Thoughts on the new One Flag Kit. Rapids Bench Draws Hartford.

ORLANDO – On Wednesday morning, Colorado Rapids played USL Championship side Hartford Athletic, coached by former Switchbacks manager Brendan Burke. Chris Armas rolled out a rotated lineup. Jonathan Lewis was the only starter who has gotten a noticeable runout with the first team this preseason.

Lewis went on to score before halftime to level the match at 1-1 after Hartford opened the scoring in 15 minutes. Lewis made it 2-1 in the 66th minute, scoring a penalty that Kévin Cabral drew. Hartford scored three minutes later. Lewis now has five goals in preseason and is two for two from the penalty spot.

In the same minute, Colorado made eight subs, bringing on expected starters. The match ended 2-2. Again, information on this preseason game were limited to what the clubs put out on social media. It was nice to see that Marlon Hairston is with Hartford.

It was good for the bench guys to get a runout since Sunday’s preseason finale against Orlando City will likely be for the starters. Still, drawing a Championship side is maybe an indication that the depth chart is accurate.

There is some concern that the Rapids preseason opposition has been a bit poor. Two lower division Mexican sides. CF Montréal did not make the playoffs last year and are not expected to be great. Hartford is a Championship team. Orlando will be the best team they face before the season opener. We’ll see if they can score a bunch of goals with Lewis and Calvin Harris cooking on Sunday.

Additionally, sources told Burgundy Wave that Lamine Diack’s paperwork has been completed as of Thursday night. He’s expected to be on a plane soon if not already in the air at time of publishing. He could arrive in time to be available for selection on Sunday. Certainly, he’ll be with the team by Monday. A week is probably too little time to be game ready. Expect Jasper Löffelsend to start at the No. 6 at Portland Timbers.

The One Flag Kit unsurprising but good:

Friday morning, the club released all the information on the new 2024 hope kit, or One Flag Kit. EAFC had accidentally released all of the new MLS shirts back in late January. The Denver Nuggets posted a photo and video of small forward Justin Holiday wearing the new shirt on Wednesday night, all but confirming the design.

There were other examples of this elsewhere, including Atlanta. So it probably wasn’t an accident or simply because KSE owns both teams. It is a bit strange that the club didn’t release it first but with EAFC spoiling the reveal, why not do something different with it. Can we get Mikel Arteta wearing a Rapids scarf next?

“The kits’ the celebration of our colors and our community. The storyline is celebrating the club culture and the flags waving in the stands,” Senior Director of Brand & Creative Jordan Rothrock told Burgundy Wave.

The shirt was inspired by the checkerboard flag that is common among soccer supporters sections, including Centennial 38. Fans will remember the checkerboard handout flags on Pidsgiving in 2021.

“The checkerboard is an iconic pattern in soccer. It speaks to soccer culture and the timelessness of that pattern,” referring to that massive C38 flag an the Thanksgiving Day match.

The initiatives behind the kit are a step in the right direction for sure. The club will be partnering with Colorado Soccer Foundation (CSF), a local nonprofit to help make the game more accessible to kids.

“This year we’re going with access for youth in our community, making sure that everyone has access to soccer. We’re really focusing on the five mile radius around our stadium, our home.”

After-school and pick-up programs will be supported with events taking place on the various fields around DICK’s Sporting Goods Park. One of the complaints from last year’s terrible season was the feeling that the Rapids had little representation in the community immediately surrounding the stadium. Kids in nearby schools didn’t have a connection with the club. Local restaurants didn’t have Rapids swag up on the walls. You had no idea an MLS team was five miles away. The initiatives associated with the One Flag kit address that.

Way too detailed kit fashion talk:

It’s something different. The design isn’t flat, the checkerboard has a wave to it, which is nice. There could have been more contrast between the two colors. Having seen it in person on Thursday night, it looks way way better in person than it does from the photos that have come out.

It’s nice to see more blue in the shirt. That’s been missing in home kits of the past. There’s several fans of Eastern Conference expansion teams who think Colorado’s secondary color is white. This will be the first year the club has the shirt, shorts, and socks all be primarily Burgundy.

“The accents of the blue pop so well. With the base design Adidas is using with the trip, it ties nicely to be able to pull in the blue. It completes the look,” Rothrock added. He went on to say that Adidas has given more design and creative control to clubs, which has been a benefits. The days of every MLS team having the same template appear to be in the past.

There’s some 3D elements to the kits this year as well. The Adidas racing stripes on the shoulders are fabric and have some thickness to them, rather than being the pressed decals in past years. The jock tag, Adidas logo, and the crest itself are more sturdy permanent features. I’ve seen Rapids fans who wear the same shirt every home game for a full season and it’s got some wear and tear to it come October. The authentic One Flag Kits should last years. Have not seen the replicas up close, so cannot speak to those.

In terms of the style, it’s not the best new kit out there but it’s far from the worst. The one thing an MLS fan doesn’t want from Jersey Week is to have their club’s kit be the one getting dragged. Nashville and Austin are plain. Seattle and New England are busy. RSL’s design on the front of the shirt straight up is the top of the Rapids crest. It could be worse, Rapids fans.

The Ninety Six 38 Capsule Collection:

The club has partnered with C38 this year to create a capsule collection of merch. That will be launched at the season kickoff party ahead of the home opener.

“We’ve been discussing a collaboration for years to promote Colorado soccer culture as a whole. Something different than what C38 traditionally offer at our merch table at the tailgate and something less corporate than you’d find in the team store. The Rapids and 38 wanted an option for the broader fanbase but very Colorado centric. We think we’ve helped create that here and looking forward to its evolution,” C38 President Dave Wegner told Burgundy Wave.

I’ve seen all the items in the collection and they look good. Colorado culture, soccer fashion, and street style, all in one. Everything looks way better than the last time they tried this, with less supporter input.

That said, sources have told Burgundy Wave the prices for the Ninety Six 38 collection may be on the high end. Most of the items were club designs rather than from the C38 design team, other than a shirt with the oar and flag logo on it. That said, this is a step in the right direction relative to the club being tone deaf at times in terms of putting out gear that resonated with the fanbase.

Jersey prices are out of control:

Lastly, the pricing. The club doesn’t have any control over this. Not sure if MLS has control over Adidas on this. $160 for the authentic and $100 for the replica is outrageous. The gap in quality between the two has grown in recent years. The replicas should be $60-75 and shouldn’t look like a knockoff version. Around the word, soccer is meant to be an affordable sport.

It’s almost like they’re creating an allusion of choice to entice people to pay more for the authentic to line their pockets. Is the extra profit worth having less exposure? If these kits were $120 and $75, how many more kits would you sell? Would it lead to more fans buying shirts and thus having them rep you more to the general public? Or like with the Apple TV subscription, is the price point about getting the most money out of your sicko fanbase now at the expense of long term growth?

Photo Credit: Colorado Rapids

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