Kit Nerd Corner : Portland away

Disclaimer : I care and because I want to.

kitrating3

 

In a nutshell : Gradient red and black hoops but doesn’t sound as bad as the description implies.

The inside collar says : “Rose City”
The outside back collar has : “No Pity”
The jock tag position has : crossed hand axes
The side Adidas stripes are : red

This one, I feel, is a bit of an optical illusion type of kit.

If you saw someone wearing this up close and you weren’t a bearded-hipster eating expensive free-range ironic artisan donuts (I know, stereotyping for a gag) who supports Portland, you might question that person’s judgement and/or moral compass.  There’s details in those hoops, like their semi-obligatory nod to the “Rose City” with the thorn pattern adorning each band.  And the details are nice – who doesn’t like their club to receive the custom not-so-template treatment – but up close, this shirt has a bit too much going on, no matter how well thought out it is.

However, if you were in Seattle watching Portland play (not a stereotyping gag) and the away team is in their away kit, as they should as both wear green, from a distance, you’d be looking at a stunner.  Black sleeves with a red back for the nameplate and number, obligatory red stripes on the sides, obligatory shallow V-neck collar.  The gradient’s effect will look a bit washed out, and that’s a good thing.  From a distance, this will look like a very nice, very functional hooped kit.

The other remarkable note about this kit is it features a wordless badge.  Missing are the words “Portland” and “Timbers”.  During the off-season, the word markings have disappeared from their logo, which has spread to their website. It’s oddly bold and unorthodox in a sports-marketing realm, especially so for an MLS team.  However, it works on the kit, in the red and black representation of their badge.

Get if you : want to impress someone across the street, want to forget last year’s gradient snoozer.

Author: Mark Hinkley

Mark is a full-time graphic designer, full-time smart ass and full-time logo, stadium and kit nerd. When he isn't writing ridiculous match reports or redesigning logos for his own amusement, he's salivating over the day that promotion and relegation occurs in MLS. You can follow him @kitnerdmark on the twitterz.

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2 Comments

  1. Outrageous! This may be the nicest kit in the league, sir

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