I’ve been told that it’s not healthy to hold in negative emotions. Doing so leads to resentment, high blood pressure, and a weakened immune system. As such, I’m going to take this opportunity to let out some frustrations I currently have about the soccer I care about in my life. Perhaps you share some of these frustrations? I’m hoping that doing so will allow me to let go of the negative and move into a healthier head space. Here we go.

The World Cup

I have mostly enjoyed this World Cup. There have been amazing matches and interesting stories. However, there are some things that have frustrated me. The whole Folarin Balogun red card situation was a debacle from the start. The card shouldn’t have been given and FIFA should have corrected it within 24 hours if it was going to do so. One ridiculously corrupt person shouldn’t have called another ridiculously corrupt person in an effort to make it “better,” because it ended up having the opposite effect.

The USMNT had all the good vibes. The team was playing free-flowing, beautiful football. The rest of the world didn’t have the animosity toward our team or our fans as much as in the past. That all changed after FIFA’s decision. I want to be clear that all of this was decided well above Balogun, the other players, the coaches, and even U.S. Soccer. Despite that, the people harmed were the players and the coaches. I believe it galvanized a Belgium squad that wasn’t playing as well before the controversy. I’m not saying the U.S. would have won the match, but the vibes were off and it showed in the way the team played.

The other thing that is bothering me is the disparity of decisions resulting in potentially game-changing penalties and disciplinary decisions between smaller countries and traditional powerhouse nations so far this World Cup. By disparity I mean 9-0 in favor of the traditional powerhouses. A disproportionate number have been in matches featuring Argentina, but I’m sure everything is on the up and up. After all, we’re talking about FIFA, right? I need to go get my tinfoil hat.

The Orlando Pride

We’re less than two years removed from the Orlando Pride winning the double in 2024. There are plenty of players from that squad still on the team, yet you would be hard pressed to think it’s the same team. To be fair, there are a lot of factors as to why, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Kylie Nadaner is rightly taking time to give birth to future Orlando City player Nolan. We also saw the departures of Haley Carter from management and Emily Sams from the back line. Rafaelle has mostly been an excellent player at center back, but the team didn’t go get someone to play with her. I still believe Hailie Mace was brought in to be a center back despite not really being a center back. The club dropped the ball in not getting an actual center back after Sams left and Nadaner went on maternity leave.

Jacquie Ovalle was brought in to complete an attack that would have included Barbra Banda and Marta. Thanks to injuries, we have yet to see that trio together. The Pride don’t have a viable backup striker, and Banda will soon be gone for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament. Not adding an additional striker was another personnel failure for the club.

So many of the players who played above their heads in 2024 have regressed since. Julie Doyle and Summer Yates have all but disappeared. Angelina hasn’t looked like her best self, and the same can be said about many others. The Pride lead the league with 14 free agents, meaning there is an opportunity for a rebuild. I don’t like that it comes so soon after winning everything, but here we are.

I mentioned above about Carter leaving. The club did have one notable acquisition in bringing on Caitlin Carducci as her successor. I’m hopeful that the Pride can turn things around, though I think it will mean a lot of turnover in the roster. The issue is what happens while we’re waiting on Carducci to implement her vision. This team is barely hanging onto a playoff spot, and I don’t have a lot of confidence the Pride can grind out enough results to get over the line.

I know that was a lot of negativity, but I feel better after writing it all down. I remain a dedicated supporter of both the Pride and the USMNT. If you’re wondering why I didn’t include my frustrations about Orlando City, it’s because I’m waiting to see what Martin Perelman can do after what is effectively a preseason, thanks to the World Cup break and the arrival of Antione Griezmann. If things don’t get better I’ll revisit that in the future.

Thank you for going along on my mental health journey. Hopefully, you found some peace as well. Vamos Orlando!

When it comes to soccer jerseys, I can perhaps be unfairly critical. I like what I like, and in a time when new jerseys cost at least $100 if not closer to $150, I have to be seriously impressed by something in order to shell out that much money. While I’ve liked most of the jerseys that Orlando City and the Orlando Pride have put out over the years, I’ve never liked one enough to spend my own money to buy one, although I did receive a Heart and Sol jersey as a birthday present several years ago. The one exception has been the Sea Cow prematch top that the club put out in 2023, which I bought instantly and would have happily forked over one of my kidneys to acquire (as any sane person would).

I might very well be adding a new jersey to the closet soon though, because the Orlando Pride absolutely knocked it out of the park with the Unity Kit that they released on Thursday. I’m now going to shut up for a second and let you feast your eyes on this beauty.

That is just fantastic, and let’s talk about why. First of all, the base color is light purple, and while that isn’t traditionally in the Pride’s color palette as they favor a more royal purple shared by Orlando City, it is still purple. It’s also a light enough base color for the team to be able to use it as an away jersey without simply making the background color white. While I wouldn’t necessarily have an issue with a white base, that’s pretty common with away jerseys and the light purple is a good way to do something different while still providing a good contrast between it and an opponent’s dark home jersey.

If you were missing the Pride’s more traditional color of purple, fear not! The decision to use it on the collar and sleeves is a great one, as it gives the jersey a really nice splash of contrast in a shirt that could otherwise risk being washed out by all of the pastel tones that are present. The same color is also present in the badge, name, numbers, sponsors, and jock tag, and pops very well because its used so sparingly.

When viewed from a distance, the collars and sleeves provide a good outline for the kit, while the eye gets a general sense of intermingled pastel tones as the ribbons blend into each other well, and while no one color is definable, it isn’t an assault on the eyes either.

Closer up though, the ribbons are far more vibrant and detailed, and you notice that rather than simply being uniform colors for each one, they’re actually made up of several different colors that blend together and intertwine, and the effect is pulled off really well. For me, its a shirt that be appreciated both further away, and right in front of your face, and that isn’t always the easiest thing to do.

Suffice it to say, I’m a huge fan of how this thing looks. A lot of thought was clearly put into the design, and it was executed well. I want to talk about more than just the way it looks though.

We’re 10 years on from the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub that took the lives of 49 people, and the Pride and overarching ownership have a new way of honoring the victims and remembering a period of time that was so difficult for the city. The rainbow seats at Inter&Co Stadium have served the same purpose since the ground was opened back in 2017, but the Pride will be using the new jersey to honor both the victims and the way in which the city came together after the tragedy, while also putting their money where their mouth is.

The team’s decision to donate $20,000 from sales of the jersey to The Center Orlando and its Orlando United Resiliency Services (OURS) program is a very good touch on what was already a well-thought out kit. The program’s purpose is to provide advocacy, education, and support for the Orlando area’s LGBTQ+ community, and as someone who believes sports teams should be active and positive pillars in the community where they play, I couldn’t be happier to see this. It’s a decision that the team was under no obligation to make, but in choosing to go the extra mile, it proved that the club is more than just empty words and gestures when it comes to issues that hit close to home.

In short, the Unity Kit checks all the boxes for me, including ones I didn’t even know I had. It looks great from a distance, has thoughtful and well-executed details when seen up close, and represents something important while also actively honoring and helping to provide resources for a marginalized community. To everyone who was involved with the concept and execution of this jersey, I salute you. Consider it a job very well done.

We’ve (almost) made it to the end of another week, with Orlando City’s final preseason match against the Colorado Rapids looming large Saturday night. The season opener will be here before you know it, and things will only speed up from there. For the final time this preseason, let’s take a look back at the week that was and talk about what I liked, and what I didn’t.

Likes

A New Signing

Orlando City announced the long-awaited signing of Brazilian center back Iago on Saturday, making him the third and presumably final MLS U22 Initiative arrival of the off-season. While he’s only 20 years old, he’s likely to be one of the two starting center backs on opening day alongside David Brekalo, so him getting a couple weeks of preseason to get settled in is vital. It of course would have been ideal for him to have even more time, but transfer dealings with Brazilian clubs rarely seem to be straightforward affairs, and two weeks is better than none at all. Crucially, Iago played over 5,000 minutes for Flamengo’s senior and U-20 sides, so he’s no stranger to the professional game, and hopefully that helps him to hit the ground running as a Lion.

A New Kit

Continuing the trend of shiny new things, the Lions unveiled their new away kit on Tuesday. It’s a gold jersey with purple shorts that’s been dubbed the ‘Sunken Treasure’ kit, and it’s the club’s first jersey to heavily use the team’s secondary color of gold. All things considered, I quite like the new threads. As with a lot of jerseys these days, the finer details like the Lion in the background of the front and the two patches, won’t be visible unless you’re up close to it. That being said, those details look pretty nice in the close-up shots of the jersey that the club provided, and when viewed from a distance, the shirt is striking. I also like the decision to go with purple shorts, as I think going with gold all the way would be a bit too much.

Dislikes

All Quiet on the Rumor Front

Things have gone a little quiet when it comes to transfer rumors regarding Orlando City. The club still has a Designated Player slot that it intends to use on an attacker, but we haven’t seen any hints as far as who the brass might be looking at. It’s not necessarily a reason to panic, as the team has made it a habit to be methodical in the transfer window and hasn’t been afraid to take its time pursuing players it thinks will be the right fit, rather than rushing business and potentially making an unwise signing as a result. All the same, it’s always nice to hear that a specific name is being pursued, particularly when OCSC still has a DP slot burning a hole in its proverbial pocket in addition to some areas of the field that need to be strengthened with additional depth. I trust the business to get done and done well, but I’m also not going to pretend I wouldn’t love a juicy signing rumor or two right about now.

With a little luck, next week will bring a couple of positive transfer rumors and three points to start the season off on a strong note. Vamos Orlando!