Colorado Rapids Release New Kit, Is Awesome

FootyHeadlines got all of their other leaks of new MLS shirts correct, so it's no surprise that the one they posted for the Rapids turned out to be the real deal. Colorado released their new 2014 primary shirt today and it's the one we had seen online before. This doesn't change the fact that it's a pretty neat shirt.

A few other teams went a bit gaudy with their new shirts this year (hello Chicago, hello RSL) but following a year where the Rapids went innovative with their kit showing the names of every season ticket holder on the team, they decided to scale it back and instead do what we've come to expect from the team. That is, a simple but striking shirt that isn't too busy but is still undeniably unique in MLS.

It's not quite as simple as the shirts we came to recognize during the first several years of DSGP of course, but the elements of the shirt are still simple and well put together. On the surface, the white sleeves and burgundy body of the shirt resemble last season's highly. But gone are the hoops of names, and in is the embossed 'C' from the Colorado flag that first came out of the secondary blue kit. There are also touches of the sky blue that the Rapids used as their secondary color before SKC stole it they switched to white and dark blue secondary kits, a welcome re-introduction for some fans. Despite the fact that large swaths of fade-in and fade-out colors seem to be the flavor of the month for this year's MLS jerseys, the Rapids mercifully only have a small touch of that. The sky blue Adidas stripes on the shoulder fading into burgundy on the white part of the sleeve is actually a quite neat effect and shows again that gaudy can be neat, but smaller touches are often easier on the eyes.

The pictures that were released today don't contain a jersey sponsor on them despite the unending rumors of one, and that mystery will either be solved in an announcement before the season begins or on March 19th during the Cheers to the Rapids event. (Though that might be a bit confusing, since it would mean the Rapids would be playing a game with no jersey sponsor four days prior with their secondaries only to turn around and get one for the home opener.)