What’s your favorite Chicago soccer jersey ever?

There’s an old Jerry Seinfeld bit where he argues that when it comes down to it, loyalty to a sports team means we’re only cheering for the clothes. Players come and go, teams up and leave cities, but the jerseys are there for us. “You’re cheering for your clothes to beat the clothes from another city,” Jerry says.

With that in mind, it’s jersey week at SB Nation. In the absence of, you know, sports, we’re taking the time to look back at the best “clothes” in Chicago soccer history.

Best Fire Home Shirt

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

You really can’t go wrong with the early 2000s Chicago Fire jerseys. These were the best years in club history, so that probably has something to do with it, but I love the simplicity of these shirts.

Honorable Mention

Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

I loved the home shirts over the last couple seasons. The big, white stripe reminded me of the old days, and while the front didn’t say “FIRE” anymore, the club was lucky to have a a couple of clean looking sponsors—Motorola, and Valspar before it.

If you don’t yet have this one, Fanatics still has them for $44.99. Go get one, and use our link!

Best Fire away shirts

For me, there are two that come to mind:

Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images

I really liked the blue away shirts from the Mike Magee era, especially because of the little Chicago stars running along the light blue stripes.

Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images

I feel like the gray aways from 2017 and 2018 weren’t a huge fan favorite, but they were one of my personal favorites.

Before the Fire

The ‘80s were a ridiculous time, and the Chicago Sting had some absolutely insane black and yellow jerseys.

Remember the Chicago Power? No? You’re probably not alone. The Power were Chicago’s pro indoor team between the death of the Sting and the birth of the Fire. This is one of the club’s better shirts, but that eagle is still pretty strange. The Power left Chicago and moved to Edmonton in 1996, after Peter Pocklington bought the club. He’s perhaps best known as the guy who caused riots in Canada after trading Wayne Gretzky from the Oilers to the Kings.

The best Chicago soccer jersey ever, for any club

The Chicago Red Stars’ “Elevated Kit” is perfect, and luckily, it’s around for one more season. The Red Stars will unveil the club’s new away shirt later this week. Even if it’s incredible, it’ll be hard to top this. That map!

What’s your favorite jersey? What did we miss? Let us know in the comments.

Hot Time in Old Town has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Hot Time in Old Town and SB Nation may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.