WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- All the kits! … Well, a bunch of them. Take a look at all the new MLS kits for the 2023 season that came out yesterday here and keep an eye out for more today and over the next few days.
- MLS Season Pass talent pairings & live event production plan unveiled: Apple and Major League Soccer today shared the live event production plan for MLS Season Pass, which kicks off with Matchday 1 on Feb. 25. The unprecedented subscription service on the Apple TV app will feature every match of the MLS regular season, Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, and Leagues Cup all in one place, with more consistent match times and no blackouts – a first in live sports broadcasting. MLS Season Pass will feature more camera angles, 1080p video, Dolby 5.1 audio, and enhanced data and graphics in live match coverage all season long for better field coverage, replays, and storytelling around the clubs and players. A new graphics package will bring MLS clubs to the forefront and incorporate storylines, stats, and advanced data visualizations. Spearheading MLS Season Pass coverage is a team of more than 80 accomplished announcers and soccer legends presenting to fans in English and Spanish, plus French for matches involving Canadian clubs.
SAYING NICE THINGS ABOUT EACH NEW KIT
We try to be positive around here at The Daily Kickoff, the world's first-ever soccer newsletter to have an accompanying mail-order VCR format that should get to your house at any second now. We're going to keep that positivity in mind today while we talk about all the brand-new kits that came out yesterday. Keep in mind, it won't be hard. A lot of them are either actually very, very good or tried their hardest to be and will matter a lot to someone else. Also, keep in mind, we've got a few more to go before the full set is out. We'll say nice things about those too eventually. But for now…
Seattle Sounders FC - The Bruce Lee Kit
First off, anything Bruce Lee or Bruce Lee adjacent should have you sold immediately. Second off, this could have looked really clumsy but I think they stuck the landing here. This was a high degree of difficulty project but the details on the dragon design look outstanding and holy smokes there's a kit in MLS with a dragon design on it! We've come a long, long way.
Anyway, the more I look at it, the more I like it. It's as bold a kit as they come.
Charlotte FC - The Crown Jewel Kit
This is a truly unique colorway in MLS that smartly took a page out of the Hornets' book and put some purple and teal together. All y'all old folks always talking about how great the 90s were would strengthen your argument a lot more if you just pointed out how much purple and teal used to be everywhere. It looks awesome. And kind of like a wild berry pop tart, but mostly awesome.
Portland Timbers - Portland Plaid Kit
Portland is already starting ahead of the pack in most cases simply because they have perhaps the best color combination in MLS. It's really, really hard to mess up a Portland kit. The bar is always high.
So full credit to the folks involved here for finding a way to somehow make one of Portland's best-ever looks. The plaid pattern fits perfectly and the Timbers, once again, have one of the best kit combos in MLS. Maybe the best.
Philadelphia Union - For Philly Kit
We've gotta talk about the secondary crest here. The light blue and vaguely yellow colorway is great, but the collective of Union fans who helped design the kit did something far more teams need to do: They took their more complicated primary crest, found a key element within it and used that key element to represent the team where the primary crest lies on most kits. The minimal version makes everything look more streamlined and brings the kit closer to whatever "clean" means these days. The snake crest is my favorite part of the whole thing.
Colorado Rapids - New Day Kit
Extremely cool to see the Rapids using the kit launch to partner with Mental Health Colorado to raise awareness around the current mental health crisis in the state and promote resources available to the public. It's not often you get a kit with a cause.
Austin FC - Las Voces Kit
OK, yeah, first look, a little tough to process and maybe you get the feeling someone asked ChatGPT to design an Austin kit. 15th look though and it starts to look pretty good. 50th look and I'm convinced this is actually great. I'm not even doing a bit, give it some time. It's awesome. This is the 100 Gecs of kits. Look, at least applaud the folks in charge for *going for it*.
Houston Dynamo FC - El Sol Kit
Speaking of looking like yourself, this looks like a solid Houston kit. Shoutout to everyone involved for not trying to turn an already good primary look into like a black and orange bowling alley blacklight t-shirt or something.
FC Cincinnati - River Kit
I like the white shoulder accents with orange trim on the sleeves and collar.
New York Red Bulls- Daniel Patrick Kit
Look, if you aren't going to have your fans be directly involved with the process like Philly, collaborating with a local artist like New York has done here is a really, really cool move to make sure the kit has some soul. It's maybe the most distinct Red Bulls look ever and the more I take it in, the more I really like it.
Columbus Crew - VeloCITY Kit
It's straightforward, but the blurry checkerboard texture works. To be honest, as long as the primary kit is yellow, the Crew can do whatever they want with their secondary.
New York City FC - The Interboro Kit
I can truly call this a unique NYCFC kit. There's never been another one like it and I'm not sure we'll see one like it again. There's a lot going on here and, at the very least, they've assured this kit will stand out. That's tough to do when working with a kit that has connections to other clubs around the world.
New England Revolution - Defiance Kit
Not sure what I can really add other than they crushed this one. We're talking maybe the best Revs secondary ever? The red strikethrough looks great, it looks distinct and it all comes together thanks to the red shorts accompanying it.
Atlanta United - The 17s' Kit
YESSSSSSSSSSSS. IT. IS. RED.
I'm always bummed when a team gets away from an established identity. Even for just a second. Five stripes and a red base mean Atlanta United looks like Atlanta United again. This means Atlanta have one of the single-best primary looks in MLS again. In fact, the gold trim and red socks might make this the best Atlanta kit so far. A++.
AND OTHER THINGS
- FC Dallas sign forward Endeley after SuperDraft selection: FC Dallas have signed their first-round pick from the 2023 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas, announcing Wednesday that forward Herbert Endeley has joined the club. Endeley, 21, has signed through the 2023 MLS season with club options spanning from 2024-26. He was picked No. 24 overall out of Indiana University, where he scored 13 goals and added 20 assists in 91 appearances across four seasons.
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