dragoncello wrote:
Baseball and Nike entered into an agreement last year to put out "City Connect" uniforms, eventually one per team. The idea is to move away from the team's traditional uniform style, but come up with an alternative to be worn occasionally that speaks to the unique culture of the city in question. I think it's safe to say that the San Diego unis may have been a swing and a miss.
On the other hand, last year the Boston Red Sox were one of the three teams chosen to inaugurate the program, and their uniforms were by contrast a home run and have set a very high bar for other teams. At first glance, they seem weird, blue and yellow, colors closer to the UCLA college teams rather than something associated with Boston. But the "connection" is that they're the colors and font of the Boston Marathon, with a sleeve patch that looks like a marathon runner's bib bearing the number 617. The Red Sox are now forever connected to that event. The Marathon bombing in 2013 took place just as the team was concluding its "Patriot's Day" game, and before their next game, they had a team uniform made up with the number 617, the city's area code, on the back between the words Boston and Strong. The uniform hung in the dugout for every game that year, with players touching it before going up to the plate, right up until the time the team--good, but flawed and definitely not great--surprisingly won the world series.
Boston celebrates major sports championships with a parade through the city on Duck Boats, World War II inspired amphibian craft, and as the parade approached the marathon finish line, the parade came to a halt, and two players came down from the Duck Boats. One carried the world series trophy and placed it in the middle of the finish line (painted in those blue and yellow colors) and the other draped the 617 uniform shirt--the one that had spent the season in the dugout--over the trophy, and the crowd lining the streets spontaneously burst into a singing of God Bless America.
The uniforms recall all of that and have become extremely popular. Players and fans love them, they have clearly connected to the city, and if they're making some money for MLB and Nike, it seems a small price to pay.
Baseball and Nike entered into an agreement last y... (
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What a brilliant marketing idea for Nike! Regardless whether it was initiated by the team, the cities, or Nike, I'm sure Nike jumped on the idea with both feet! Now they have been able to make and sell a whole new set of uniforms and maybe additional jerseys and hats in team gift shops.