Nike Launches New MLB City Connect Uniform Series

[gosioux76]

29 minutes ago, DNAsports said:

*AHEM*
 

still utilizes official team colors

 

still utilizes official team colors and logo

 

Boy, none of those make the Trailblazers look like the Trailblazers

 

Surely these can’t be the Wizards?

 

Still uses official team colors

 

Oh no, a fauxback!

 

It's pretty easy to cherry pick a few that still match team branding in an attempt to undermine what is a clearly valid point: that Nike, this year in particular, has debuted alternates that make NBA teams largely unrecognizable from their typical brands. The Bucks in blue, the Bulls in speakeasy cosplay, Miami Vice, the Brooklyn Bed Stuy experiment, etc.

 

You also conveniently happened to exclude the Blazers City Edition jerseys that were, ahem, brown? 

 

Nobody is suggesting EVERY new Nike jersey strays from original branding, but if you're going to argue this point, you can't pretend these things don't exist. 

 

[ManillaToad]

12 hours ago, DNAsports said:

*AHEM*

[bunch of pictures]

 

Lol I don't get how people can take NBA uniforms seriously with those huge advertisements on them. In 5 years people will be posting the Reds' new City Connect Edition Uniform Nike Experience Series™ jersey that has the nike checkmark and a mcdonalds logo on the front and saying how it's the best Cincinnati has ever looked

[BBTV]

22 minutes ago, DNAsports said:

I understand why people are having issues with it and I know these are valid opinions, but it’s a bit extreme for anyone to say the City Connect Series devalues the MLB brand when all its trying to do is showcase the city the team plays in instead of the team itself.

this is sort of a contradictory statement. The brand is the Boston Red Sox, not City of Boston Inc., not Boston and Red Sox. 

[MJD7]

I think the most disappointing this about this for me is that Nike simply recycled the City program for MLB, rather than coming up with something else new and original.

 

Sure, this Red Sox set is alright in a vacuum, and would actually be pretty good if they reserved it for Patriot’s Day weekend (which I’m assuming they won’t, in the long run). But as others have mentioned, it’s really what comes in the pipeline for other teams that could very easily be disappointing to see. Sure, some City jerseys might actually turn out better and more interesting than the team’s main set (the Heat and Jazz come to mind in this regard for the NBA), but plenty others will also end up a lot worse.

 

It’s a shame, because in a tradition-heavy sport such as baseball, Nike could have very easily drawn upon throwback designs in order to make something creative and exciting for each team. Or, in the opposite direction, they could have simply brought back the “Turn Ahead the Clock” promotion, and updated it to accommodate what Nike seems to enjoy doing the most — pushing the envelope and trying new ideas of what sports design can look like.

 

Something like that could have helped with the modernization that baseball so desperately needs, but instead they just decided to copy what the NBA is doing.

[Htown1141]

5 minutes ago, MJD7 said:

It’s a shame, because in a tradition-heavy sport such as baseball, Nike could have very easily drawn upon throwback designs in order to make something creative and exciting for each team

Reverse retro seems like a program tailor-made for baseball, I really hope Nike does something of the sort starting in 2022

[jws008]

I'm still having the exact same reaction I initially did every time  I see another photo of this Red Sox uniform:
"Wow! MLB is bringing back the Boston Bees!" 

After a split-second, I go back to merely being disappointed, then annoyed at the whole concept after few more seconds go by. As others have said, there are so many other better ways/programs/reasons to justify coming up with another alternate uniform for each MLB team. Copying what the NBA did just seems like a grab for more $$$.

[DCarp1231]

7 minutes ago, BBTV said:

this is sort of a contradictory statement. The brand is the Boston Red Sox, not City of Boston Inc., not Boston and Red Sox. 

I agree about the branding, but this uniform is specifically designed for the city. Now, it is but isn’t an odd color choice. Sure, the light blue and yellow has significance to the design, but they also could’ve made it red and blue and saved us all from this argumentative state.

[spartacat_12]

1 hour ago, tBBP said:

~

This at least has a bona fide connection to thr city. It does help when the city/municipality has bona fide iconography to draw from, which is certainly true in this case. And speaking of...

~

This and it's predecessor is still to this day the single coolest alt in the history of alts and it ain't even close. 

 

The issue isn't whether or not they look cool, or if they accurately connect with the local market, the issue is that they're complete departures from anything the franchises have ever worn. Several NBA teams now essentially have a secondary brand that's entirely separate from their main one (Heat's Vice look, Utah's red rocks, Raptors black & gold OVO). If that doesn't dilute a brand, I don't know what does.

[ltravisjr]

Celebrating the city - fine, I get it. Yeah, its also a cash grab but if people wish to purchase, than more power to all. I guess what doesn't work for me is the, for lack of a better term, "urban hip" feel to NBA City unis and hope the MLB doesn't go that route. Maybe that's just what folks identify with and respond to these days, but personally, I'm not that big into urban and I'm definitely not into "hip".

[SSmith48]

I think the biggest concern I have with all this City uniform stuff is that it not only dilutes a team's brand, but at the rate that Nike is speeding through designs. especially in the NBA, it will only take a few years for all the good ideas to be exhausted, something we are already seeing in the NBA. The point of sports branding is to create a consistent and recognizable look, and the only way to do that is to (more or less) keep the same or similar look for a long amount of time. the City/City Connection series undermine this all in the name of profit. 

 

It's not that I don't think that the Red Sox City Connection jersey is bad, because its purpose is good, but it should only really be a Patriot Weekend thing, not a true alternate. Heck, wear it for Patriot Weekend each year for the next ten years and it will be more special and memorable than just throwing it on every weekend for 5 straight seasons.

[BBTV]

26 minutes ago, DNAsports said:

I agree about the branding, but this uniform is specifically designed for the city. Now, it is but isn’t an odd color choice. Sure, the light blue and yellow has significance to the design, but they also could’ve made it red and blue and saved us all from this argumentative state.

 

Cool, and when the city of Boston starts a municipal baseball team, these would be great uniforms.  Unfortunately it has nothing at all to do with the Boston Red Sox.  

 

If I lived in Boston and wasn't necessarily a Red Sox fan I'd probably buy a shirt and/or cap because they do look pretty good, but they don't belong on the field being worn by the Sox.

 

I just hope that nobody ever throws a perfect game or hits their 500th home run or does anything else historic while wearing this or any of the other silly-ass costumes that the teams have had to wear in recent years, including the cancer uniforms, players weekend, etc.

[MrAstrodome]

29 minutes ago, Htown1141 said:

Reverse retro seems like a program tailor-made for baseball, I really hope Nike does something of the sort starting in 2022

 

Imagines Shooting Star 'Stros in Brick and Black. Old West 'Stros in Orange and Navy.

 

If these were just fashion jerseys, they'd be fine but on is where the problem is. 

 

 

As I pictured this joint the moment the news dropped. 

[Htown1141]

3 minutes ago, Ashes of Astroworld said:

 

Imagines Shooting Star 'Stros in Brick and Black. Old West 'Stros in Orange and Navy.

 

If these were just fashion jerseys, they'd be fine but on is where the problem is. 

 

 

As I pictured this joint the moment the news dropped. 

No one would be that stupid to think that Astros fans *want* any reference to those brick and sand uniforms, right? Right?!

[Brian in Boston]

7 hours ago, DNAsports said:

... but it’s a bit extreme for anyone to say the City Connect Series devalues the MLB brand when all its trying to do is showcase the city the team plays in instead of the team itself.

The team name Red Sox... the team colors of Red, Navy, and White... the Red Sox proprietary alpha and numeric fonts... they combine to form the MLB brand in Boston. They are the MLB brand in the city. When you choose to remove said team name from the home uniforms, replace said colors with Powder Blue and Yellow, and highlight radically different fonts on the most visible part of the uniform (the jersey) in order to "showcase the city... instead of the team itself", you are - by definition - devaluing the normal MLB brand in favor of highlighting a different brand.

Now, I'll grant you that - based upon what I've heard - said devaluing of the Red Sox MLB brand in favor of showcasing the brands of the City of Boston and the Boston Marathon will only be taking place for a pair of games. That said, it's still taking place.

Honestly, what truly rubs me the wrong way about all of this is the claim that these City Connect uniform designs have been created in order to "celebrate the spirit" of the communities that play host to the MLB teams wearing them and that Nike's "pushing the edges of creativity across the board" is "always done out of a place of supporting the players and advancing the sport". Please, by all that is holy, spare me the self-serving marketing-speak bull***t.

The various and sundry holiday, throwback, Color Rush, City, Earned, Statement and City Connect jerseys are churned out as a cash grab, pure and simple. Nike and the pro sports entities they do business with all want to sell more licensed product to the masses. That's how they make money. And the best way to generate the most money is through the sale of big-ticket items like team jerseys. Frankly, there wouldn't be much money to be made if franchises only elected to stick to iconic home and road uniform looks that stand the test of time and rarely change. Barring normal wear-and-tear, or growing out of a size, how often are fans going to elect to spring for new jerseys if their favorite teams are trotting out the same tried-and-true, traditional looks season after season? After all, the jerseys - whether authentic or replica - aren't exactly inexpensive.

Which is why unmitigated crap like the City Connect Series is foisted upon consumers. I'll give the suits at Nike and the various leagues credit. They know there are plenty of rubes out there who will spring for this s**t.           

[infrared41]

Nike gonna Nike.

 

'em

[Marlins93]

1 hour ago, DNAsports said:

I understand why people are having issues with it and I know these are valid opinions, but it’s a bit extreme for anyone to say the City Connect Series devalues the MLB brand when all its trying to do is showcase the city the team plays in instead of the team itself.

 

The traditional Red Sox branding IS the city of Boston. If you want to showcase the spirit of the city, that's what the players should be wearing, not some gimmicky yellow uniform set intended to generate more revenue for the Nike corporation. The City Connect series is nothing more than a shameless cash grab.

[Ridleylash]

You know what'd have been a really fun way to do a "City" series for MLB? Throwbacks to an old defunct franchise in your market with the current team's colors. Instead of using it to parade about city iconography and colors to create garish monstrosities, use it to recognize a city's history in the sport of baseball specifically while also having a fun "what if" look.

 

You know, taking what Vegas did in the NHL's Reverse Retro program with merging a Thunder jersey with their own colors and logos and running with it for an entire program in and of itself. There's plenty of opportunities for some really cool throwbacks there.

[andrewharrington]

1 hour ago, DNAsports said:

I agree about the branding, but this uniform is specifically designed for the city. Now, it is but isn’t an odd color choice. Sure, the light blue and yellow has significance to the design, but they also could’ve made it red and blue and saved us all from this argumentative state.

I think this would have been confusing in red and blue. You’d lose the connection to the marathon for a lot of people because the type by itself isn’t *that* distinctive. The combination of color and type is what sells the idea here, for better or worse. In red and blue, it would just be a Red Sox jersey with the wrong lettering to a lot of people. Going all in with the color is what’s going to make this click for many fans.

[infrared41]

3 minutes ago, andrewharrington said:

Going all in with the color is what’s going to make this click for many fans.

 

Sure, if ten is your idea of many.

[Hat Boy]

I like that runners bib sleeve patch.  Just adding that to the standard Sox jersey on Patriots Day would have done me just fine.

 

How is it that colorful jerseys appeal to younger fans?  Kids don't watch baseball because it is boring as Hell (I say this as someone who loves baseball).  No kid is sitting through the slog of a 4-hour, 9-inning Yankees/Red Sox game and thinking, "You know what would make this even better?  A yellow Sox jersey."