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Ranking Every New MLS Jersey, Including Orlando City’s Brand New Away Kit

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9 years ago

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It's always an adventure when MLS clubs come up with new kit designs.

Without the history of their European counterparts, teams can get creative when deciding what to wear during any given season. And with many MLS clubs still looking to grow their brands, jersey designers have the freedom to get creative when putting these uniforms together.

We've seen plenty of subtle changes this year (Philadelphia), hat tips to club history (Chicago), and we've seen Columbus. But how do Orlando's new road whites stack up against the competition? Read on, as we rank every new MLS jersey ahead of the 2016 season.

14. Columbus Crew "For Columbus" Kits

Hide the children.

I'm not even sure where to start with these uniforms, which have already been called ugly, garish and minion-like. They're ostensibly designed after the city flag, which is a neat idea, but has already been done by both New York City FC and the Chicago Fire.

The sad thing is, they would almost be tolerable if not for the inconceivable decision to pair them with light blue shorts. Rule of thumb: Any time your jersey adds two new colors that no one has ever associated with the club, be prepared for some backlash.

13. Real Salt Lake Home Kits

They sure are … red.

Real Salt Lake's new home kits are fine, but there's really not a whole lot to get excited about here. They're an improvement over what the club wore last season, but I think they're almost too minimalist. And it doesn't help that red is already one of the league's more overused colors.

Luckily, Joao Plata gets what I'm talking about. He's the perfect amount of excited here.

12. San Jose Earthquakes Road Kits

Pretty much in the same boat as RSL.

They added sleeves and a sash to their 2015 road jersey. They're certainly an improvement, but also pretty forgettable.

Love that San Jose has completely different home and road kits though, so there really wasn't much I would've changed either.

11. New York City FC Road Kits

We get it, you're not Man City.

NYCFC just dropped these new road kits, which expand on their previous secondary jerseys but don't necessarily improve on them. The pulse emanating from the badge is meant to represent "the energy of NYC," which honestly makes more sense than 99% of jersey symbolization.

This is the first bold redesign of the year to actually work, though I think the club can do more a with pretty awesome scheme.

10. D.C. United Home Kits

This is a nice example of a club upgrading its weaker jersey set (personally, I think their road kits are already great), though it's mainly with a lot of cool, subtle changes.

The National Mall across the neck looks great, while the improved badge honors the '90s look of the club's logo (it's easy to forget that D.C. is ancient by MLS standards) while bringing the whole thing up to date.

Simple, but creative improvements. No complaints here.

9. Orlando City Road Kits
Wait, all the way down at 9?
These jerseys are nice, and they’re definitely an improvement over last year, but they’ve got a few problems, too. The fake collar doesn’t make any sense, while the lack of any new colors is a little boring.
Beyond that though, this is a solid look for the Lions as they continue to grow their MLS brand. The 3D badge and script on the collar will be great for anyone who buys these, while the sleeves provide some much needed color to last year’s home whites.
They do make me think of those old Tampa Bay Devil Rays “vest jerseys” though. And those guys weren’t very good.

8. New England Revolution Home Kits

So New England’s home kits just dropped last night, but I think it’s pretty safe to call them a definite improvement over what the Revs wore at Gillette Stadium a year ago.

And there’s only one major change.

The red-and-white bar down the center gives these a distinctive look, but avoids going too far and changing what was already a pretty sharp look. Plus, the new jerseys were supposedly inspired by the uniforms of colonial soldiers during the Revolutionary War. That’s jersey symbolism I think anyone can get behind.

7. Chicago Fire Home Kits

This is history done right.

As anyone who followed MLS towards the beginning of the century will tell you, the Fire just haven’t looked quite right lately without their white center stripe. The team’s home jersey featured a white stripe until 2010, as the Fire have more recently looked to the Chicago city flag for inspiration in designing their kits.

Hopefully, the return of the white stripe means Chicago is more serious about competing for the playoffs again. After all, they enjoyed their most successful years as a club in this classic look.

6. Portland Timbers Road Kits
Portland plays it safe with a twist on their “Rose City” secondary kits. The hoops are nice (though that’s always kind of been an FC Dallas thing).
This is another jersey with a lot of subtle things that might not show up on TV, but will be cool for anyone who buys this. The stripes almost look like tree trunks and the ax tag at the bottom is a nice touch.
But the coolest part? That championship star above the badge. Orlando should really get one of those.

5. Los Angeles Galaxy Home Kits

It's hard to screw up what's quickly becoming an iconic MLS look, and these new LA home kits certainly don't do that. The new take on the Galaxy sash is interesting, though I didn't see anything particularly wrong with how it looked a year ago.

These jerseys continue the less-is-more approach that many clubs seem to be taking in 2016, stripping down their old kits into something a little more minimalist. That might be the most pretentious sentence I've ever written on this site.

4. Sporting Kansas City Road Kits

These are gorgeous. But Dom looked better in purple.

3. Montreal Impact Home Kits

Nobody in MLS needed a jersey upgrade more than the Montreal Impact. And they sure did get it.

These home kits are basically the club's alternate jersey from a year ago, tricked out with some symbolism (including metallic flowers on the jock tag) and improved enough to justify being the primary jersey.

These new kits give the Impact an identity, something they’ve sorely been missing the last couple seasons.

2. Philadelphia Union Home Kits

I know what you’re thinking. It’s the same jersey.

And you’re basically right. The Union already has one of the league’s best home kits, with the navy and gold giving the club a dignified and historic look (the road kits though, are kind of a disaster)

So Philly found the ultimate way to give their jerseys some spice in 2016:

I actually think the snakeskin is a cool idea, albeit one that will NEVER show up for anyone watching a Union game. But for fans who want to rock these around Philadelphia, it’s definitely a nice addition.

And if Quigley the snake approves, then there’s really not much debate. These jerseys are sick.

1. Vancouver Whitecaps Road Kits

I love everything about these jerseys.

The shading just works beautifully with the Caps' already to-notch color scheme. (Sea-to-Sky? Sure, that's clever. Now shut up and let me compliment you.) Those stripes along the shoulders are also gorgeous.

Honestly, I've always had a soft spot for Vancouver's kits. And anything to make sure the jerseys from this game are never worn again is fine with me.

I think these are basically the quintessential MLS jerseys. They're not something any EPL team could ever pull off, but they're also not trying too hard like those atrocious "For Columbus" kits.

Vancouver's cracked the code, and other MLS clubs should take note.

Disclaimer: I know you probably disagree with me. I'd be shocked if you didn't. I mean, Chicago in seventh? What am I, crazy or something? Please let me know your thoughts on the new MLS threads in the comments section.

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