The new kit is out. Let us rejoice!
I am not going to obsess about whether I (or we, collectively) like the new kit. I never like the new kit at first. And then eventually somehow it becomes something I love.
I am slow on the uptake. And fickle.
I will also not tell you what the Colorado Rapids best and worst kits are - we aren’t going to agree, and becoming less popular with my already-oppressed readers who barely put up with me as is seems cruel. Instead, I’m literally just going to take you through my collection of Rapids kits.
“Yay!”, you say to yourself. “Laundry day with the rabbi!”
Don’t worry. It is a modest collection. There are others for whom one could write a book about their Rapids kit collection. And not, like, a short book. I mean like a Lord of the Rings trilogy-sized book.
So let us begin!
Number 1: 2003/04 Atletica Black and Blue Primary
How acquired: Sent by a fan.
Cool features: Stripes. The ridiculously, but kind of charming, low-quality badge.
The Rapids original colors were green, white, and black. How, exactly, this kit emerged from that matrix of nutrients is pretty perplexing. In 2003 and 2004 Colorado let Mexican fútbol kit producer Atletica be their spirit guide into the world of kits. Today, Atletica seemingly only rep a few Mexican clubs, and mostly make ‘athlesiure’ wear, which is a pity, because as much as this is sort-of straightforward and generic, it’s also really unique - the Rapids did vertical stripes from 2003-2006, and then never again. 1
This also comes from the days before MLS made all teams use Adidas, and the days when MLS mandated that each team got a new primary kit every two years, a new secondary every two years, and a Parley ocean plastic/LGBT Pride/Military night kit when the feeling strikes them. This is the most vintage kit I have, but I’ve only owned it for maybe three years. I bought my son this one too, so we can go to a match and double-full-kit-wanker it up.
Grade: A-. Probably needs a touch more flair to be truly excellent, like a cool collar or something on the sleeve.
Number 2: 2007/2008 Burgundy Primary
How acquired: Also sent by a fan! Don’t worry, I actually purchase some kits myself.
Cool Features: Polo shirt collar - only one of two years they did that, the other being the 1999/2000 Kappa that Marcelo Balboa made famous.
The first year of the rebranded Rapids after Stan Kroenke bought them and tried to create ‘brand synergy’ with the Nuggets and the Avalanche. Which, to be honest, is pretty brilliant.
I don’t really understand the stitching of this sort-of ‘belly plate’ cutout. The light blue away kit that year has it too. Somebody, please explain.
Grade: B. It’s funky and cool. Whoever picked that lame-ass sans serif all-bold font ‘RAPIDS’ should be shot though. Blecch.
Number 3: 2013/14 Colorado Flag Blue Secondary
How acquired: Also… a podcast fan sent it to me. Maybe a lot of people just gave up on the team in 2018 and were cleaning out their closets.
Cool Features: Yellow stitching. Mostly the bright bright colors.
I love this kit. I think it’s gorgeous. Electric blue, yellow at the seams, the badge is a sweet inverted palette. Also it is such a creative departure from what they had done before, and using the Colorado flag as your color inspiration is genius. Colorado has one of the best flags.2
Also, this kit featured the Rapids “kit sponsor” Ciao Telecom for a hot minute. By the month of July, after Ciao missed all their payments to the team except the first, the Ciao named disappeared from the jerseys. I like to think of that as one of the most Colorado Rapids-y moments of all time. That and winning MLS Cup… as the Eastern Conference Champions.
Only points off on this one: it doesn’t have any texture or embossing or anything, although that was really something you start seeing in Rapids kits from 2015 on. Note: this one is a XL (I’m an L, even an M if I’m feelin’ it), so if anyone wants it, DM me and she’s yours.
Grade: A. Near Perfection.
Number 4: 2015/2016 Colorado Flag Yellow Secondary
How acquired: A friend got it for me at the DSGP locker room clearance sale.
Cool Features: Bright, ridiculous color. Second year with the silver star over the crest denoting winning MLS Cup. First year with a real sponsor on the kit. First year with the new MLS crest on the left sleeve.
Former Burgundy Wave Managing Editor Abbie Mood got this for me at the Rapids rummage sale , where ‘Pids kit man Brandy Lay3 would dump out all the stuff they never used on a Saturday morning and sells it to the first lunatic to grab it. The prices are good. Since the sale happened Saturday morning, and I’m in synagogue on that day, I gave Abbie instructions to buy a kit for me and I’d pay her back. This one is a Marlon Hairston, (#94), but was never used in a match, apparently. I learned that Marlon wears a Medium.
The blue band at the bottom and on the sleeves makes this one hang nicely and fit more snugly, and there’s the red band at the front of the neck too which pops. It also says 5280 on the back of the neck. The ‘C’ embossing on the front of the chest is really lovely. And then they snuck this bad boy *on the inside of the shirt* as a bonus:
Grade: A+. You could not make me love a shirt any more than I love this one.4 Only downside of is: if I ever go above 163 lbs, it won’t fit anymore.
Number 5: 2013 Primary Burgundy (Replica)
How acquired: I bought it.
Cool Features: It’s comfy.
This was my first Rapids kit. So of course it’s a replica, because when I was living in Colorado I had a wife, a mortgage, two kids, and a middle class income, plus I had just started following the Rapids. You likely aren’t going all in on the most expensive kit for a team you haven’t really committed to yet.
This brings up an interesting, and important, conversation: how many kits *should* a fan have? Clearly the answer is dependent on multiple factors. The main one is ‘how much money do you make, and do you make good choices with your money?’ If you own 43 soccer kits, unless you actually play for or own the team, you do not make good choices with your money. Far be it for me, however, to do financial planning for soccer fanatics. Life is short, and you should fill your life with things that, as Marie Kondo might say, spark joy. Also, 43 Colorado Rapids kits are still far less expensive than a Lamborghini Diablo.
But I still want to push back - hard - against the idea that a “true” fan must buy the new kit each year. This year’s new authentic kit is priced at $159. The replica is selling for $115. The all-white ‘Black Diamond’ replica kit from 2020 is selling for $105 - and you can still get exciting pre-made back-of-the-kit player choices such as Younes Namli or Nicolas Benezet.5
Additionally, this replica kit is pretty far off from the authentic. The authentic was two-tone burgundy with wide stripes (hoops, almost) and the darker tone actually had the names of every season ticket holder in tiny script. Plus it had the silver star above the crest, and I’m sure a bunch of other stuff that I don’t know about because I don’t have it. My recollection is it wasn’t very expensive, though - as we all probably have noticed, the authentic kit price seems to creep up and up and up by $10 to $15 each season. Any day now, it’ll be $199.
I’m a firm believer that the replica kits should be affordable - under $75. And that you only need to buy a new kit of any kind every few years. Unless you absolutely love it, or it’s your birthday, or your girlfriend left you, or kits spark joy, or you need self care and your doctor has advised against binging on porterhouse and whiskey on a daily basis.
Then by all means, buy yourself a new authentic kit whenever the hell you need it. (Jared.)
Grade: C. It’s comfy and I can sweat in it and not feel guilty, but this isn’t a great kit by any means.
Number 6: 2011/12 Secondary White (Replica)
How acquired: Another fan sent it! Amazing, you people.
Cool aspects: It’s a white kit; my only Rapids one (I have a Boca Juniors kit.)
I like that this white kit has burgundy on the shoulders and the sky blue piping down the sides. Pulling off a really good white kit is really hard, and while this one isn’t what I’d call ‘really good’, it isn’t a $159 plain white t-shirt. Not much else to say here other than you people who send me kits are really nice.
Grade: B
Number 7: 2018/19 Burgundy Primary
How acquired: Rapids Media Cup 2018. I played right back, and a little central midfield.6
Cool Features: Very clean and orderly - no extraneous bells or whistles. And we had a sponsor (from 2016-2020).
Taking part in the Rapids media cup is one of the best parts of writing and podcasting about the Rapids. You get to play soccer with Rapids GM Pádraig Smith, Rapids legend Marcelo Balboa, and Altitude play-by-play man Richard Fleming. You put on your cleats and run around on the pitch at DSGP like a pro, albeit a very slow, poorly coordinated pro.
The best part, though, is that when arrive in the guest locker room, a kit with your name on it, shorts, and socks, are all there, neatly folded and placed there just for you. It makes those nights when you spent hours writing about a meaningless game in September 2017 that took place a month after the team was eliminated all worth it.
Side note: about four months after the media game, Pádraig Smith organized a kick-about as a ‘testimonial’ match for me as I was departing Colorado and presented me with a custom printed kit. The 2018/19 Burgundy Primary, with my name on the back. He had forgotten I received one a few months earlier. That’s cool - I gave it to my dad. Pádraig’s a good dude.7
Grade: You can’t put a grade on a kit that’s an integral part of your eight-year experience as a citizen soccer journalist.
And finally, Number 8: I saved the best for last
How acquired: The Patron Saint, Micheal Azira, one of the greatest defensive midfielders in the vast expanse of the Universe, messaged me to ask my address. And mailed it to me.
Cool Details: It says ‘Thank you!!’ He. Thanked me. Micheal Azira - giver of voluminous quantities of joy, divine being of light and slide tackles. Thanked me.
Some people are American throwball or NBA fans, and that’s cool. And others are EPL fans. And then there are us MLS team fans, particularly us Colorado Rapids fans.
The fun thing about the big teams is the glitz and the glamour - the knowledge that when you support Liverpool, they’re one of the biggest clubs on the planet. Mohammed Salah is a demi-god to literally hundreds of millions of people.
The paradox of supporting a mondo team is the distance between that team and the average fan could not be larger. I’m a soccer writer, and yet there’s almost zero chance I’ll ever meet Mohammed Salah. Grant Wahl is America’s most prominent soccer journalist (no offense to Sam Stejskal and Paul Tenorio), and even he can barely get an audience with Kylian Mbappe; nevermind getting a face-to-face with Ronaldo and Messi.
When you support an MLS team, and particularly one of the smaller teams, you can meet the players. They will do a pre-game signing in the parking lot. A special season ticket holders event. A few years ago, guys like Dillon Powers, Dillon Serna, and Cole Bassett were regularly deployed to sign merch at a Home Depot in Aurora or a T-Mobile in Longmont. You can meet these guys.
Sure, a signed Mbappe PSG kit will someday be worth $100,000, while a signed Micheal Azira kit will … not. But having a signed kit still feels like magic. You reached out and touched the face of God. You were in the physical presence of greatness, or at least, a direct relative or friend got you the signature of a great person.
Let them have their global megastars. You actually have the chance to meet our players up close. And if you’ve ever unboxed a signed kit from your favorite player or stood next to them as they drew on your back with a sharpie, you, my friend, have experienced one of the highest highs and greatest joys we humans can ever know.8
All my data on what year these kits were used comes from www.footballkitarchive.com, which is a really cool website.
Maybe ranked slightly behind New Mexico.
In general, I don’t feel the need to pay for the authentic jersey. I’m not fancy. I don’t drive an expensive car, nor will I ever. I really like most replica kits. But this kit has so many fun toys. I really appreciate the authentic details. Plus it helps that I didn’t pay full authentic retail price for it.
The person that wants to buy a Nicolas Benezet Black Diamond kit - a disappointing player no longer with the club and a disappointing kit that the team doesn’t wear anymore - for $105 - needs help. I imagine if they click that button, it might send a signal to a mental health hotline somewhere in Denver for a mandatory follow up with a social worker.
Jordan Angeli sent in a pass to the box juuuuust ahead of me and I slid and missed it for what would have been an easy goal. When I got up, Jordan, a former professional player and invitee to USWNT national camp, apologized to me. Whaaat?!?
Even if he never should have swapped Sam Cronin and Marc Burch for Mohammed Said and Josh Gatt.
Other than the birth of a child and your wedding day, ‘my favorite player signed my kit’ is basically as good as it gets in life.