Six Degrees: Top 5 Kits

Between training camp, preseason games, and Champions League action, there’s more and more to talk about in Timberdom. I guess this means the end of my If I Owned The Team series. I actually found the whole series a lot of fun to write, so maybe I’ll pull the concept out now and then in the future. For now, though, let’s talk about some recent Timbers news. Specifically, the 2021 kits that just came out.

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6) Over the last few weeks, Merritt Paulson sent out a buncha tweets hyping the new kits. He used language like “zero risk,” “megahit,” “slam dunk,” and “maybe the best we have had.”

And then the actual kits looked like this.

Now, I’m not saying they’re ugly. Yeah, maybe they’re a little busy, with a few too many design elements all thrown together, but do I hate them? No.

But calling them zero risk? A slam dunk? The best we have had? I think Merritt may have over-promised a little.

Sam Svilar wrote up a really good defense of them. Maybe by the end of the year, I’ll be a fan, too. Let’s talk then.

In the meantime, how about an All-Time Top 5 Timbers Kits? I’m sure you’ve got your list. Here’s mine, in reverse order.

5) Our fifth best kits are a tie between the 2017 greens and the 2018 whites.

Nothing too fancy, nothing too busy, just clean, simple, and classic. Sometimes less is more.

4) Our fourth best kits are the 2011 Rose City reds.

What do you think of the whole “Rose City Red” concept? We had them from 2011 to 2017, but nothing since then. Do you think the team should bring the idea back?

3) Our third best kits are the 1981 whites.

Caught you off-guard with this one, didn’t I? 1981 is waaaaaaaaaay before I started following the Timbers, but I bet a few of you lucky dogs got to see these kits in person. Were they awesome? They look pretty awesome. That cursive script with the big swoop under it reminds me of a baseball uniform. And yes, I know I said we were done with the “If I Owned The Team” series, but seriously, if I owned the team, we’d be breaking these bad boys out for at least one game each year.

2) Our second best kits are the 2011 greens.

I think this was a big inspiration for our new kits. Actually, I could say the same thing about a number of other kits. Our new kits seem like they just smashed together the best features of five or six previous kits. The two-tone front? It came from these 2011 greens.

1) And our all-time best kits are the 2014 alternates.

What’s the best thing about these? The collar? The throwback lettering? The fact that they were sooooooooo much better than the ugly 2015 primaries? The team basically abandoned the 2015 unis late in that season, then rode these babies all the way to MLS Cup. Of course, once we got to the big game, MLS Headquarters forced us to wear our ugly primaries, which I’m convinced nobody liked, not even the team. If we had lost that game, I would’ve blamed the unis. The 2014 alternates were our best kit ever and we should’ve had them in that game.

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Okay, that’s my Top 5. What’s yours? Let’s hear about it down in comments.