Although the first images popped up almost a week ago, it seems that today is the day the blogosphere is latching onto the rumors of the new US World Cup shirts. Some have it right, some have it wrong, and (I believe that) every single image you see at this point is a mock up. No exceptions, no matter what anyone says. OOPS
Stay with me, I’ll explain as I go.
The first place we saw posting on the new US shirt today was MLS Talk. I was initially excited to open the link because it promised a photo of the new shirt. Obviously, it’s not a photo but a better-than-TFA MSPaint job of a rumored look. Unfortunately, as I’ll get to later, it’s not even a legitimate rumor at this point. This picture is a mockup based on hearsay.
Not real
At the time, I searched a couple of my usual sites, looking for information on any leaks and rumors about the new US look, but there was nothing out there. I was prepared to throw it into Backpasses and forget about it. That is, until Avoiding the Drop had a post on the same subject with actual links to sources in it.
AtD is fortunate enough to count the man who made the mockups as a reader. Shortly after they put up their post, he pinged in the say that he had created the images based on what he had seen with his own eyes. Well, one of those had been made with what he had seen.
Legit, maybe
While the blue one above and the red one…
Also a guess
…were created based on hearsay of possible color combinations. It’s a good story, but I’m still a little skeptical.
Here is the thread where the shirts initially came from. The topic starter mentions that the white shirt is based on a design that he verified with his own eyes. He doesn’t say that he saw it in person, and in his correspondence with AtD, he says that the below photo is the confirmed shirt and what he based his drawing on:
The photo
Unfortunately, I think this is a photoshop job. I’m no expert on the program or spotting fakes, but a couple of things don’t sit well with me. One, the red stripe on the sleeves. The random applique stripe is an adidas hallmark, not Nike. Nike plays with color on their jerseys, sure, but usually do so with fabric, not iron-ons. Second, the badge. It looks, to me, to be a little less in focus than the rest of the shirt. Third, the stripe itself. Up around the Swoosh the color remains a little too even while the white to the center is in shadow due to creasing. Finally, there’s that pull at the collar. I don;t know why exactly, but it really makes me think fake.
That hasn’t stopped others from running with the photo and even finding other pictures to confirm the look. Here’s one with Clint Dempsey in the new kit. I’d be worried enough about the pixelation of the photo without seeing Deuce in the number 10 shirt. Unless Bob is dropping Lando, Dempsey would not have been photographed in the #10.
Let me be clear about this–I don’t think that the person who started the Big Soccer thread is a liar, I just think he has bad information.
So, while this is a helpful reminder that the US will have a new look for the World Cup, I don’t think we are going to have to worry about wearing Miss America sashes on the pitch. If I am proven wrong, I will eat my crow and my hat together.
UPDATE: Well, that didn’t take too long. Ryan sends us the video where both the Deuce pic and the shirt pic were taken from. If it’s a fake, it’s an elaborate one.
I’ll mix in my hat and crow with my birthday cake, thanks.
I like the idea of the sash and I think it’s something they should maintain long-term in order to establish some jersey continuity (as others have pointed out in the AtD thread and elsewhere). There’s some history behind it:
http://cdn.majorleaguesoccertalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/1950-us-world-cup-team.jpg
and Nike made some throwbacks a few years ago:
http://img.slate.com/media/1/123125/123037/2156589/2167378/2168475/08_ThrowbackJersey.jpg
Why can’t we wear these jerseys? They look good – simple, direct, obvious – regardless if Beasley and Marvell Wynn wore them.
http://www.nhsoccer.com/us/2006Latvia/usa_lva_054.jpg
I was trying to find that article Goat. Damn you for using the internet better than me.
Here’s the video where that last picture came from.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqPYKmbFGws
I love the idea of a sash, but grey on white is just silly.
Blue shirt with white sash = win
White shirt with grey sash = FAIL
Red shirt with blue sash, well, the less said about that abortion, the better.
it’s the crest that ruins everything…it’s so childish.
not much left of the starters in the throwback pics.
It’s crazy the amount of turnover this team has had. We were starting that hack artist Pablo Mastroeni against Honduras in June, now there’s no way he even sniffs South Africa next year.
Thanks, Ryan. That Bob Bradley avatar’s stare allows you to see everything.
No one asked me, but I like the sash. I also like the all white.
Agree with the US crest. The banal concept behind its design marginalizes every other aspect of the kit. Again, I like the old school crest. It says “Ooo-Sah” on it, for chrissakes.
OH,F**K AND NO!!
I don’t object to the sash in principle, but this is insanely stupid. Assuming the sash is a given (which if its gotten this far, it is), then: Home: sash should be navy blue. F**k this gray/light blue crap that Nike keeps screwing with…Also, strong argument that the sash should augment the crest, not the f**king swoop. Road: NAVY blue with a white sash. Unless we’re playing Blackburn, or want to sell jerseys to the Bloods, there is no f**king need for any red jersey, but if you do it, once again, make the blue a navy shade.
Will not be spending money on any of these…
Agreed on the navy blue, jjf3.
Sam’s Army wears red and I think many of those folks are agitating for a red jersey for Los Gringos.
Unleash the hounds, but f**k Sam’s Army. I’ll fight this fight anywhere, anyhow…There are 2 countries in this world who regularly use NAVY BLUE, and its the US and Scotland. Damn near something like 75-80% of countries use a variation of red. And if you presume that Mexico is our primary adversary, WTF do we wear a color that they do, when NAVY is OURS alone locally? Why share red at all??
I can’t explain some stupid founder’s of Sam’s Army’s stupidity…
jjf3…america’s colors are red white and blue…therefore red is a pretty key color…and since when did navy become our only color ever?? you’re crazy
@Mike all of our best uniforms, and the ones that have carried the most historical weight, are ones that have used navy blue. Am I crazy about the declaring the specific “shade” of navy? No. I just don’t want a generic blue…
And I have no problem with red, beyond the fact that so many international teams rely on that color to signify their “fandom” in a stadium. Shit, half of Europe runs red, and if the US is ever to truly win a WC, we have to be able to beat European teams, much less South American teams…lots of red down there too…
Most important thing to me: I WANT A “LOOK” for the USA. If it happens to be red and white, or blue and white, or blue and red, just create a look that is “iconic”, whether Nike or Adidas “interprets” it…
Sam’s Army: defending the shores of Wal-Mart for ____ years!
yeah, jjf, but unlike Scotland, navy isn’t our home color- white is. And I agree that if we’re going to go with the sash, it shouldn’t be gray- it should be red, like the one we wore when we beat England.
That said, I am on record as the only guy that liked the blue pinstripe kit we used for the Gold Cup last year. So what do I know?
I hate all white uniforms. There, I said it. New Zealand, Real Madrid, that ugly Liverpool one this year: all of them. Pick a color.
If we wore navy, however, we could sing some variation of this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InBXu-iY7cw
all jerseys look stupid. The US should not wear red. The red is for communist and half of WC nations wear red. White and blue only.