The Chicago Fire will officially celebrate the launch of their new primary jersey tonight with fans and players. The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Centerpoint Chicago on 3310 N. Elston Ave. Players including David Accam, Jonathan Campbell, Michael Harrington, Harry Shipp and Michael Stephens are scheduled to attend along with coach Veljko Paunovic and general manager Nelson Rodriguez.
The event will also include a tifo build for opening day and a raffle for attendees to win the new jersey before it goes on sale.
But before all those festivities take place, writers at Hot Time in Old Town got their Joan Rivers on and gave their initial thoughts on the new design, which was unveiled Monday. Here is what they had to say:
Ruben Tisch
I want to like it, I really do. But the red seems a bit too bright. However, the fact that Adidas is letting teams lose the three stripes on the sleeves is fantastic. All in all, a tentative thumbs up
Benjamin Cannon
The problem that I have with it is two-fold: one, the designers seemed to think that adding the white stripe would be enough to energize the fan base, and two, much more minor, the Valspar logo type is so thin that when contrasted against the sturdy Quaker wordmark it seems a little amateurish.
In all it's a minor update. A return to form that doesn't exactly push things forward beyond the axes and flag detail. Also, can't wait until the lenticular crest goes away.
Anthony Seymour
To me it kind of seems like someone said "you want your white stripe, have your white stripe" and really didn't put much into other design qualities. That being said, it's fine. I'll probably get the replica at some point but I'm not rushing out to get one. I had higher regard for last year's away jersey.
John Jenzeh
I'm satisfied with it. If anything I would have preferred a blue border around the white stripe to match the collar. I never really complained about the initial Quaker kit, but the most recent one was borderline hideous. This is a nice return to the roots of the club. The Valspar font as previously mentioned might be a bit thin, but I understand if a company wants consistent branding. If we can somehow get "Fire" back on the front of the jersey eventually, even better. But I won't get my hopes up.
Michael Frank
Having the Fire front office place this kit alongside our '98 MLS Cup winning kit teases our recent pitiful performance and this lackluster attempt to restore glory to our on-field look. Our kits (and overall performance) were some some of the best in the league until the recent Quaker takeover (doesn't that sound ironic). Prefacing that I'm not a huge fan of shirt-sponsor branding, the Valspar logo appears timid and easily swallowed up by a very bright primary red. Maybe this will blend together better when we see the team on-field and not in a photo studio. Still, give credit to our new sponsors in trying to facilitate a club makeover, both off and (hopefully) on the pitch. Until then, give me a 'FIRE' branded front or give me last year's kit (which represents death).
Jeff Engelhardt
I should start by saying that my opinion on colors and design should be pretty much completely disregarded since I likely see colors differently than many of you. For example, I have seen a number of fans refer to the primary color as a bright red on the new shirt. While it does look red to me, it certainly does not look all that bright. I do enjoy the overall look. Lots of red and the white stripe across the chest is a great, classic look. I enjoy the blue and white trim on the neck and sleeves. I will agree with some that the Valspar font could be a bit more sturdy and strong, but I actually do prefer sponsor names on the front rather than the team name. It just seems like the proper soccer thing to do. But I have no real complaints. Much, much better than all the blue that was happening for a while.
Sean Spence
This is the first new Fire kit in a while that my first reaction is "that's a Chicago Fire kit." It really is as simple as not taking a dump on the basic formula of red-with-white-chest-stripe. For that reason, I'm much more on-board with this kit. (Of course, when one's reaction piece to the previous kit was entitled 'Puke Funnel,' there's a huge amount of room for improvement.)
I agree the font the Valspar wordmark looks a bit spidery, but I also assume that there's a deliberate strategy here that I'm not hip to. But that's a nit compared to my two biggest gripes: The red, and the 3-D badge. It's down to preference on the color, and I'd like a bit darker red. Not a deal-breaker, certainly. And CF97's amazing badge rendered in 3-D is just gilding the lily. Change it back to the classic badge, and I'd call this a strong A-.
Adam Merges
This new jersey is a welcome sight after having to see the white stripe disappear from the Fire's home jersey four years ago all because the "powers that be" decided that there needed to be a change from tradition. To make matters even worse, the club leadership approved that abomination which was dubbed the "spider man" jersey by supporters.
In my opinion, the primary jerseys of the past four years have been the worst in club history and it all came down to wrong choices from the very top of the club, where everything must be approved. The white stripe is back and I love it. People may say that the color is a little too bright, but it does kind of remind of the color that was used for the 1998 and 1999 jerseys. I'm a minimalist at heart and I could have done with out the embossed Chicago flag stars or the "Live Red" (I thought it was "Don't Stop Living in the Red") on the inside of the collar but the axes on the back are a nice touch. Other than that I'm good with it and I'm glad that someone had enough intelligence to go back to the club's traditional look.
Any initial thoughts on the new kit?