FanPost Friday: Seattle Mariners City Connect uniforms reaction space!

Welcome back to FanPost Friday. As many of you know, I tend to have strong opinions about uniform aesthetics and oh boy do we have uniforms to discuss today! This is the official release video for the Mariners Nike City Connect uniforms:

Some more looks and details:

So, we saw the leaks of the jersey last week, and it all looked very legit and so I was expecting something boring but nice looking. I’m never mad about the royal blue and yellow color combo, as it’s both aesthetically pleasing (contrast! it’s important!) and it reminds me of when first fell in love with the game, the Mariners, and Griffey. The Mariners traffic heavily in nostalgia, but I cannot help but be a sucker for this color combo. Guilty as charged.

But, then the BLACK PANTS and BLACK BRIM arrived this morning and readers, I am pretty disappointed with the kit as a whole. Here is how I envision the journey to this moment:

Nike: hey mariners, it’s your turn for a CITY CONNECT uniform, have any input?
Mariners: yes we want every professional Seattle baseball team represented, especially THE PILOTS who only existed for one year
Nike: hmm, that’s a tall order and a horrific mish mash of color schemes, but we’ll give it a shot. You sure you don’t just want something completely new? Maybe work in a respectful nod to indigenous peoples of the region like most other Seattle sports teams have done recently?
Mariners: n o s t a l g i a
Nike: ......oh...kay
Mariners: n o s t a l g i a
~~~~2 weeks later~~~~
Nike: okay mariners, here ya go! thoughts?
Mariners: we said every team
Nike: yeah but the colors don’t work, we think y’all have a really strong identity with the blue & yellow that will definitely connect with your fans, sell a ton of jerseys, etc
Mariners: EVERY. TEAM.
Nike: ......okay we’ll get back to you
Mariners: n o s t a l g i a
~~~~10 weeks and 8 iterations later~~~~
Nike: (fighting back tears) all right we did it, we worked in the pilots, the steelheads, and even the rainiers if you squint....we gave you the black...pants and brim....like you...(gritting teeth) asked for......(deep sigh) what do you think?
Mariners: IT’S PERFECT WE DID IT
Nike: yeah you sure did
Mariners: n o s t a l g i a

Design by committee and the need for a design to be all-encompassing is often the death of aesthetic quality. That’s I what I think happened here and it’s a bummer. They blew it on an opportunity to make something that was either completely unexpected and creative or at the very least, something familiar that looked good. That hat is especially a crime against good taste, I’m afraid. A beveled, Pilots-ized trident logo, probably made in 5 minutes, on blue crown with a black brim, which has surely already been made as fan wear by New Era at some point. It’s incredibly lazy and uninspired. I will not partake.

The jerseys, however, by themselves are quite nice! See, this is pleasing to look at!

All right, I will stop ranting because this is a COMMUNITY space for y’all to rant and rave, too! Let’s hear it!

Sound off in the comments. Have a lovely weekend and enjoy this nice weather at long last. Let’s hope the Mariners win a couple in Toronto. And last, but not least, LET’S GO KRAKEN IN GAME SIX.