MLS Uni Rankings

[exaccardi]

Many American sports fans have trouble wrapping their head around the aesthetics of soccer kits, especially those who enjoy embarking on which hunts every time the word "corporate" is whispered. This will be a ranking of Major League Soccer Kits based on global soccer design standards. Recently there has been an upswing in the quality of MLS kits as the league has grown. Many attribute this to the fact that clubs no longer need flashy gaudy uniforms to attract fans to the stadium. (MLS now has better attendance figures than the NBA and the NHL).

Starting at the bottom,

19. Philadelphia Union

In attempt to reflect the flag of Philadelphia, original Union jerseyadopted a quirky blue kit with a bold gold stripe down the middle. In their second season, the team added a sponsor, Bimbo. The new iteration of the home jersey takes the original version of the design and makes it worse. The crest remains in the center of the chest, a design flaw that was present in the original jersey, while the center stripe grows to take over a majority of the jersey.

No longer is it a representation of the flag of Philadelphia, but a frame built to accomidate the sponsor's logo. The extension of the stripe to include the collar makes this look like an open dress shirt as opposed to a presentable soccer jersey. Further taking away from the inspiration claimed by the flad is the addition of light blue into the color scheme, separating the navy from the gold and popping up in vestigial stripes all over the jersey for no apparent reason. The only explanation I can find is more pandering to the sponsor as it reflects the blue stripes in the Bimbo logo. Someone needs to tell the Union that a sponsor augments a kit that would work by it'sself, the Jersey should not be built around the sponsor. The away kitis simply a flip flop of colors, and is essentially a washed out version of the home kit with most of the same problems.

up next will be number 18

[exaccardi]

18. Colorado Rapids

The Rapids were the 2010 MLS Cup champions, and consistently place in the top half of the Western conference. On any given Saturday, 15,000 fans show up to support their team, however, the kit that this team wears looks like it belongs on an amateaur club. The jersey consists of... absolutely nothing. It's a basic adidas template in the team's color - Burgundy, sporting the club's crest, and the star awarded for their MLS Cup.

A relatively new look, the club's color has changed from green to black and blue stripes until 2007 when the current color pallate was adopted. The one gasp of originality on this jersey is the embroidered "5280" on the back of the collar, representing the altitude at which the team plays. The away kit, like the home kit is an adidas template with the crest slapped on, but at least in a slightly more interesting way, utilizing all three team colors. This team deserves a better kit treatment.

[29texan]

..... interesting. I didn't think MLS was excluded from Uni Watch.

[TimEOBrien]

..... interesting. I didn't think MLS was excluded from Uni Watch.

nhl - 30 teams

nfl - 32 teams

nba - 30 teams

mlb - 30 teams

= 122

[BrySmalls]

Great idea for a thread! I look forward to seeing where D.C. United's kits fall on the list, however, I anticipate them either being ranked low or in the middle of the pack. Regardless of where their kits end up, this thread should be a worthwhile read.

[exaccardi]

17. Montreal Impact

This year's expansion side introduced a new crest as they transitioned to the MLS, and as a result, an Adidas kit sponsorship. The home jersey is rather blah, as the sublimated cross made of fleur-de-lis are barey visible when the jersey is actually in use:

The sponsor is put first once again with this jersey, and red is used on the jersey. Montreal could have just as easily stuck with an all white BMO logo (A-la TFC) and the jersey would seem more unified and less washed out. The away kit, like many other clubs so far this season, is merely an inversion of the home kit, blue on white instead of white on blue, therefore presenting the exact same problems as the former.

[exaccardi]

old posts have been updated with pictures, thanks for reading!

[Kevin W.]

..... interesting. I didn't think MLS was excluded from Uni Watch.

He does, on occasion when prompted.

http://www.uni-watch.com/frequently-asked-questions/

Why don’t you write more about soccer, the world’s most popular sport?

My knowledge of soccer is very limited, so I don’t feel well equipped to write about it. Readers frequently bring soccer-related uni developments to my attention, however, and whenever possible I try to pass along that information within the column.

It's strange considering he's an employee of ESPN and ESPN does a damn good job promoting the sport.

[29texan]

..... interesting. I didn't think MLS was excluded from Uni Watch.

nhl - 30 teams

nfl - 32 teams

nba - 30 teams

mlb - 30 teams

= 122

Let me restate that....

I didn't pay attention to Uni Watch. Not much, anyway.

[exaccardi]

16. Sporting Kansas City

This is another case of a great team dressing down. After receiving a major rebrand in 2011, the Kansas City Wizards became Sporting Kansas City, built a gorgeous soccer specific stadium at Livestrong Sporting Park, revamped the crest,

and walked out on the field wearing that. The major design element of this jersey is that teensy weensy little line on the right in the above picture (you might have to squint a bit). It's supposed to represent the state line between Kansas and Missouri, but that's lost to anyone who:

1. Hasn't read up on SKC's rebrand

2. Doesn't live in Kansas or Missouri

3. Is more than 10 feet away.

The two town collar is weird, and once again, like the Rapids, the team looks amateur without a sponsor. The away jersey isn't quite as bad. It's missing the collar that detracts from the first, and has a snappy sublimated repeating pattern across the front of the shirt, which unfortunately is even harder to see than the border pattern on the home. On that note, I have to say that the light stitching on the dark jersey does it for me (reminds me of their pre-sporting home jersey, one of the few to work on the template in my opinion), and this is a nice jersey overall. Unfortunately, the team almost never has the occasion to wear the away kit because very few teams in the league clash with SKC's sky blue.

[Jonhpirocas]

Is fantastic posting, however you could absolutely increase the amount of info into it, such as cases and many more recommendations on it.

So far so good enjoying the forum

www.timetripper.com

[NJTank]

The worst is without a doubt RedBull NY

[exaccardi]

15. FC Dallas

FC Dallas has long had one of the classic kit combinations in the league, wearing red an white hoops in a league that has a phobia of stripes. Last season's jerseys were boring, on a boring template. The fact that they couldn't pin down a jersey sponsor until halfway through this season didn't help the fact either, and Dallas went with a very American concept, emblazoning the name of the club across the front of the jersey like so:

Someone at adidas realized that the team with the most potential for an original exciting jersey in the mls was falling behind on looks, and they made a change with this year's jersey:

"stripes. we need more stripes."

The home jersey isn't too terrible, although the extra stripes is kind of overkill. I like that they've incorporated the sponsor in a team color, and it finally looks like a real, smart jersey that belongs on a professional soccer team. Why then, you ask, is Dallas ranked 15/19 then?

That's why. The away kit is an absolute train wreck. Somebody at Adidas decided over the summer that blue and grey on white is a good look. In the home jersey the blue sponsor on the red jersey works, but for some reason the red sponsor just doesn't. This jersey can't seem to decide whether it wants to be blue or white, with the underarm panels as blue, but the base under the shoulder stripes being white. There is absolutely no explanation for the grey sleeves or the grey collar, and the grey stripes are what happened when Adidas couldn't figure out how to repeat the worst part of the home jersey on the away jersey. On top of this, the goalie's sponsor should match everyone else's instead of keeping the home color. This away kit might just be the worst jersey in the entire league.

[exaccardi]

14. Real Salt Lake

RSL has a new kit this year, which has always rubbed me the wrong way. It seems at first glance to be an acceptable jersey, and at this point in the rankings the kits aren't quite bad per say, but mediocre. First of all, the jersey itsself seems outdated to me, the template reminiscent of Chelsea's template from 2007.

Above is a picture of last years uniforms, and as you can see, the lopsided look is an evolution from the previous kit(note the gold line beginning at the crest and continuing to the bottom of the short) however this for me is a downgrade. The line on the shorts is what completes the old kit, and frankly the kit is boring without the continuation. This year it looks like someone had the good idea to continue the lopsided look on the jersey, but didn't take the entire kit into account, moving this kit down a couple of notches.

The away kit suffers the same problem as the home kit, as once again it's just a color flip on the home. The set as a whole is hurt by the absence of a third kit which the team has donned in past years. Overall, RSL looks fine, but not great.

[exaccardi]

13. Seattle Sounders

Rave Green is a color that shouts for attention by it's self, but adidas has decided that the kit doesn't get enough attention. For no apparent reason, adidas' tech-fit technology is reflective silver on this jersey. Maybe they thought that the fans were getting distracted and needed something shiny to attract their attention to the pitch. More likely, Adidas wanted to advertize their product on MLS' largest stage which is all well and good, except for the fact that it looks like crap. The template is bad in the first place (Can anyone explain that random blue stripe on Alvaro Fernandez's butt?), and the kit looks better as a whole when worn with the blue shorts.

The away kit is almost never worn (had to do some serious digging to find an example), but the sports-bra thing looks a bit better than it does on the home kit.

I know it's BFBS, but that isn't really a thing in MLS, so it's original in this case, the Sounders aren't just hopping on the bandwagon. The only team that seattle really clashes with in the league is Portland, and when they visit there, they like to wear their notoriously garish third jerseys:

The above is actually last year's third, and is the better of the set.

This year's alternate, right out of the hilighter box is just bad. No further explanation needed. Please never wear this again Seattle.

Overall, this team is ranked as high as it is due to the Rave Green over Sounders Blue kit, which is an original and a staple of the MLS. It really doesn't need all of the silver doodads and random blue stripes, but that can be (kind of) overlooked if you see the kit as a whole. Seattle has created an identity in the league, and they don't need extra help from Adidas to maintain it.

[Varsity Blue]

They're all pretty damn awful.

[jrodsep]

How long until Adidas contract ends with MLS? They all look the same. I would love to see Nike/Umbro become the primary uniform and apparel company of MLS.

[Kevin W.]

How long until Adidas contract ends with MLS? They all look the same. I would love to see Nike/Umbro become the primary uniform and apparel company of MLS.

2018, and Nike is selling Umbro.

[jrodsep]

How long until Adidas contract ends with MLS? They all look the same. I would love to see Nike/Umbro become the primary uniform and apparel company of MLS.

2018, and Nike is selling Umbro.

It would have been sweet to see an MLS kit as simple/elegant as the England kit. But Nike alone will do just fine.

[Billy B]

I've always thought that Adidas has done a great job with MLS and I'd consider myself more of a Nike guy. Almost all of MLS has unique designs and if you look at a league with a similar talent level to MLS you'll just find everyone wearing stock templates with their colors filled in.