We're 100 Days Away From Olympic Hockey. Is That Enough Time To Re-Design These Team USA Sweaters?
Here’s something I’ve said pretty much my entire life up until today–any hockey jersey that has the letters “USA” across the front will always get an A+ in my book. Have there been some USA hockey jersey designs before that were questionable to say the least? Absolutely. But I’ll always say that a jersey with “USA” on the front is better than any other jersey ever created. I’ve also always said that jerseys are always going to look better once they’re actually worn by the players on the ice instead of just looking at the mock up drawings.
With that being said…. I cannot bring myself to defend these sweaters that USA Hockey will be wearing at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang. These are roller hockey jerseys through and through and I guess this is our punishment for not allowing NHL players to participate in the Olympics this year.
Seriously though. What the hell is this nonsense? If I’m Auston Matthews or Jack Eichel or Dylan Larkin or any young American stud who was looking forward to playing in my first olympics this year, I am ecstatic right now that I don’t have to go to South Korea anymore just to wear these monstrosities. Like you have to go out of your way and try as hard as possible to screw up the USA hockey jersey. And that’s what they did right here. It’s so simple. All you have to do is not touch a single thing and you’ve got the perfect jersey.
The 1980 jersey will forever be the greatest just for symbolic purposes.
The 1960 throwback jerseys are the perfect example of how you can take an original look and just modernize it a little bit to create one of the best sweaters the game has ever seen.
Hell, even if you want to stray away from the bread and butter, there’s a way to make the jersey not look like garbage. Take 2002 for instance.
Maybe it’s just because this was the era that I grew up in but I’ll always be a fan of this look. It’s different but it’s still gets the juices going.
You want to get really crazy? Let’s go with the 1994 Junior Goodwill Games sweater. You’ll be hard pressed to find anybody who would have any issues with Team USA skating around in these bad boys this February.
As you can see, it’s almost impossible to come up with a USA hockey jersey that is actually bad. Yet here we are today with this nonsense that is apparently “inspired by Bald Eagle feathers”
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And I guess it’s because the Olympics are in South Korea this year and Asians love whacky designs. That’s not a racist thing to say, those are just the facts. Like I can guarantee you that these jerseys will sell faster in Pyeongchang than any original USA hockey jersey would. But that doesn’t change the fact that they’re still disgraceful. Just when these young kids think they’re getting the chance of a lifetime to play in the Olympics with the NHL players not allowed to go, they realize they have to wear these. It’s like giving a kid a million dollars to go to the candy store but the only thing the store has is black licorice.
On the bright side, at least Canada is stuck with these ridiculous sleeves as well.
But at least they have the leaf that kind of saves the look a little bit instead of just that disgusting soccer font across the front.
Anyway. We’re now 100 days away from the start of the 2018 Winter Olympics. I think we’re technically 101 days away from the start of the hockey tournament. I know a lot of people are still upset about the NHL’s decision not to go but I actually think it’s going to make the tournament more exciting this year. The usual suspects are still going to be in the medal games like Canada, Russia, Sweden and hopefully USA. But the tournament is going to be more even now and you’re not going to get any 7-1 blowouts against Slovenia anymore. Each game will be tight and that’s when international hockey is at its finest. Regardless of whatever hideous jerseys the teams are wearing.
We’ll have more prep blogs over the next few months once rosters are finalized and everything like that.