Happy Thursday, everyone. Wow, first Freedom Kicks for me in the new home. Let me settle in for this one:
Washington Spirit unveil 2023 home and away kits amid future rebrand (DP)
The Washington Spirit have unveiled their new 2023 home and away jerseys, and it’s a huge departure from what they had before. Gone are the navy, red, and white they’ve had for so long. In are monochrome black home jerseys and monochrome white away jerseys, with an iridescent crest on both. According to our very own André Carlisle as well as the 🐐 Jason Anderson, this is part of a complete rebrand of the team that could come with new team colors and even a new team name.
I gotta say, I got thoughts and feelings about these. But I need to hear yours first.
Just Fontaine: Former France striker and World Cup record holder dies aged 89 (BBC)
French legend Just Fontaine passed away yesterday at the age of 89. He still holds the record for most goals scored at a single World Cup, when he scored 13 back in 1958.
Breaking down the Concacaf Nations League changes on SSFC Podcast Episode 100! (SSFC)
Big accomplishment for yours truly, as we reached 100 episodes of the Stars & Stripes FC Podcast! We discuss the Concacaf Nations League changes to mark the big occasion.
MLS Fantasy Focus: We Rate Gazdags (DP)
If you had Daniel Gazdag in your fantasy lineup, step forward to claim your prize. His two goals and two assists led all MLS scorers.
Power Rankings: St. Louis CITY soar, Toronto FC tumble after Matchday 1 (MLS)
D.C. United moves up to #22 in the rankings after the comeback victory on Saturday night. Only way to keep moving up is to keep up the winning ways this weekend!
James Sands has returned to NYCFC from Rangers FC, and he has a new contract as well.
Meet the Spirit Draft Picks: #30 Riley Tanner, winger/forward (DP)
Meet the Spirit Draft Picks: #34 Lena Silano, striker (DP)
We get to know two more of the Washington Spirit draft picks, Riley Tanner and Lena Silano. Get to know these players as we get to see them in the new kits this season.
Enjoy the day!
Uh, my thoughts and feelings on the jersey and the rebrand are: Sounds like something a restless, over-involved, and single-minded owner would do.
This is not necessarily my overall take on Kang in the past, but this is the kind of thing new regulations in the EPL are seeking to protect against, the “rebranding” of a club by changing the colors and the name will-nilly without fan input or consent. The name has a ten year history, and that’s pretty significant for the a women’s team in the US. Deciding you’re going to storm trooper the jerseys of color or personality before you decide what the new colors are, I don’t know what the future holds, but this looks like more of a comment on Kang’s desire to dominate than nurture, and that makes me worried.
Reading the other article, Kang has at least said she’s seeking input from players and fans, but ultimately, sounds like she’s unilaterally deciding that the club be changed drastically, and others only get to infuse a bit of preference. So, yay?
Almost seems like she’s trying put her stamp on the club.
There are more impactful ways to change a culture, I see no reason for a full rebrand.
My biggest issue is the all white set. Give the girls dark shorts!
Yep, good point. In fact, all white often is a bid concept for anyone who might be wearing a sports bra or playing during a period. I know, very small consideration in the scheme of things. But the all-white has been overdone for men and I think this is a small but additional reason why it doesn’t work for women either.
All white outfits on ladies are getting divorce lawyers excited…..
Pretty much agree. I don’t know Kang. But I understand an owner wanting to put her stamp on a thing. I just don’t always agree with it. Was never wild about the name “Spirit” but it’s been around a while and I’d have to be convinced it makes sense to drop it. “Interim colors”–not so sure. Again, it sounds like “we don’t like the old uni’s, we don’t have new uni”s so instead we’re going to throw out something different until we get our act together.” Maybe the new uni’s will leave us all gasping with admiration and joy. Or maybe they’ll just be a change to Michelle Kang’s favorite color palate.
I’m assuming the switch to black and white is because they’re playing in Audi Field full time now, which relies heavily on black, gray, and red in its color scheme. I really didn’t consider it to be anything other than that.
Definitely an odd choice and seems to go against her own approach to putting the players first and taking care of the players-one of her main talking points when trying to gain majority ownership. I’m not against a rebrand to help distance from the nonsense of the past several years, but it needs to be measured and with plenty of input from players and fans.
TBF, the players seem to be pretty into it, if reports from the event last night are any indication. There is a request into the league to let them use black shorts with both shirts, which hopefully NWSL grants.
Round 1 of “Improving the comments section” is complete. It may require logging in again, but it should hopefully be intuitive. Note the right-side comment bubble visible throughout the page as you scroll. It will alert you of new comments, and clicking the bubble will pull you down to the comment section.
Thank you all for your patience as we all learn the ins and outs of our new home together!
I love the changes! Thank you and the whole team for your continued work and dedication.
Kudos, applause, thanks, and gratitude to everyone on the team for making this happen, making the transition pretty close to seamless, and managing the startup of a new media entity. Y’all make it look easy (when I know it isn’t).
New comments look so much better! Nice job y’all! I know myself and everyone else appreciates your hard work!
Think that the crest should evolve (like DC) not fully change (like the Fire misfire that they wisely ditched in the end) Think the team name should stay the same (unless it is awful like the Wiz) Think jersey colors should be one of a club’s three colors. For example, the Seattle Bruce Lee is a great kit but it makes the stands look like an RSL game, they should stay with the rave green, blue and silvers/grays. (Could have done Bruce Lee with that color scheme too) For the Spirit, why do an interim boring step, if you’re going to change then change.
“The Wiz” was fine, it would have stayed had it not had trademark issues with the musical.
I’m glad they have a new home kit as I was never really warm with the old one. And I usually like black kits
I’m not sure how I feel about the change to black and white. If anything it should be white and red like the DC flag or keep th red, white, and blue.
These interim jerseys are drab and boring to my eyes. I’ve played on rec league sides with jerseys like that.
I admittedly never loved the ‘Freedom’ or ‘Spirit’ names, but as a team that has won national championships under those brands in the not-so-distant future I would love to see some continuity and connection to the past bright spots — if a rebrand is to come. Remind me of when we had Hamm, Wambach, Dunn tearing it up and the more recent 2021 campaign where new and exciting young players paired with wiley veterans and overcame a completely @#$ed up situation to inspire us and make us proud! All of those teams carried some kind blue in there if memory serves, so I’d love to see us hold onto that element at least.
Errr not-so-distant ‘past’ perhaps? There goes my mind