The wait is over, and so must be the angst. For the 2024 season, the Washington Spirit will suit up in the Blackout kit (home) or the Spotlight kit (away). We’ve had lots of hints through social media graphics and official merch drops, and now the yellow is officially here.

And in reading the press release, it sounds like the yellow is also here to stay.

‘Perhaps most notably this season, the club introduces a vibrant yellow as one of its main colors.
Featured on the Spotlight kit, yellow is a nod to the club’s trailblazing spirit and a hint of the
club’s forthcoming new brand positioning in 2025.’ -Washington Spirit

Enough talking, let’s get to the kits.

Blackout Kit

The kit you’re most likely to see at Audi Field is a variation of last year’s all black kit, but with more design elements than last season’s textured but still all black shirt. This kit seems like it will frequently be paired with requests for fans to ‘Blackout Audi’ for home games, which is always fun. I’m all for encouraging goth-chic at games, but let’s also remember that we play in a swamp in mostly summer months, light colors will sometimes be necessary. Still, it should be a fun addition to home games.

My biggest complaint with this shirt is that it looks like a TV glitch, which, given some of the technical difficulties that can arise when watching games, might be a thing an NWSL club would want to avoid. Unsurprisingly broadcast glitches are not what the Spirit want you to think about, but rather architecture.

‘The Blackout kit is inspired by the columns and architecture found throughout the region. The convergence of patterns on the tonal grey and black graphic is reflective of bridging the communities within DC, Maryland and Virginia.’ -Washington Spirit

I don’t hate the concept, but would have liked the stripes to be uniform either vertically or horizontally. Also, more could have been done to mimic DC’s famous row houses if this was truly the pre-concept and not something thought of by a marketing department afterward. Instead the mishmash of directions looks a bit last-minute art project, and the cutoff to diagonal patterns near the waist gives Dee from Clueless.

Spotlight Kit

Now we’ve entered the extremely vibrant yellow portion of the program. I’m not gonna lie to y’all, I didn’t really know what to expect even though I was certain we wouldn’t have seen yellow splashed wherever possible if there was nothing to it. And I certainly understand the worry of looking more Pittsburgh than Washington, DC, or worse, Borussia Dortmund.

But I have to say, the diagonal contrast from a muted and soft yellow to the ultra luminescent yellow below is something I quite like. The shorts themselves might be worth the money if Nike decides they enjoy money and provides an allotment to sell. While we’ll have to see how it looks in person and on the pitch, it appears they succeeded at finding a black and yellow palette that doesn’t immediately elicit Pittsburgh.

My only real gripe is that I would have liked to see another design element. Maybe something in a thin black outline with the soft yellow up top, or some black trim around the collar and sleeves. Overall I like this much more than I thought I would. I appreciate opting for a sharper color transition rather than gradients Nike used just a few years ago, which should’ve remained a relic of 90s athletic-wear.

Although, looking at the full range and thinking of the 90s…

Uh oh.

Oh no.

I am so sorry.