ago, would people have imagined in their worst nighmares that in 2011, the Lakers would have a white home jersey, that they would wear it on the road with Los Lakers written on it? — Vincent Delestree

 
  
 
Comments (91)

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    No disrespect to the MLS or anything… e_e

    No, but seriously, corporate sponsors and evil Adidas aside, the tweaks were actually pretty good. My favorite being the FC Dallas kit on the right:

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    Lance, I know this is going to sound insulting and disrespectful of your work, but I literally stopped reading when I saw:

    I put a sponsor on every shirt, even if the team doesn’t currently have one. Any soccer kit has to support a potential sponsor

    I would love to see your designs, but unsullied by that garbage!

    Blame the sport, not the artist.

    While you and I may view corporate sponsors on the jerseys as second rate or low budget garbage, the rest of the world views them as a sign of legitimacy.

    The Jeff is the right.

    a shirt sponsor a clubs main source of revenue. the more notable the shirt sponsor, the more money in the club coffers and the better players it can afford.

    But that logic can be applied to anything that brings in money for a team. I’m sure they’d make a pile if they stopped the game every 5 or 10 minutes for a TV time out and commercial, but they don’t. Why not take the numbers off the backs of the jerseys and add different sponsors for each one? (There’s a sadly-hilarious photo of a 1930s bakery-based baseball team that did this very thing.) How about if the players were required to change their actual names into those of sponsor’s products? You see where this is going?

    Wasn’t soccer sort of forced to look for alternative revenue sources as radio and TV became part of things, owing to the limited number of commerical breaks the game afforded compared to most other sports?

    Not alibiing. Or forgiving. Just saying there might be a relatively understandable reason for ads on unis.

    —Ricko

    Well, sorta he did. Indirectly.
    Sports aren’t going to stop selling commercials, though, so that’s some serious wishful thinking.

    —Ricko

    The second you put Herbalife or XBox360 where your team name is supposed go, it’s pretty clear aesthetics are no longer a priority. They’re selling crap sandwiches and Lance is switching out the white bread to sourdough. No thanks!

    Here’s that 1930s bakery team if anyone’s interested; photo from the Delaware Historical Society.

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    I suspect a lot of the defense of ad-festooned jerseys is fueled by the assumption that fans of the other major sports don’t like soccer or look down on it, and so things that soccer does that other sports don’t do need to be defended for that reason alone. Well, I love soccer, and would love it a lot more if I could wear a jersey that doesn’t double as an advertising sign. Advertising is a recent phenomenon — have some pride in the game’s history!

    Until this year, Barcelona went sponsor-free on their jerseys. For a few years they had a Unicef logo, but they actually paid to wear that, not the other way around. They were always lauded as being such a classy organization for not succumbing to the shirt-sponsor thing, so I disagree that shirt sponsor = legitimacy. Shirt sponsor = desperate for money, and the financial state of world soccer has unfortunately caught up with them as well.

    Mike Hass is right. Once you put Herbalife and XBox on a jersey you lose me as a potential customer. I will admit that if I like a product I might be persuaded to wear its logo on a jersey; but if I’m indifferent or against a product, that turns a nice jersey into something I won’t wear.

    If this were Facebook:

    “Until this year, Barcelona went sponsor-free on their jerseys. For a few years they had a Unicef logo, but they actually paid to wear that, not the other way around. They were always lauded as being such a classy organization for not succumbing to the shirt-sponsor thing, so I disagree that shirt sponsor = legitimacy. Shirt sponsor = desperate for money, and the financial state of world soccer has unfortunately caught up with them as well.

    Mike Hass is right. Once you put Herbalife and XBox on a jersey you lose me as a potential customer. I will admit that if I like a product I might be persuaded to wear its logo on a jersey; but if I’m indifferent or against a product, that turns a nice jersey into something I won’t wear.”

    Terry Duroncelet likes this ^_^

    Funny how soccer won’t allow anything printed on a field, even graphics of the home team, yet they have no problem with ads on uniforms. As if there aren’t enough ads ringing the field with those portable signs.

    Lots of good points here on both sides of the shirt sponsor issue. Different sports work differently, and I don’t think something like a shirt ad should determine whether you support a team… If sponsorship is such a big deal, then how is NASCAR so popular?

    Supporting the team is a different issue. I may root for a team without buying its jersey. For instance, one of my favorite MLS teams is San Jose. I have a shirt that looks like their old jersey,
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    but there’s no way I’m buying an Amway Earthquakes jersey.

    ummm excuse me but am i the only one who wishes the NBA would go back to the more classic colorful uni’s and warm ups of the 80s and 90s? i know adidas is the sponsor for the league uniforms but WTF is with the generic 3 stripes on the warm ups! not to mention the warm ups themselves i mean c’mon they all look like glorified old school run-dmc jogging suits!i am willing to bet that if say the nuggets went back to their uni’s of the 80s sales would go up.my hometown team 76ers went back the classic clean sixers logo and script rocked over the chest look from the 80s.thank god because the hip hop look of black and gold with red white and blue look was tired! boston detroit and portland are the only teams that have basically not change the structure of their uni’s.don’t you all miss the classic golden state jerseys of the 80s and early 90s how about the atlanta hawks and milwaukee bucks and there checkered paneled unis’? lastly the warms themselves today are terrible bring back the top 10 warm ups ever not in a particular order…10)NY KNICKS FROM THE 80s AND EARLY 90s.9)SIXERS FROM THE 80s 8)HAWKS FROM THE 80s 7)BULLS FROM 80s OR THE 90s 6)TRAILBLAZERS FROM THE 80s AND 90s 5)MAERICKS FROM THE 90s 4)ROCKETS FROM THE 80s 3)JAZZ FROM THE 80s 2)LAKERS FROM THE 80s AND 90s 1) CELTICS SINCE EVER

    OH AND TO THE MLS SOCCER GEAR THAT STUFF WILL NEVER SELL IN THE US BECAUSE WE DON’T JERSEYS WITH ADS ON THEM!!! NOT COOL NOT TO MENTION WE DON’T LIKE TEAM APPERAL IN WHICH THE JERSEY IS NOT ICONIC EXAMPLE HOW CAN YOU MARKET TEAM PRODUCT IN WHICH YOU NEED AN EYE GLASS TO SEE THE LOGO? WE LIKE APPRERAL ESPECIALLY GAME AUTHENTICS TO HAVE SEWN ON NUMBERS AND LETTERS.I MEAN JUST THINK LIKE A BRAND FOR ONCE.COMBINE IDEAS OF BASEBALL AND BASKETBALL AND HAVE THE TEAMS NAME FLOWING ACROSS THE JERSEY AND THE TEAM LOGO PATCH ON THE SHORTS.TO PLEASE THE ADVERTISERS PUT THE ADS ON THE WARM UP SHIRT AND SPEAKING OF WARM UP I THINK SOCCER CAN TAKE A CUE FROM THE NBA AND HAVE BASKETBALL STYLED WARM UPS.JUST THINK OF THE MONEY IN SALES THAT COULD GENERATE FROM AN APPERAL FRONT.FOREIGN SPORTS DO WELL IN THIS COUNTY WHEN THEY ARE AMERICANIZED AND THE UNI’S ARE NO DIFFERENT.

    I hope the all caps doesn’t overide his valid points. I agree with you BM. I’m tired of being told we need to be more like….. From what I’ve seen we’ve had some pretty good history and success right here stateside. Because Euro puts a dumb ad front and center doesn’t make it right. A money maker? Of course. But it wouldn’t be there if they didn’t pay.

    As was pointed out up-thread… most soccer fans see the sponsor as a sign of a successful club. A blank shirt means no one cares. It has nothing to do with trying to be like Europe, it has everything to do with making the team/league profitable enough to exist. We used to have a soccer league that didn’t do shirt ads just like you describe, it was called the NASL…

    I am a huge Sporting KC fan and I will not buy a jersey until they put a sponsor on it. In fact, a lot of the fans here in KC are waiting for a jersey sponsorship and will wait to buy until one is announced. Mainly because the jersey is kind of empty without one.

    Make it the same as baseball and basketball uniforms? Why? Not everything has to be the same.

    Oh, come on; do national-team jerseys, which have only a team logo/crest and a number on the front, look “empty” to you? Push for a bigger team logo if you don’t want to see empty space!

    Even that Rockets jersey is better than something with an advertisement front-and-center.

    Jarnevic, soccer jerseys were “kind of empty” for a century. Does the classic 1966 England jersey look empty to you? How about USA 1950?

    One of the funniest posts I’ve read. I don’t know which part is funnier. Is it that he’s a huge KC Whatever fan? That someone would allow him to spend his allowance on an MLS jersey? Or that there are hundreds of other KC fans that are troubled with the same problem that he has. It’s a tie!

    As a huge MLS and more specifically FC Dallas fan the jersey tweaks look fantastic I especially like the KC and DC redesigns. I also like that you kept the hoops for FCD and the 3rd kit is amazing. You should send these to MLS and maybe they’ll stop changing kits on a 2 year cycle.

    Also CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL.

    Fantastic work Lance! I was blown away by the DC United ones especially. Can’t wait to see the rest!

    As a Columbus Crew fan, I wish that fan created Crew logo would just go away. Not saying our current logo is great but that one screams cheesy 90’s sports logo. Especially with that awful font. I’d probably do away with the men altogether and use other symbols of “hard work”. Maybe hammer or something. I love the idea of putting Nationwide on the jersey though. Makes for a really clean look.

    Sponsors have been a part of soccer for decades and it’s pretty narrow-minded to completely write off a sport because of it. I agree with Jarnevic, the jerseys feel empty without them. NASCAR and the PGA seem to do okay with corporate logos all over the place, why not MLS especially if the whole world does it?

    Great to have a celebrity uni tweaker , could this be a new segment – (celebrities send in their uni tweaks) – kind of a safe cautious start with what Jerry Reuss submitted – I would be interested in what he would submit on a couple of other prominent teams in his career – the Pirates and the Astros.

    By the way – what was that shade of yellow the Pirates wore in early 70’s – not sure if it’s just the poor colour quality of TV’s – but it was a real digon mustard look – a colour rarely seen since?

    “By the way — what was that shade of yellow the Pirates wore in early 70′s — not sure if it’s just the poor colour quality of TV’s — but it was a real digon mustard look — a colour rarely seen since?”

    Absolutely it was. A very mustard gold. Looks almost light olive green in some photos if color seps are a bit off. Other places to see it are the Vanderbilt home football jerseys of the early 80s (usually wore with black helmet and pants), and the mono-Old Gold Minnesota Gophers in the Rick Upchurch era.

    Also there was a single Minnesota Fighting Saints jersey made up in that color for press conferences early-on in the WHA. When they got down to the real thing, though, they changed to a royal jersey with Athletic (Light) Gold trim.

    —Ricko

    Thanks Ricko, I also think the Pitt Panthers once broke out some real mustardy looking pants – which were widely lampooned.

    In regard to the Cardinals and Dodgers – in terms of major North American team sports – they would likely be both in a top 10 or close to it, in terms of iconic looks. I’m actually not crazy the Cardinals flit around with alternative caps etc, they’ve got a great look – stick with it.

    I think you’re referring to those 1990s Pitt Panther pants, think they were a slightly darker shade, this was during the second coming of Johnny Majors. The helmet was also a darker shade, all of this was to replicate the 1970s-early 80s coloring, but they went too dark. Pitt also used a white facemask, which was a mistake.

    Later in the 80s, Pitt lighten the original gold color, in both the helmet and pants for some reason.

    If Pitt ever does return to the 1973-mid 80s true colors, I hope they do it right this time. I preferred the gold facemask to the gray.

    Don’t like the Cardinals home Sunday hats. At all. A third hat just seems like “too much,” even though it’s based on their hat from the ’40s.

    The navy road hats I DO like. A lot. Why? Because it makes the roads essentially the last uni Stan Musial wore (he didn’t wear red shoes, of course)…and the first unis Bob Gibson and Lou Brock wore when they joined the team. Granted, at its core it’s about selling stuff, but it also is a really simple and elegant way of marrying past and present.
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    —Ricko

    Completely agree on the Cardinals.

    Assuming they went with stirrups, they should really complete the look with black shoes. Red shoes with red stirrups doesn’t work for me.

    Amazing job on those MLS designs! Even though I disagree that every team needs a sponsor on the jersey, I would be okay with it IF they cut out commercials. After all that’s why it’s done in Europe. With my useless opinion out of the way I say great job on that Dynamo alternate and the Sporting KC kits as well. I love the black that’s NOT BFBS, and the idea of the state line that you continued onto the jersey is very cool.

    Well done Lance.

    I liked the minimalist look the Dodgers, Cardinals and A’s sported for several years. But it’s run its course. Thank you, Jerry, for the tweaks. They’re spot on.

    The Cardinals last set before the sansabelt doubleknits (late ’60s, early ’70s) had red piping down the leg of the home pants…
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    And I don’t know that a team’s look worn for years has necessarily “run it’s course.” I don’t think all teams should be minimalist, nor should all be loaded with bumper stickers. How unineresting would that be.

    “Everyone and or load up with piping and stripes and other crap” wouldn’t suddenly and automatically make the uni world better.

    —Ricko

    I’d be the last one to suggest modest piping is the same as loading up w/ bumper stickers. Jerry’s interpretations are a nice look, and he’d wear them as well as anyone.

    Trends come and trends go. Minimalism was one of them. Many college football teams stripped their pants stripes about 10 years ago. It worked for some schools, not for others. Many have restored the stripes or, God have mercy, gone to piping (a look that doesn’t work in football).

    I have my favorite looks and they don’t include each team looking the same.

    St. Louis does have a solid traditional look, having the cardinals on the jersey was a move ahead of its time. The one year decision to remove the logo and just have the name in script was ill advised in 1956.

    I do have one improvement for the Cards, in the early 30s, they did have “St. Louis” with the cardinals on the front of the jersey. Moving forward, I’d like to see the return of the city name for the road jerseys.

    “Everyone and or load up with piping and stripes and other crap”

    Agreed. Not every team needs it. When it comes to tweaking it almost seems like a requirement to add placket and/or sleeve piping.

    Personally I think a team like the Cardinals with such an iconic & detailed jersey should be free of piping. The pants could be left alone as well if they only showed more sock/stirrup stripes. Subtracting them really damages a club’s look & brings unnecessary limitations.

    Go figure.
    Seach “palm frond zubaz” at Google Images and most of the images on the first four pages are from this joint.
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    —Ricko

    Seach “palm frond zubaz” at Google Images and most of the images on the first four pages are from this joint.

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    you say that like it’s a good thing

    ummm…no. lol

    I mean, who knew that searching such a thing would get to so many photos of, or related to, rpm and the stirrup club.

    —Ricko

    I love the MLS tweaks! Nice job!
    One thing I’d like to see, however, is the Dynamo third shirt in powder blue instead of black. It’s a color that’s been used prominently in their last two uniform iterations and something that would go very nicely as a compliment to the (fantastic) orange.

    Agreed.

    The designs are great, all the way around. And while I understand the use of black, the Dynamo have really tried to emphasize sky blue as one of their colors: it’s been an accent on the home shirts for a couple of years.

    I’m not sure, but until very, very recently, there was very little public involvement in stadium construction for pro soccer teams in places like Europe and South America. The teams made money by packing in as many people as they could in standing room only areas, called terraces. They saved money by not making any repairs or upgrades, so you had ancient and charming death traps. After the Hillsbrough Disaster in the late 80’s, the terraces were gone, potential ticket revenue dropped, and the teams had to find new sources of revenue. Hence shirt sponsorships. The first shirt ads started showing up a little bit before that, but I think it was a factor in having them stick around…

    In MLS jersey sponsors make sense and not because “they do it in Europe” but because of the lack of attendance at matches which is similar to the reason why teams in Europe started looking for sponsors. Most MLS matches are half full and FC Dallas is only in the black because of concerts held at Pizza Hut Park not because of the team so having a jersey sponsor makes that much more sense. I don’t want to see MLS go the way of the NASL.

    I checked the Houston Dynamo tweak/remake out of curiosity (I don’t have a lot of interest in the MSL but I like their colors) and was so impressed by the look and effort that went into the work that I checked the rest of the teams. Nicely done, Lance.

    Looking at Terry Duroncelet’s concepts reminds me that I’ve been advocating for years that the NFL should go back to 3/4 [elastic] sleeves which would solve all of the sleeve graphic issues.

    Not that I follow soccer, but I wish they didn’t have those damn ugly ads on the uni’s. The team brand is the most important, not the sponsor.

    I like how the KC kit incorporates the new Slytherin crest, but I have to ask… where’s the gold star for the 2000 Supporter’s Shield/MLS Cup win?

    There you go. That’s what we need. Unis and teams for MLQ(Major League Quidditch, for any muggles who read Uni Watch).

    But let’s give ’em stirrups.

    —Ricko

    first of all let me begin by saying my favorite of all these is the DCU kit. It has a very classic look, but I think something should differentiate the Cup stars from the Shield stars. perhaps three red stars on top for the Cup (with the gold star above it) and three white on the bottom? You could place them on a black background to make sure they stand out on the white and red kits.

    Now, my gripe…let me preface my gripe by saying I like the idea of the LA coat of arms on the Chivas USA. However, you sir have committed a SIN in the eyes of Chivas and Chivas USA fans everywhere with that third kit! Blue and yellow (not to mention white!)?! I’m sure you know these are the primary colors of Chivas Guadalajara’s hated rival, club america. Not only that but they are colors that feature prominently on Chivas USA’s hated rival, the la galaxy! Seriously?! What were you thinking?! Chivas fans are very protective of our club’s identity and that third kit made me want to puke.

    but the DCU kits are nice ;)

    The victory stars on the Galaxy jersey should be more of the quasar-type things in the logo. But I thought almost all of the designs were fantastic.

    MLS tweaks – good concepts and great craftsmanship. I’d buy and wear the blue – or better yet the green – Rapids jersey. (Kind of like my buddy Johnny Walker, the red is meh at best, but the green and blue are pretty darned good.) FWIW I think Chipotle would be a more likely local jersey sponsor than Coors. Chicago, C-bus, Dallas, DC and Houston all look especially good too. Looking forward to seeing Philly and Seattle concepts.

    Jerry Reuss’ Cards’ tweaks were terrific.

    “I didn’t know what to do with the Galaxy. Honestly, does anyone? They’re a dynamic team with no uniform tradition or anything from which to build a tradition.”

    I know what to do with them…go back to the look that won them their first title. That would be the third jersey in this timeline:
    link

    Other than your Galxay tweak, the only problems I had were with the insistence on sponsor logos, the sash on DC United (they really need to go back to the three horizontal stripes) and the gray/blue Rapids jersey. Absolutely everything else was spot on, Lance.

    Loved the FC Dallas third jersey and your KC unis in particular. Great stuff!

    Love the base of the first two KC jerseys, but the sponsor choice and the third killed it for me.

    Lance: *Fantastic* job on the MLS tweaks/redesigns. In terms of both concept & execution, you really nailed it. I especially liked the work you did on the Crew kit — but that’s not to take anything away from your fine work w/ the other squads featured here.

    Top to bottom, one of the finest tweak/redesign sets I’ve seen here on UW. Thanks to you for your time, effort & talent, & of course mad props to LI Phil for encouraging & showcasing the continuously intriguing output from the “tweak community.”

    Giving Chivas USA the seal to the city of Los Angeles might be a bit insulting to the city in which they actually play, Carson. Maybe the county seal of Los Angeles would’ve been a better choice. :)

    Happy Birthday, Terry! Love your Bills tweak.

    Andrew, great stuff as well. Thanks for including a neon Seahawks version.

    Mr. Reuss, three words: I’d. Wear. That.

    Who knew pro rasslin’ could be the great uniter? Another really good Benchies, Ricko.

    Thanks guys!

    Phil…love ya, but Jesucristo, it’s not “the MLS.”

    Really, really huge pet peeve.

    Do you say “The MLB?”

    “The NBA” = “The National Basketball Association.” (“The Association”)

    “The NFL” = “The National Football League.” (“The League”)

    “The BCS” = “The Bowl Championship Series.” (“The Series”)

    “The MLS” = “The Major League Soccer.” (“The Soccer?”)

    I’m sure the bulk of the comments are derisive of the league because it’s soccer and soccer is low-scoring and therefore boring and guys feign injury and roll around like they’ve been shot and blah blah blah all the same crap we’ve heard for 30 years.

    But at least get the frigging league name right.

    Maybe Phil got confused with the MISL.

    Hey, there’s an idea…let’s tweak the indoor soccer teams next!

    fair point, kenn…never even thought about it that way, but you’re correct — although i don’t think i would have said “tweaking MLB” either…but i definitely wouldn’t have said “tweaking the MLB” — a better title was probably in order

    honestly, you know i don’t pay much attention to the soccer, so that was my first mistake…but like you, i’m old enough to remember THE nasl, so that’s probably what i was “replacing” in my head

    Yes. Yes it is. I actually have a souvenir hardhat that my former roommate left here – the logo does in fact say THE CREW.

    You are not incorrect. Pet peeve is.
    The acronyms are set apart from the actual names.
    I would never ask how long someone has played MLB?
    I would say played in the MLB. Actually, I would never say either. But if I did…
    Does someone join THE F.B.I.? Or do they join F.B.I.?
    The Investigation.

    Ooopsies.
    Scratch that FBI bit. It is THE Federal Bureau of Investigation.
    Sorry.
    I easily get annoyed by pet peeves.

    You should say “played in the Majors.” The MLB is as wrong as the MLS.

    Do you say RBIs? That’s wrong, too. It’s just “He batted .325 with 65 RBI.” I thought about advocating RsBI at one point, but even I thought that was too silly.

    Not to put too fine a point on it, but MLB is the coverall for two leagues, not the formal name of either of them.

    Now, were it the “Major Soccer League”, then the “the” definitely should be there.

    As it is, the soccer league’s name is likely to be treated as the generic term it appears to be, a la “minor league baseball” or “box lacrosse”.

    —Ricko

    They play in the MLS.
    And yes… we say RBI’s. Always have, always will.
    I prefer the way something sounds. If we have to live by such rules, why don’t we skip the whole initial thing all together.
    While we’re at it, let’s hear it for the Red Socks, White Socks, and Marlin. Three teams in the MLB that make up the rules as they go.

    The Harvard Crimson…er…Black have fallen to Princeton,
    link
    so the first number on this scoreboard needs to be changed to 27:
    link

    Apparently, he thought ahead. This is Princeton’s 26th title and 24th appearance in the Tournament.

    In a moment reminiscent of today’s Benchies, both sets of fans chanted “Yale sucks!” before the game. It was played at the neutral site of Yale’s gym.

    “and if I did, it probably wouldn’t be the American game.”

    I know MLS has a bad rep and it’s not as good as the top Euro leagues, but the quality of play is pretty good (much improved from its early years); and if one has even a casual interest in soccer, there’s really nothing quite like watching a game in a stadium built for it.

    The credibility of MLS is increasing at a large rate. A good amount of South Americans who play for their National teams play in the league and now ESPN UK (I think thats its name or ESPN Europe) is going to start broadcasting an MLS match or two a week starting this season.

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