US Soccer MNT

[Gfonk04]

With the new MNT images going around, I got to thinking about how I just don't like the hoop look, especially with the sublimated sash thrown in there. I've said several times that my favorite set in recent years is the Germany 2006 "Racing Stripes" kit. I also like the distinct look of the full on sash from 1950 that the team has kinda flirted with recently. So I whipped these up for fun.

First off are the marks and symbols I've used. Obviously the current crest has to go. I went with the simple idea of an eagle on a soccer ball in front of the shield found all over the US as the marker for US Highways. I thought it has a nice, classical, Americana feel to it. The ball has a star shape in it, but hopefully it's subtle enough to shut up the "YOU HAVE A STAR IN YOUR CREST!?!?!?! ZOMG!!!" crowd. The scroll in the eagle's beak bears the motto "E Pluribus Unum," which I think is a great motto for a sports team. The scroll below has "United States of America," with 1776 on one end and 1913 on the other. The latter year is the year of the founding of the US Soccer Federation.

I gave the colors patriotic names because, why not?

The lettering is not a custom font, several people on the boards have used it on other concepts, but here it is nonetheless. I included "United We Stand" as a sort of secondary motto as a sort of marketing/merchandising type motto.

The quote is an excerpt from Theodore Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" quote, which is an awesome commentary on critics. The gist of it is that people who criticize without placing themselves in the arena of competition aren't fit to judge those who have the courage to compete. I think it's fitting for sports in general and US Soccer in particular as all the armchair quarterbacks (forwards? midfielders?) are quick to point out how the "strong man stumbles."

On to uniforms.

The home uniform draws the sash from the 1950 jersey with some added blue trim. The inside of the collar has the "United We Stand" motto and the TR quote. The trim on the collar, sleeves and shorts is designed to mimic the sash. A red and white striped tag on the back collar and the bottom of the front of the jersey is inspired by the red and white tag on the 2006 away kit, Barcelona's Catalonia flag tab, and the US flag, obviously. The tops of the socks also go to the sash, and I kept them simple otherwise, with an obligatory Nike swoosh on the front right sock and "USA" on the back of each.

The away kit goes more directly to the '06 kits, but I took the racing stripe design for the home and put it on the blue jersey instead. I thought about white shorts but went with blue for the sake of continuing the stripe down to the tops of the socks. Thoughts?

The third is an homage to the current third, which I love. I added the white stripe to the sash to make it stand out a little more, and then made the striping elsewhere match. I changed the striped tags on the collar and shirt hem for the sake of making it stand out a little, though I toyed with the idea of leaving the stripes red and white and adding a blue or gold outline.

The Keeper's jersey is my attempt at being a bit more out there, since keepers' jerseys are generally a different pattern than the rest of the team. I trimmed and sublimated the sash (I know, I said I hate it, and I do, but I'm okay with it for the GK). I also included a star gradient from the slate gray of the jersey to a lighter gray at the sleeves and bottom of the jersey. I also added a white trim to the crest.

Okay, that's my take on US Soccer. Thoughts?

[Daniel_Ramone]

I loved the white one! US Soccer never had a solid pattern for their kits and I think that the best is one with the stripe, remembering 1950 kits (US defeated England in my hometown )

I also liked the goalkeeper kit, but i think the stripe is a lil' bit unnecessary

[Gfonk04]

Thanks!

I'm not sold on the GK stripe either but I did it for fun/consistency with the other sets. Maybe I'll do a version without it. In the meanwhile, here's the away set with white shorts:

[tBBP]

Wow, Bomberman...this is some good stuff! (You've also been holding out, I see, but your secret's out there, now!)

First off...that badge. It's a little bit too complicated for my taste, but it's also 657,489 times better than the current U.S. badge it ain't even funny. And looking at the sum of the parts, as it all fits together...beautiful set. The blue trim really sets that sash off--and speaking of, I like that you went with a lighter blue as opposed to the midnight navy Nike seems to love so much for whatever reason they do. I also like that idea on the red third kit, as well. On the blue change kits, please lose the stripe on the shorts--that's overkill--but I love it on the jersey. Clever flip of a previous primary kit design.

I also see you went away from the DTOM motto. As unpopular an opinion as this might be...thank you for doing that, because I've never really been too fond of that motto for a team (it's maily the word "me" at the end that destroys the whole thing for me). I agree that, for the United States, something that expresses unity should be used. (I personally would've used "E Pluribus Unum"--that is, "out of many, one"--but that's just me.)

Overall, the sum of all the parts begets a much more patriotic look than what's out there currently. So all in all, this gets two thumbs up from me over here.

[Enio125]

I feel like there are too many small details on it. Like two things written on the inside collar, logos above and below the numbers on the back, the writing on the waistline of the shorts, the logo at the bottom of the shirt, and two crests. In my opinion get rid of the quote, the small logo at the bottom of the shirt, one of the two logos on the back and the crest on the shorts and they would be perfect.

[curswine]

Your concept is a really good one for me, just the template let's it down a little, try making a shirt a bit thinner, looks extra large right now. One more thing I'd adjust would be to make the nike logos slightly larger and for your logo I'd maybe put some stars in the blue section behind the eagle as it's wings are getting slightly lost at the moment.

[Gfonk04]

Wow, Bomberman...this is some good stuff! (You've also been holding out, I see, but your secret's out there, now!)

First off...that badge. It's a little bit too complicated for my taste, but it's also 657,489 times better than the current U.S. badge it ain't even funny. And looking at the sum of the parts, as it all fits together...beautiful set. The blue trim really sets that sash off--and speaking of, I like that you went with a lighter blue as opposed to the midnight navy Nike seems to love so much for whatever reason they do. I also like that idea on the red third kit, as well. On the blue change kits, please lose the stripe on the shorts--that's overkill--but I love it on the jersey. Clever flip of a previous primary kit design.

I also see you went away from the DTOM motto. As unpopular an opinion as this might be...thank you for doing that, because I've never really been too fond of that motto for a team (it's maily the word "me" at the end that destroys the whole thing for me). I agree that, for the United States, something that expresses unity should be used. (I personally would've used "E Pluribus Unum"--that is, "out of many, one"--but that's just me.)

Overall, the sum of all the parts begets a much more patriotic look than what's out there currently. So all in all, this gets two thumbs up from me over here.

Thanks for the feedback! I shied away from E Pluriubs Unum as a main motto primarily because Firefly has used it in his concept. Also, Latin doesn't make for a very good chant. I don't imagine a stadium full of people cheering "E PLURIBUS UNUM!!!" But based on some other feedback, I may scratch the "United We Stand" motto altogether. My goal with that was to make "EPU" a sort of US Soccer motto while "UWS" would be a Men's Team design.

I messed around with the badge and went in the Tottenham direction, ditching the shield. My concern here is that it's a little too plain. My goal was to make a legit crest for our team rather than a logo. Countries like England, Spain, and Brazil look more like a classic crest than the silly logo shield deal we have right now. But here's a slimmed down logo for kicks. Thoughts?

I also liked the goalkeeper kit, but i think the stripe is a lil' bit unnecessary

How's this for you? I removed the stripe, kept the stars and experimented with the color a little:

I feel like there are too many small details on it. Like two things written on the inside collar, logos above and below the numbers on the back, the writing on the waistline of the shorts, the logo at the bottom of the shirt, and two crests. In my opinion get rid of the quote, the small logo at the bottom of the shirt, one of the two logos on the back and the crest on the shorts and they would be perfect.

I can see that being an issue. The shields on the shorts are here to stay, teams do that pretty consistently.

I'd probably ditch the "UNITED STATES" script and shield on the back. The "United We Stand" on the collar is sort of redundant based on the "EPU" discussion above. I like the stripes logo on the back collar, and I think I might leave the tag on the hem, but ditch the text. I'll mess around with it and repost it maybe. Honestly, I like all those little details, but I'm a man of the people. If I get some more feedback on this point maybe I'll debut a simplified version.

Your concept is a really good one for me, just the template let's it down a little, try making a shirt a bit thinner, looks extra large right now. One more thing I'd adjust would be to make the nike logos slightly larger and for your logo I'd maybe put some stars in the blue section behind the eagle as it's wings are getting slightly lost at the moment.

I'll buy that for a dollar. I made it myself a while ago after being unhappy with some of the other templates floating around, but there are better ones out there now. I'm not going to redo the whole concept with a new template though, I just don't have the time/motivation. But I may use this template in the future instead.

I thought about stars in the crest, but that seems to make people mad. Maybe I'll give it a go.

Thanks for the comments everyone. Anyone else have some feedback?

[Daniel_Ramone]

I really prefered the goalkeeper yellow one!

[Gfonk04]

Alright, one more try to resurrect this one. In this one I removed several details to try to simplify the uniform overall. I ditched the motto inside the collar but retained the quote. I kept the tag on the hem but removed the text around it, and I removed the text and shield below the number on back.

Next, I did away with the shorts stripe per Buc's suggestion and made them match the other uniforms. Blue and white versions displayed. I prefer white.

[RedSox44]

I love all of this. All of it. It's all so perfect.