JTernup

Nike sells the throwback jersey in white. I think the piping is black and the on-field is probably navy (honestly can’t tell) but it’s passable. As of a couple days ago the team store (Bay Republic) had them in men’s but they seem to be sold out. Here is the kids jersey and the website if you want to keep an eye out for a restock of the adult jersey. https://thebayrepublic.com/collections/jerseys-rays/products/rays-white-youth-devil-rays-replica-nike-jersey FWIW I’d be shocked if we don’t get a full release this season. Now that it’s an official jersey Nike has started producing Authentic Collection Devil Rays gear.

I don't know how old you are but there is absolutely no way you are part of my generation. Kids that grew up with Melo like I did absolutely revered him and never thought he felt like a rental. It seems like revisionist history to say that Mutombo embraced Denver so much more in his time with the Nuggets than Melo did. Wasn't the Nuggets WCF run just as memorable as the Mutombo 8-seed? I understand that you may not view him the way I do but it's undeniable that he was incredibly influential into the history of the team. Jokic taking his number doesn't mean that he isn't deserving of being honored IMO.

Strongly disagree. He is probably the third or fourth most influential player in Nuggets history and revived a dead in the water franchise. Melo is still 3rd in franchise history in points and 7th in games played. The Nuggets have also been generous when it comes to jersey retirements. There is really no argument that Mutombo and Lever are that much better of Nuggets than Melo was. I understand that a lot of Nuggets fans still have hard feelings and I totally get it. I fell in love with basketball via those Melo Nuggets and was 16 when he got traded. It broke my heart as a fan. But, at this point it has become clear to me that you CAN'T tell the story of Denver Nuggets Basketball without Carmelo Anthony.

Interestingly, the Nuggets have gotten themselves in the same position with Melo and Jokic both wearing 15 on completely different uniform designs. My hope for the Nuggets at this point is to retire Jokic's 15 the season after he retires and then wait a year and retire Melo's 15. Under this circumstance I'd like the Nuggets to differentiate their different uniform eras on the retired number banners rather than the generic style they currently use. (Edit: Just noticed @SailorOfSilence102 made the same point.) It seems like that would be the correct option for the Bucks as well, retire Giannis and then Ray.

I'm a Rapids fan so I HATE RSL and am pretty biased against them... but that was their entire intention. Salt Lake had almost no soccer culture to draw off of so they purposefully called themselves Real and chose BYU and Utah U colors. From the beginning they were aware that they were using Barcelona colors but they seem to almost embrace that. It's incredibly uninspired and lame in my opinion and is truly the "original sin" that lead to such a boring and uninspired run of kits. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/how-real-salt-lake-got-their-name-and-colors

I was hopeful that these were a bad rendering at least but I saw a couple of US and PR hats at lids today and they’re legit. The flags are just as big as those renders make them look. Didn’t think to snap a picture.

A little late to this discussion but I've always had a hard time blaming the suppliers. Their job is to maximize profits and get the most return on their investment into supplier contracts. Realistically they aren't responsible for maintaining the integrity of a team's identity at all. The teams also want to maximize profit from apparel and jersey sells but they should also care about protecting their brands. The NBA essentially let the fox into the henhouse when they allowed Nike to go wild. It's the NBA and the team's job to protect those hens and they'll get the blame from me, not the fox.

Because y’all are talking about nameplates I’ll share my pet peeve. Why do players have first initials or worse first two letters of their first names or full names on their nameplates. It’s completely unnecessary to have a tiny Q in front of your last name when there is a giant number that also differentiates you.

I hate those too but Youngstown is a shrunk logo away from perfection. BYU's is awful but it utilizes the team mascot and looks well done. Utah's tribute looks like an airbrushed t-shirt from a suburban mall that should've been torn down 10 years ago. It also has a helmet stripe that ends abruptly into an oversized version of the memorial logo. It's got snow or stars all over it that clashes badly with the photorealism of the players. They are wearing a uniform on the helmet that is one that Utah should wear a lot more but frequently eschews for subpar alternates while wearing a subpar all black uniform in their biggest home game of the season. And, the potentially unpopular opinion, I think it is a really weird precedent for the program to set placing people on their helmets as a memorial and selling tons of 22 forever merchandise. It makes ASU and their Pat Tillman tributes look restrained.

Wow, just seeing this. It’s a cool tribute and I know that means a lot to that program. But in a vacuum that has to be the worst helmet in the history of the sport right?

It's insane to me that a basic block font could be considered the opposite extreme of that monstrosity. Block fonts are classic and beloved by the majority on this board in all other sports. Plus, I think a block font works perfect for a US shirt because of how ubiquitous block fonts are with classic American sports aesthetics compared to other countries where custom soccer fonts have been the standard in sports for decades.

Yeah, there is no basis in reality to act like Nike didn’t get popular until they ditched the swoosh on Jordan’s. It’s an iconic logo that simplistically conveys the forward moving, quick image the brand wants to be associated with while looking great on a shoe. The swoosh has benefited from Nike’s prominence but Nike has benefited greatly from having such a good logo.

Completely agree, the think Fakers ignored in their post is that we got to see that cuff stripe on a more modern template. Although it had only probably been 7 or 8 years from that Tony G picture things got bad by 2011. It was not uncommon to completely lose that stripe. Nike really saved the classic Chiefs jersey IMO.

Woah, strong disagree there. I've always thought this was a great look for players that play on teams with nice striping patterns. Eric Berry started doing it in the latter portion of his career and it always looked way nicer than the plain black, white, or red sleeve he had worn in the past.

Love this direction! Really emphasize the classic combos without losing our iconic orange lids. I’ve always liked the white helmet and even enjoyed seeing the blue but when you have a helmet as good and instantly recognizable as the Gators it’s a shame to wear anything else. My only gripes would be that I wanted the homecoming throwbacks to remain, I’d like the orange jersey against a cupcake opponent, and the big game blue pants should be against LSU not USC. But those are pretty minor compared to the mix and match mess of a lot of programs. Really like this look for a one off. Looks a little too much like Purdue or the Saints for me to want it more than that though.

I've never been a fan of mismatched numbers but this was definitely the nicest color balance in the powder/navy/gold era. Unfortunately the Nuggets continue to use mismatched front numbers

Adidas knocked it out of the park this year. Really excellent designs with bespoke patterns that have clear inspiration and application. It really makes the disaster that Nike and Puma are putting out even worse.

Agreed, It's pretty ridiculous to come out at the start of the game or for a photo shoot with the undershirt exposed. If it happens during the game whether intentionally or unintentionally that's fine. I think a lot of it comes from the place of players wanting to be individuals with their own unique look. Other elements where this occurs is things like gloves, sleeves, cleats, socks, custom knee pads, and helmet visors. Some of those can actually be pretty cool IMO but a giant bloused undershirt is not a good look and is only "cool" in the context that some really good players have done it in the past. Of all these things, the socks make me the most irrationally frustrated. In this picture of the Chiefs honoring Len Dawson to start the game for example, which guy does it look like is trying to be an individual during a cool team moment? I'm only 28 y'all but some of these things make me feel like an old fogey!

I'm a bit late on this, I was following along until about Puerto Rico but then life happened, so I just caught up. I'd just like to say that this is by far my favorite and one of the most impressive creative endeavors I've seen on this site in the 12 years I've been around. Truly excellent work, there isn't a single state that I don't like and each one would instantly be a fantastic primary or alternate plate. You've represented each state excellently and it's cool to see so much research and effort yield such great results. I'm excited to see a potential Canada, Philippines and EU series. May I also suggest an African series? There would be all kinds of great imagery and history to pull from there!

Hadn't seen this before, but what's the deal with that blatant Padres rip-off script that FIU is using? Oof, it wasn't a great word mark for a baseball team but seems really off for a football team.. I like the gold flake though, hopefully it shows up under the lights.

Yeah, that store is a mess. I looked up a few teams I'm familiar with when it comes to authentic and replica jerseys and AT BEST it is a lot of bizarre mix and match going on. It's possible that a lot of the jerseys are legit blanks that someone came across but that seems highly unlikely. For example they've got 2010's Rockies jerseys on Majestic replicas that were retailing at like $75 for blanks listed at $195 with player name and number. The lettering looks pretty good but the pictures aren't good enough to know for sure. They have an Alex Gordon Royals on what is a double knit authentic base but it has less convincing name and number quality. Chiefs jerseys are all over the place, inaccurate number fonts, Larry Johnson Wilson authentic that he never wore, Priest Holmes Reebok Authentic that looks pretty close to the one I have in my closet. It's all really confusing and I wouldn't have any faith that I'm getting a good product based on their photos and inconsistency and they are still quite pricey.

I like all the space uniforms but it is getting a bit oversaturated. As far as I'm concerned, Purdue, UCF, AF, and Houston are the only programs with any claim to a space uniform. As long as we don't exceed that list I like it.

Totally agree. The 80’s/90’s retro craze is in full swing which is why I think the away kit works. It is disappointing for on the field WC but will look great casually. The home is the soccer kit equivalent of a giant boxy navy pinstripe suit from the early 00’s and looks off on the field and out of touch fashion wise.

Completely agree. But if you forced me to pick a new helmet option I'd probably be happiest with a white helmet to be worn on the road only against teams with jerseys. As far as jerseys go I could live with a tonal red jersey and pants that advance the all red uniform concept. I'm thinking updating the stripes to be tonal red, a red arrowhead on the helmet, red facemask, tonal red AFL patch and maybe yellow numbers. That could satisfy the NFL if we're being forced into alternates and would at least cut down on wearing the mismatched stripe red pants with the red jerseys. Don't want it but that's probably the least harm they could do to the brand. Black or yellow uniforms or helmets are a complete non-starter for me.

Why in the world have teams not started to put stripes on the leggings? If players prefer those to normal socks just print the stripes onto them. Plus it would open up a whole new market of on-field yoga pants for them to sale.