San Jose Earthquakes new 2018 away kit revealed

It’s that time of year again, when MLS teams around the league release their new kits. For some teams, that could mean a new primary jersey — one used for home games — and for others, it is the release of a new secondary jersey — a second jersey, typically used at away games. Given that most MLS primary and secondary jerseys have a two-year lifespan, and one of the two expires each season, just about every team has a release planned this preseason.

The San Jose Earthquakes have plans to unveil their new secondary kit this weekend as part of an event to celebrate the opening of the Quakes Foundation’s waterfront futsal court for youth soccer players in Hornet Park in Alameda. The Sunday event begins at 10:00 a.m. and will feature the kit release at 11:15 a.m. Numerous players will be on hand as part of the release, and they will give autographs to those that purchase the jersey. Scheduled to attend, according to the Earthquakes website, are Jackson Yueill, Andrew Tarbell, Nick Lima, Tommy Thompson, Joel Qwiberg and Fatai Alashe.

A lot of the Quakes marketing for the event emphasizes the color white, and the website detailing the jersey unveil features a design that can be described as a series of sideways chevrons. Those clues seem to confirm what a leaked photo of the new 2018-19 Earthquakes away jersey shows. The grey zig-zags form the base of the jersey fabric, and the all-white design features kit maker Adidas’ classic three-stripe pattern in blue on the sides, under the sleeves.

The jersey also features the popular “SJ74” jock tag at the base and a round badge, one that appears to honor the Navy SEAL Foundation, at the top of the back, just below the nape. The choice of such a group ties into the club’s heritage, as former Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch worked with the foundation for many years through his “SAVES for SEALs” program. The jersey reveal event is being held near Alameda Point, home to the USS Hornet, a retired Navy aircraft carrier.

The new design is a departure from the previous two away kits used by San Jose. Back in 2015, the club introduced an all-red jersey for that single season — the first season at Avaya Stadium — as a throwback to its NASL look. The most recent design, used since 2016, also featured red, but this time only on the sleeves and on a vertical stripe down the front of the jersey. The new 2018 kit does not appear to have any red included anywhere in the design.

What do you think of the new San Jose Earthquakes secondary jersey? What color shorts and socks are you hoping will be part of the full kit? Will you be first in line at the unveil event in Alameda this Sunday to get your own jersey? Let us know your thoughts below.

Thanks to /u/REO_Jerkwagon on Reddit and @SomeCruzDude on Twitter for first recognizing the logo as that of the Navy SEAL Foundation.