MLS Kits, 2020

[sky1324]

12 hours ago, schlim said:

How do people in North and South Carolina get along? Obviously, SC is not getting a pro team anytime soon, so do NC folks resent getting tagged with the 'Carolina' moniker? Is there a real chance for SC folks to root for Georgia or Florida teams if they aren't included in the name? Is the Carolina naming thing more of a 'suggestion' from a sports league's marketing team?

 

1 hour ago, Gothamite said:

That's a good question.

 

Do the Panthers have a presence south of the border?  Or do South Carolinians see them as "that other state's team"?  And do North Carolinians resent the pandering to their country neighbors?

I can answer this question from my own personal perspective, which isn't necessarily representative of all North Carolinians: I ing hate it. The Panthers have an active presence in SC, with the new practice field being built there (thanks to massive tax breaks the state gave to the Panthers), and it's pretty universally considered "Panthers territory" in terms of marketing/TV rights or whatever (though there might be people in southern SC that root for the Falcons), while the Hurricanes have basically nothing. Raleigh isn't anywhere close enough to SC to reasonably draw from the state like Charlotte can, and even then hockey still isn't all that popular (though I know plenty of fans and the Checkers draw reasonably well). I'd imagine most South Carolinians don't care whether or not the team is called "Carolina" or not, and it's not like it matters, since the Hornets claim all of North and South Carolina anyway. 

 

I wish our teams were more representative of the city rather than the state/region, though the Panthers have a slight exception because the Carolina panther was a real thing a one point (it's sadly extinct in the wild). I love the Hornets because of the exclusively Charlottean nickname and I keep my fingers crossed that any MLB team would go with "Charlotte" and the MLS will also go with Charlotte, especially since there's already a North Carolina FC in Raleigh. I think it's stupid to claim a whole region when you're not the only team in the region, plus I just want my city represented on a national level properly, and not as an extension of the Carolinas. Many people will go to a pirate/airplane theme for Charlotte, which doesn't make much sense given how far the coast is from Charlotte (for reference, Philly is about half the distance to the coast, but we don't think of it as coastal at all) and Kitty Hawk is even farther than the coast. Just once I'd love to see a team reach into Charlotte's history and not the region's because I think it has a ton to offer that people don't quite realize. For example, my preferred team name for the MLS squad is Charlotte Town FC, because Charlotte was once called Charlottetowne and there's a Charlottetowne Avenue near Uptown. It ties into the European-style names that are popular and could even utilize a cool nickname of "Highlanders", since the reason Charlotte is called Uptown is because the city was on a slight hill, meaning anytime you went into the city you were quite literally going "up". A name like "One Carolina" or "Carolina Gliders" or whatever doesn't even come close to capturing that kind of local connection and is just broad and bland, appealing to no one. 

 

I have seen a post on the Charlotte MLS subreddit of a South Carolinian wanting the name to be "Carolina" but most others (probably Charlotteans) pretty much all disagreed. I've expressed my distaste for "Carolina" many times (in fact, this exact complaint is why I started my Project CLT series) and I honestly think it's something outsiders (even team executives) don't realize about the region. Charlotte and the rest of the state are quite different, and equating the two devalues Charlotte in a way that I think does a disservice to the city and the people that will actually be supporting the team. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

In case you need to get ready for MLS Coronavirus Cup 2020, Fanatics is discounting 2020 kits. I ordered one of those ugly 25th anniversary Sounders replica kits for a good price of $67+tax.  Doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to pricing, but here you go: https://www.fanatics.com/mls/jerseys/o-1311+d-20889045+z-98818-3756440245?ab={wt-static_graphic}{dm-FDC}{pt-league}{al-B1_Spot}{ct-MLS_KITS}

[Waffles]

On 6/24/2020 at 1:19 PM, Waffles said:

Charlotte's name announcement has been pushed back again:

 

Update: the announcement of the name, colors, and branding is now expected "around the third week of July."

[henburg]

 

Nashville SC just announced that two additional sponsors have been added to their kits. I'm not sure what that means for the MLS patch normally placed on the sleeve, maybe a temporary measure to recover some lost funds this season?

[MJWalker45]

30 minutes ago, henburg said:

 

Nashville SC just announced that two additional sponsors have been added to their kits. I'm not sure what that means for the MLS patch normally placed on the sleeve, maybe a temporary measure to recover some lost funds this season?

LA Galaxy have added Dignity Health to one sleeve and another Herbalife logo to the left sleeve.

[aawagner011]

1 hour ago, MJWalker45 said:

LA Galaxy have added Dignity Health to one sleeve and another Herbalife logo to the left sleeve.

 

[njdevs7]

Red Bulls added a sleeve sponsor. It actually looks very clean.... and dare I say....makes the kit look better?

 

 

 

[Digby]

No no no, it just makes them all look more low-rent and cluttered and fan-hostile, like the Liga MX and Nascar uniforms we all rightly mock.

[4_tattoos]

Any chance that Miami altered their shade of pink during the months long stoppage of play?

[MJWalker45]

2 hours ago, 4_tattoos said:

Any chance that Miami altered their shade of pink during the months long stoppage of play?

Nope.

[AstroCree]

So where does the MLS logo go? I was under the assumption there would only be 1 sleeve ad. 

[Gothamite]

New York City also added a pair of sleeve sponsors. Waiting to hear which, if either, will be carried into the regular season.  
 

The original plan was for teams to keep an MLS logo on the left sleeve and sell the other.   There had been reports that the league was going to allow clubs to sell both, as well as short sponsors, but I’m not sure if that was ever made official. 
 

 

[MJWalker45]

That adidas overlay at midfield is annoying as hell. 

[aawagner011]

3 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

That adidas overlay at midfield is annoying as hell. 

It’s terrible and also violates the FIFA Laws of the Game. Page 63 under commercial advertising.

 

https://img.fifa.com/image/upload/datdz0pms85gbnqy4j3k.pdf

 

Quote

Commercial advertising

Advertising on the ground shall be at least 1 m (1 yd) from the boundary lines of the field of play.

Upright advertising shall be at least:
• 1 m (1 yd) from the touch lines of the field of play
• the same distance from the goal line as the depth of the goal net, and
• 1 m (1 yd) from the goal net

No form of commercial advertising, whether real or virtual, is permitted on the field of play, on the ground within the area enclosed by the goal nets or the technical area, or within 1 m (1 yd) of the touch line from the time the teams enter the field of play until they have left it at half-time and from the time the teams re-enter the field of play until the end of the match. Similarly, advertising is not permitted on the goals, nets, flagposts or their flags and no extraneous equipment (cameras, microphones, etc.) may be attached to these items.

I wondered if this was an exemption considering this is an atypical tournament but then I recalled that the group stage games are supposed to count towards the regular season, so you’d think that would mean Laws of the Game must apply.

[schlim]

45 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

Waiting to hear which, if either, will be carried into the regular season.

You mean there's a regular season coming up after this tournament thing? Is it going to be played in Florida or at home stadiums? I honestly didn't know about this.

 

Now a message from my cynical side: these ads are also horrendous, good luck getting them off the jerseys in the future. Luckily, Adidas will probably be able to crank out a league wide template that fits every team. Look out WNBA uniforms, here comes MLS!

 

I've never understood the near constant changing of jersey designs for every team in the league, especially when they've been adding teams for what seems to be an endless number of years already. I know, money, I know, but if the league needs to sell that many jerseys to make a difference (honestly, how many jerseys are each team selling in a year? A real number? 2,000? 5,000? 10,000? 20,000? It can't top out much past that in their wildest dreams), doesn't that show there's some serious fundamental flaws in the funding/income of the league? Doesn't the constant churning reduce each team's 'brand'? Sporting KC had nice argyle ones a few years ago that were super popular and it seemed like they owned it, but they switched and switched and switched. I think Dallas is red and white stripes? I remember Philadelphia having nice initial jerseys that got watered down fast.

 

I'm not anti-soccer or anti-MLS, at all. I was a season ticket holder in the now dark ages (98-02) with a bunch of friends, going to games was super fun, affordable, and the soccer was mostly entertaining to watch. I guess I'm a casual fan at best now. Again, I don't hate soccer or denigrate it or its fans, but I've just never understood the constant changing of jerseys. For a sport so bound to traditions and fan bases, supporters groups, etc, it seems counter intuitive to just keep substituting schlock for schlock every couple of years.

 

[DPHF]

Each player has a white box on the back of their shirt, under the number, with a hand written personal message. Did we know about that?

[4_tattoos]

Is that a Coke logo I saw on Miami's sleeves? If so, how did a sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola happen so quietly? 

[-kj]

13 minutes ago, schlim said:

You mean there's a regular season coming up after this tournament thing?

 

Probably not, but they keep saying there will be.

[Gothamite]

14 minutes ago, schlim said:

You mean there's a regular season coming up after this tournament thing? Is it going to be played in Florida or at home stadiums? I honestly didn't know about this.

 

We don’t know.  They are hoping to resume a truncated regular season.  With our bungled federal response, that seems increasingly unlikely, but they haven’t confirmed anything either way. 
 

Quote

I've never understood the near constant changing of jersey designs for every team in the league, especially when they've been adding teams for what seems to be an endless number of years already. I know, money, I know, but if the league needs to sell that many jerseys to make a difference (honestly, how many jerseys are each team selling in a year? A real number? 2,000? 5,000? 10,000? 20,000? It can't top out much past that in their wildest dreams), doesn't that show there's some serious fundamental flaws in the funding/income of the league?

 

No.  
 

Pro soccer teams have been doing this in Europe since the 1980s and nobody has ever thought that it reflected some underlying flaw in their business model. 
 

Quote

Again, I don't hate soccer or denigrate it or its fans, but I've just never understood the constant changing of jerseys. For a sport so bound to traditions and fan bases, supporters groups, etc, it seems counter intuitive to just keep substituting schlock for schlock every couple of years.

 

But that’s how the sport works.  Teams have a general theme (even most MLS clubs), but the details change every other year. 
 

Personally, I prefer it.  Better than the NFL forcing clubs to live with their mistakes for five years.

[Gothamite]

5 minutes ago, 4_tattoos said:

Is that a Coke logo I saw on Miami's sleeves? If so, how did a sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola happen so quietly? 

NYCFC signed Ford and AT&T without any fanfare.  That’s just how these deals go.