New 2012 San Jose Earthquakes uniform revealed?
Speculation has been rampant as to what the new San Jose Earthquakes uniform design would be for the upcoming 2012 season. Notably, rumors have the Quakes moving away from their prior all white away jersey to one that is predominantly blue. As for the home kit, according to a sneak-peak photograph received by Center Line Soccer, San Jose will continue to feature a black jersey. Changes from the previous 2010-11 version are a lessening of the blue accents as well as a new collar design. According to a source, the phrase “Est. 1974″ will be featured on the nape panel on the back of the uniform, paying homage to the year the original NASL club was founded.
Another curiosity of the leaked photograph is the lack of a shirt sponsor. In a photograph released late last week, all the new Adidas uniforms for the 2012 MLS season were represented, with each team jersey featuring their respective sponsor. The San Jose Earthquakes have not confirmed whether Amway will continue as their presenting sponsor for the 2012 season, though they do list them in that capacity on their website.
(Thanks to @thegoalkeeper for the group MLS jersey photo.)
There is nothing remarkable about that jersey, not to mention its STILL black even though public sentiment cries for blue. And as far as I am concerned, the “est 1974″ is a reach at best, disingenuous as worst.
Meh.
Lee
It looks good dude. 1974 is a great touch. Who cares what the primary color is we should all wear it. I don’t care if they switch back to blue or red or something else like electric pink I will wear whatever our primary is. That is our uniform and all fans should wear that. Otherwise we look disjointed and dis-unified.
How about the team wear what the fans want them to wear? Which isn’t DC black.
It is not a reach, nor disingenuous. That’s what it should have said on our jerseys all along. That’s when the whole thing started. This is not a new concept. People have been screaming for 1974 to be on there for years now.
Vancouver does exactly the same thing. 1974 is part of their brand, their identity, their whole club. They get it.
If there’s anything else that confuses you, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Lee, I like the “est. 1974″, but other than that I agree with you completely.
It’s pretty insulting that they not only kept the primary jersey black rather than changing it back to blue, but that they sadly went even further by minimizing the blue that was already there. Not to mention that they still kept the logo crest Playskool-sized (as it has been since 2008) and that it still has that unnecessary thick white border. :(
The fact that there’s no sponsor wordmark on the jersey (at least for now) makes it look that much weirder. I’d much rather that they get a sponsor wordmark on there rather than leaving it blank.
Est 1974 is a welcome if inaccurate touch (since this is the MLS squad founded in 1996). However the fact that this jersey isn’t blue as it should be means it’s a piece of crap. When will the FO get it through their head that we’re a blue team, not black.
Well, at least SCAMWAY is off our kits for now. And the article did say there’s rumors of changing the white kit to a blue one. But thank God they’ve potentially ditched Amway.
No that’s actually terrible b/c we desperately need that cash. Supporters buy some beer but sponsors foot the real bills.
Also, if you look at the Quakes website, gone are all the Amway ads. Wasn’t it three seasons ago that the deal started? I think I remember reading that was how long the deal was supposed to be for.
New sponsor ideas anyone? How about something local, like Gordon Biersch or Anchor Steam!
I’m with you there. Also, I can’t help but think that the whole Amway right wing Christian conservative kick is not consistent with our culture, and perhaps explains the sometimes stormy relations between the club and it’s own supporters.
Nice to have Amway money, but hate having them on our jerseys, so good riddance, if they are gone. We can do better. Love the design. Nice to keep the blue to a minimum. (in fact, looks a tad like the kit I designed a while back, and posted on FB) I LOVE having the 1974 on there too. Our heritage should be honored.
With all of the tech money flowing through Silicon Valley, it’s only a matter of time before the Quakes nail down a new sponsor – likely just in time for the next season in the new stadium. My money’s on either Google or IBM.
There should be a harder push for some local companies, especially tech companies, to be shirt sponsors. They could sure afford it. Back in the early 2000s we had Yahoo! Wouldn’t it be cool if we could get Google or some other big tech company as our sponsors?
Another nice thing about the jersey? No stupid collar on it.
Good guys where black!
Stupid auto-correct! “wear”! Since when does IOS not recognize ‘wear’ in a sentence?
I agree – polo collars are just wrong on soccer shirts. That Seattle shirt is hideous.
Keep this jersey – but let’s add an extra star above the logo.
The shirt is boring.
If the rumored blue away jersey arrives, I’ll be buying that and would encourage others to do the same. If the FO sees that blue outsells black, I think that would help convince them that blue should be the home strip.
Blue? Blech! Keep it black! Didn’t buy the 3rd kit last year, won’t be buying blue this year either, unless it was all on offer.
I COMPLETELY agree with you, Jay!
I’ll likely buy a new blue jersey or two even if it won’t have a jersey sponsor wordmark and will definitely buy a couple of new blue jerseys if they do have a sponsor wordmark. Either way, though, there’s no way in hell that I’ll get that piece of s*** new black jersey just like I didn’t get any of their other piece of s*** black jerseys the last several years!
And if for some reason no new blue jerseys are forthcoming, then I at least still have my blue San Jose Earthquakes jerseys that I bought two years ago, not to mention the blue jerseys from the last incarnation of the team.
Spot on. We can only pray the “away” kit is blue and that it’s worn more than black. We are not a black team, never have been never will be. There’s a reason Scum fans mockingly call us the Smurfs. And it wasn’t because we wore black. Frankly this home kit is a downgrade from outgoing meh home kit.
So are the San Francisco Blackhawks part of our team heritage too? They filled in as the Bay Area high level pro team in the old WSL when there were no Earthquakes or Clash. It seems that for “est 1974″ to be meaningful, there should be timewise continuity from the NASL days onward.
There is continuity. That’s why they’re doing it. Vancouver does exactly the same thing. I suggest you check out the San Jose Soccer History exhibit that’s been in City Hall since last year.
Drats! I just purchased a 2009 “San Jose” black jersey off eBay this Christmas because I would never buy a jersey with Amway on it. But now if rumours might become true and Amway is done w/ the Quakes (or rather vice verse)… I will just have to buy another jersey! Here’s hoping for iQuake (Apple) or Google or Facebook or Twitter or EA (hqtr in Redwood Shores)…. something that is worthy to help sponsor a new stadium! :)
But we will see what the future holds… perhaps Amway will come back as “Amway Global” or some such thing (oh the horrors)… :-/ Must rest on happy thoughts… Nice new jersey… yay!
that jersey sucks. it looks like a training kit.
the players want the blue, the fans want the blue. MAJOR FAIL by the FO.
Indeed, Leo!
On the weekly “Quakes Exclusive” YouTube features during the season, Kelly Gray’s Q&A segments with various San Jose Earthquakes players included the question “Quakes in blue or Quakes in black?”.
Except for Simon Dawkins, EVERY Quakes player asked answered “Blue”… without hesitation, no less.
Wow, I haven’t heard that… why can’t the front office get it together??
WE (and apparently the players themselves) WANT BLUE!
Get it back to blue. The “est. 1974″ is okay, I have no qualms with that. It would be nice if the FO adopted an original 1974 kit for backup.
There may be a ray of hope for those of us who want the San Jose Earthquakes primary jersey to be blue: the Seattle Sounders FC and Portland Timbers jerseys in the pic above are their upcoming third jerseys, so perhaps that black Quakes jersey will be the secondary jersey or even third jersey rather than the primary jersey.
Here’s to hoping! :)
Not to mention that the Los Angeles Galaxy jersey pictured there is their secondary jersey.
I hope if they insist on having a blue jersey, that it be the third kit, so I won’t have to see it too often. :-)
BLUE
Come on guys! We fans fought for Blue! So how about you at least dress the guys right?! Especially in light of your abject failure to put a competitive side on the pitch.
I’m pissed. Blue jersey! Black shorts! Blue socks! Come on damnit!
Not all the fans fought for blue. Black is beautiful.
Absolutely, Mark! :)
Blue jersey, black shorts and blue socks as the primary uniform.
White jersey, white shorts (or maybe blue shorts) and white socks as the secondary uniform.
Quakes have NEVER won in their blue jersey… jinxed? cursed? Just saying… :)
Except, of course, two MLS Cup victories in as many appearances and an MLS Supporters’ Shield win… :)
Awesome idea! Make the blue jersey the home jersey and the away jersey the black jersey, or even keep it as the white jersey. I especially liked the old jersey that had the blue shirt with the white sleeves, but I guess Portland stole that design.
If they don’t have a sponsor lined up, I want to see “SAN JOSE” printed on the front of the new jersey, just like the 2008 jersey. It looks too plain without something on the field of empty black.
Also, if you look at the website sponsor page, I see In-n-out is also a sponsor. Maybe they could put on a double-double animal style as the shirt sponsor!
There’s only one sure way to resolve this black vs. blue controversy:
STRIPES!!!!
Stripes are a soccer classic but only the Goats use them in MLS. If it works for Inter Milan, why not here?
I love the stripes idea. Or hoops. But if “honoring our heritage” is the goal, why not go with red kits? But really why does the color of the shirt matter?
I won’t spend any more of my money on black shirts that’s for sure. Go back to blue/black/blue!
We want BLUE!
Solid BLUE home kits! Why do they keep insisting on black? And why are the templates unoriginal and uninspiring to boot?
In conclusion:
Blue, Blue, Blue.
Thank you!
Outsider here, DC United fan. Us non-Quakes fans associate the Quakes with blue. That’s their color. Our team wears black.
This past season, United debuted a new solid red uniform as a third. Us fans thought it looked strange and like the hated Chicago Fire. Red has always been an accent color in our team’s uniform. From the east coast, it seems that black would be your third kit, not your home.
Also, the Quakes blue shirts just look better. Good luck with the new sponsor! We also have stadium envy since you’re getting one and we have… well, our situtation.
I wish we’d go back to blue too… but I’m glad to see AMWAY gone, if they in fact are.