The Philadelphia Union held an event at Xfinity Live! last night where they unveiled their new third kits in front of a packed house with upwards of 1,200 fans in attendance. The new look pays tribute to our areas soccer history, with patches honoring Bethlehem Steel FC, a soccer team that was in existence from 1911-1930.
The folks over at Philly Soccer Page did a real nice job looking back at the history of Bethlehem Steel FC and why the Union chose them to honor. It's worth a read if you're interested in that sort of thing.
The Union also have some great insight into all that went into the jerseys, including quotes from Adidas product designer Mike Walker.
“We
knew it was time for a third jersey for Philadelphia when we started
this and where we come in from a design side whenever we are looking at
thirds, is we like to step outside the box a little bit,” Walker said.
“[The Bethlehem Steel] were five-time winners of the U.S. Open Cup
(1915, 1916, 1918, 1919, 1926) and there is some great, great history
there not to mention probably the most popular team in Open Cup history.
We didn’t just want to do a straight Bethlehem Steel jersey though
because after all, it’s going to be the Philadelphia Union playing in
it, so then it kind of evolved into the idea that there are all these
teams in Philadelphia area, ones that laid the groundwork to get the
Union to where they are today – they are the foundation.”
Aside from unveiling the new uniforms, the event also featured every Union player. Pretty good pep rally to get fans pumped for Saturday's season opener.
Pick up a new kit here. Or check one out on Saturday at PPL.
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