Union’s new jersey is a Ben Franklin-inspired blast of bright blue and yellow

One of American soccer fans’ favorite pastimes is complaining about the blandness of jerseys in American soccer. They’ve traditionally had a point: lots of white kits, lots of black kits, solid colors, maybe a stripe here or there. But too often, the designs haven’t truly stood out.

The Union’s new secondary jersey blows that staid history out of the water.

It’s a light blue shirt with diagonal rows of lighter-blue lightning bolts and bright yellow trim: stripes on the shoulders, the crest and sponsor logos on the front, and the name and number on the back.

The colors echo the city of Philadelphia’s flag, which the Sons of Ben supporters’ club took as inspiration for its gear when it was founded. The lightning bolts tie into the Ben Franklin-inspired kite-and-key emblem atop the back of the jersey, with the key handle in the shape of the Union’s crest and a block U in the key itself. And there’s one of Franklin’s aphorisms inside the collar: “Energy and persistence conquer all.”

In fact, the full Franklin line was “Energy and persistence conquer all things.” But since soccer is most often played by people, Franklin scholars in the stands at Subaru Park will likely let the omission slide.

As a final notable touch, Bimbo Bakeries’ Artesano brand remains the sponsor logo. That will please fans who don’t want to buy a jersey that says “Bimbo” on it, then have to explain to non-soccer fans that they’re looking at a company name, not a sexist insult.

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The vibrancy of the jersey isn’t the only unusual part of the story. Fans were involved behind the scenes in the design process from its beginning two years ago — and yes, that’s how long the design process is for jerseys in MLS these days.

“The original inspiration came from fans, and to me, that’s special,” Union chief marketing officer Doug Vosik said. “And that also helps say, ‘Hey, we’re going to shift to these colors for the secondary [jersey], we’re going to take a risk, we’re going to get bold.’”

For all the fun that fans have dreaming up mock jerseys on Twitter, the real-life process is quite different. After gathering ideas and concepts from the working group, the Union sent a proposal that had to be expressed in words and images of icons, but not jersey designs.

In March 2019, the Union submitted their proposal to adidas, and got a very positive reception.

“We were greeted warmly by their excitement for change,” Vosik said. “But you never quite know how a designer will interpret that until you see that first drawing.”

A few months later, adidas came back with its first designs. In the end, all sides involved came up with something that was genuinely new for the league. Most secondary jerseys in MLS are white with a bit of color here and there. A lot of jerseys in MLS and around the soccer world are based on templates of some kind.

“I think we’ve learned together as partners — meaning us, the league and adidas — what it takes in the briefing phase,” Vosik said. “And for us to say, ‘We want these colors, inspired by this kind of art, to tell this kind of story,’ will naturally lead to better work. … We were very specific, given the feedback from the [fan] committee: ‘We want to be bold, loud and different.’”

There was a little bit of inspiration from the soccer world, too, Vosik said, and it came from one of adidas’ most famous jerseys ever: the yellow-and-navy-blue “bruised banana” jerseys that the company made for English power Arsenal in the early 1990s. When adidas brought back the motif last season, it used a modern zig-zag pattern that the Union’s lightning bolts echo. And a line of throwback apparel that came with it flew off the shelves.

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The jerseys will go on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. through MLSStore.com and adidas.com. When they’ll be worn in a game, though, isn’t so certain.

The MLS season is scheduled to start in April, but team owners are threatening to lock out players starting Thursday night if they don’t agree to concessions that would save owners money during the pandemic.

Team owners won the insertion of a force majeure clause into the CBA in bargaining last year, and they invoked it a month ago instead of trying to rearrange the schedule to play more games after COVID-19 vaccines have become more widespread.

The MLS Players Association has offered its own deal to help mitigate losses, and it’s a generous one, but the owners have refused to accept it. Indeed, they have barely budged from their insistence on how much money they’ll lose this year. That prompted the council of supporters’ clubs across the league to issue a strong statement Monday taking the players’ side.

“Whether today or in the future, MLS owners are far better equipped to absorb these losses without direct impact on their livelihood and families, as compared to MLS players,” the statement said, adding that players’ “sacrifices on and off the field during this trying time continue to elevate our clubs beyond solely the concerns of a balance sheet and open possibilities beyond what can narrowly be won or lost at a negotiating table.”

Many supporters’ clubs across the league also issued their own statements, and players offered thanks for the support on social media.

In addition, MLS players have received statements of support from other players’ unions, including those in Major League Baseball, the NBA, the NFL, the WNBA, the NWSL and the Mexican soccer league; and American soccer’s referees union.