There's been some big, big news setting the football messageboards alight over the past few days. Yep, several Major League Soccer teams' kits for the 2009/10 season have been unveiled on FootballShirtCulture.com (Ka-who?). Always a day of note in the football calendar, it really hits home how adidas never fail to entirely incorporate into the playing wear of the forthcoming season a club's history and tradition. Or lack thereof.
Going through the shirts, firstly that of Canadian representatives Toronto FC, we see a futuristic design with a highly prominent sponsor and a crest typical of the league, apparently straight out of The Hurricanes. If these home and away shirts had any more features they'd be James Bond cars and whilst they resemble decent training tops they're not gonna get connoisseurs drooling (not that I can necessarily claim to be that).
The rest of the shirts have similarly bizarre constructions. Houston Dynamo had done ok previously with their Marseille orange third shirt ripoff but now with a new odd rotated collar and stripe design (I'm not gonna try to describe it, check it out) and one alternate coloured sleeve there's just too much going on. The template actually works well with a proper collar on the new Suwon Samsung Bluewings kit and may be a triumph on upcoming European teams' offerings but when coupled with the starry night cereal packet crest it's something of a horrorshow.
We'll brush over newbies Seattle and also Colorado. Their kits are ok. The badges will still leave traditionalists cold but all in all those designs are towards the top of a disappointing scale. Which is more than can be said for New York Red Bulls' adventurous number. If anyone fancies a new take on the triathlon that includes rugby alongside swimming and cycling then this is the kit for you. Incidentally, are they called New York Red Bulls or Red Bull New York? Try humming "Red Bull New York, New York Red Bulls" to the Pompey Chimes tune. Ha! Now you're in my purgatory too! Try getting that out of your head.
Ironically, possibly the most soulless of the MLS teams RBNY/NYRB (energy drink alert! ENERGY DRINK!) has one of the more authentic and classic seeming crests. However, the fact that it doubles up as the oversized sponsor doesn't help and, regardless, it will always be bettered by its Chivas USA counterpart. The reason being that Chivas have a history borne of their inspiration club Guadalajara of Mexico and an almost identical crest. Chivas' classic red, white and blue kit always works so that one will be worth waiting for.
So all in all a disappointment. Subtlety and restraint go a long way in kit design so we should abandon one or both with caution. As for the crests, America and Canada's cities have traditions and legacies more ancient than many of Europe's oldest teams so, although there are some examples of inspiration being taken in names and badges (I'm yet to be convinced in the case of Real Salt Lake) this can be incorporated in a much less cartoon-like manner. As Barack Obama reminded the US nation in his speech (seamless!), his country has much to remember and be proud of from its past and this should not be sacrificed in the pursuit of entertainment (the last bit was all me).
Going forward, if North America and adidas take the lead from the news that Manchester United will be updating a hundred-year-old design next season then MLS could gain still much-needed credibility. But as things stand my recommendation (for the little it's worth) for North American football/soccer apparel would be LA Galaxy home shorts printed with Beckham's 23 and a nice, old #9 CHINAGLIA New York Cosmos shirt. They're both a little bit of history.
