Because soccer isn't gay, but once in awhile it kinda is.
MLS
Jimmy Conrad Tries On Every New MLS Jersey
03/01/13
US Soccer and Major League Soccer alumnus Jimmy Conrad had the opportunity to preview every new MLS jersey for KICKTV on YouTube. Let this tide you over until we conclude our series of new jersey reviews come next week, when we’ll have our views on Seattle, Los Angeles, Chivas USA, and Portland from myself and our writing crew.
Props to him that while getting special access from adidas he isn’t afraid to point out how there doesn’t seem to be anything different about the Red Bulls’ jersey. As he points out in the video, Jimmy Conrad is no stranger to debuting new kits for MLS teams:
Glad to have MLS coverage back on KICK for the new season!
Vancouver Whitecaps: Jersey Week 2013
03/01/13
MLSSoccer.com
The Vancouver Whitecaps released a new home jersey this week, and it takes a new angle on their first MLS kit from two years ago.
I say angle because it takes the thin stripes of the last edition and tilts them to lineup with the, well, whitecaps of the Vancouver Whitecaps crest. It’s a really nice change and I also like that the color change of the stripes goes from darker at top to lighter at the bottom. The old one had lighter stripes at the top.
I don’t like the collar. The off center color change just bothers me. It doesn’t work and there would have been numerous better ways to include both blues in it.
For good measure, here’s defender and captain Jay DeMerit looking all kinds of fine both in and out of the new kit:
Marc Burch Meets the Press and Opens Up
02/28/13
At Tuesday’s training for the Seattle Sounders, defender Marc Burch took questions from reporters and was very candid about his suspension last year for using a gay slur.
March Burch (second from left) plays with a Seattle LGBT soccer club in December (Sean Gumm, The Stranger)
He said that his three game suspension for the incident in a November playoff game against Real Salt Lake was the “right decision” on the part of the league. While he acknowledges what he did, as we all know it’s not who he is, and he told reporters his sister is gay.
Burch went above and beyond the league fines, suspension, and mandated diversity training over the off-season. In December he played with a Seattle LGBT soccer club. They didn’t talk about what happened. They just played some soccer and got to know each other. I think this is stellar, and Marc and anyone who encouraged Marc to do this should be commended.
As a teammate of Robbie Rogers at the University of Maryland, Marc Burch also addressed Rogers’ coming out, hoping that his support–such as appearing in the video the Sounders produced–wasn’t solely a reaction to what happened last year. He also spoke about gay players in Major League Soccer in general:
“I think we’ll be the first league to definitely accept it,” Burch told reporters at Sounders training on Tuesday. “I think it will come and go a lot easier than people think. It’s going to happen, and I think this is a perfect league for it.”
The final game of Burch’s suspension will be this Saturday night’s season opener against the Montreal Impact.
Montreal Impact: Jersey Week 2013
02/28/13
ImpactMontreal.com
The Montreal Impact held a special event to both celebrate the club’s 20 years and unveil a third kit which is a nod to their first season in 1993.
First off, I completely love the combination of collar and button-front they’ve put together here. I also like the Impact’s shade of blue that carries over from the home kit from last year.
Now I totally respect and dig what they’re doing here in the sense that I like the nod to club history but I don’t like the pattern. This is totally a personal preference in kit design but I don’t like stripes that are uniform, horizontal or vertical, unless something else visually interesting is going on as well.
It’s just not something I like and for me that factor would knock this one down a few notches on the list of kits l like this Jersey Week.
Sporting Kansas City: Jersey Week 2013
02/28/13
SportingKC.com
Sporting Kansas City releases a new primary jersey that truly celebrates their region being bi(state) and is the first to feature their new sponsor.
I did not like the early leaked images of this kit. Without the jersey sponsor on the first the front was pretty much a barren wasteland, but now it has the simple and classy Ivy Funds logo. Without it there the negative/positive image looked overly forced, but all put together it works. The diagonal is a nice nod to the Kansas City area straddling both sides of that line, in Kansas and Missouri. The jersey also gets originality points for being the only one to have adidas’ signature three stripes in different colors on each sleeve.
And damn, look how fine Zusi looks in the thing. Although I promise that didn’t factor at all into my opinion of it. Really.
Gay Soccer Player Would be Accepted, MLS Survey Finds
02/27/13
Grant Wahl conducted a preseason survey of MLS players and found that an overwhelming majority said a gay soccer player would be accepted in their locker room.
Wahl, senior writer for Sports Illustrated, spoke with 18 players on the condition of anonymity. He specified on Twitter that while anonymous, these players were veterans and some of the best players in the league, “clubhouse leaders [and] thought influencers.”
The specific question he posed was, “Would a gay player be accepted in your team’s locker room?” 17 players said yes. Only one said no.
I really appreciate the anonymity Wahl allowed the players here. I don’t think we would have gotten the answer of “no” with a fear of wanting to appear politically correct. While Major League Soccer would be a great environment for an out player–and I say the best in the US–it shows we aren’t one hundred percent there yet in all corners of the league and we still have some work to do. That honesty is important to the process and a great reminder of the work ahead.
David Testo and Robbie Rogers, the only two out MLS alumni, take on opponents.
You can check out all the results of Wahl’s survey at si.com.
Toronto FC: Jersey Week 2013
02/27/13
MLSSoccer.com
Well if you think the Canadians are boring, I say to you “humbug*” because last night Toronto FC released a great new primary kit.
If you couldn’t tell from my disappointment in the new Houston jersey, I’m a huge sucker for multi-hue fabric patterns and this new Toronto kit does it very well. The geometric shapes formed by diagonals that emanate from the lines of the trademark Canadian maple leaf are just plain awesome. The new charcoal grey stripes are also really nice new touches. Put all together, it’s incredibly visually interesting without becoming too busy.
After the first few snores from Houston and New York, it’s great to see some nice creative thinking coming from Colorado, Philadelphia, and Toronto.
*Yes this is a Canadian/British candy joke. My mom hunts them down every time we go to Canada. Bravo if you picked up on it before reading this footnote.
Philadelphia Union: Jersey Week 2013
02/27/13
Can a team’s new jersey be so good it brings a tear to your eye? Yes, and for me that was the case with the Philadelphia Union’s new third kit.
PhiladelphiaUnion.com
Maybe I need to provide some background information. I grew up in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania in a town so small and slow its German name roughly translates to Snailtown. My dad grew up in Bethlehem and went to high school next to Steel Field, which had been home to the most successful team in the early decades of American soccer, Bethlehem Steel F.C.
Bethlehem Steel won the American Cup six times and the competition now called the U.S. Open Cup five times. Their home Steel Field was the first American soccer field to have stadium-style seating. They were so good they toured Europe on several occasions to show off their skills.
The new Philadelphia Union third jersey is a fitting, and moving, homage to Bethlehem Steel and the soccer history and heritage of Eastern Pennsylvania.
Colorado Rapids: Jersey Week 2013
02/26/13
After an early reveal of the new home jersey last fall, the Colorado Rapids brought out their new away kit on last night’s evening news in Denver.
ColoradoRapids.com
In September of last year the Colorado Rapids unveiled their 2013 home kit during a meet the team event for season ticket holders. The home kit has the names of season ticket holders interwoven in parts of the fabric. The two other added features to these kits are the white sleeves and small Colorado flag on the bottom left side. The white sleeves were described as show of solidarity with their partner club Arsenal, while the names on the kit were announced during the preseason as part of the “One Club” initiative for both fans and the Rapids employees.
I was able to see the kit for the first time this past Saturday at the “Centennial 38” preseason supporters’ party. When I first heard about the names of season ticket holders being added to the kit, I was relatively happy. Seeing the kit in person made me even more pleased with the final product. The names are small, but readable and they go in alphabetical order. Overall the kit doesn’t clash and having no corporate sponsor on the front helps. Burgundy is a unique color in MLS, and I am happy the Rapids have fully embraced it.
New York Red Bulls: Jersey Week 2013
02/26/13
The New York Red Bulls revealed their new kits as part of MLS Jersey Week 2013, and hey look, they colored in the armpits red, or something.
This is the kind of jersey change that warrants a big media event? Much like the Houston kit revealed earlier Monday, the New York Red Bulls continue on their step backward from jerseys past that were at least interesting, sporting a unique button-down look.
Confession time: I even own one of those, and I’m a frigging Philadelphia Union fan.
We get it. You’re the New York Red Bulls. It’s in your team name, so how about you do something different with the logo? Put it off center, or even wraparound with one bull on front or one in the back. Or even take a cue from a can of your namesake energy drink and break the front of the jersey up into blue and white or silver quadrants.
Just do something, because all you’re doing now is boring me.
