San Jose Sharks' New Jerseys

Video Highlights from Last Game

A review of the new sweaters

Well, the new Sharks jerseys are out and I have mixed feelings about them. Initially, I thought they looked terrible. A weird mix of new design features, laid out in an old school format. However, after talking with other Sharks fans and seeing the jerseys in action from the Teal and White game, the teal ones are starting to grow on me. Unfortunately, I'm still not a fan of the white jerseys. At any rate, here's my two cents on the new sweaters...the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good
- Now that I've had some time to get used to them, I actually like the updated logos. They seem to have more depth. Besides, who can disagree with a meaner looking shark?
- They look like the old school jerseys back when Falloon was flying down the ice at the Cow Palace. Nostalgia is always nice.
- New Rbk EDGE Uniform System. I'm not sure what it is, but it's supposed to improve a player's performance while keeping them safer out on the ice, which is a good thing.

The Bad
- If this was supposed to be a "new" design, then why opt for the old school stripes? Even though I enjoy the nostalgia, it seems like a cop out to me. If you're going to make a new sweater, then make an entirely new sweater.
- Do we really need the NHL crest on the front? We know what league we're watching and it doesn't really add anything to the overall look.
- I like the orange as an accent color for the logo, but having it on the jersey doesn't seem to work very well.

The Ugly
- The small numbers on the front of the jersey are useless and ugly. President and CEO, Greg Jamison, said that, "We increased the size of the numbers and added them to the front of the sweater, which will help our fans in identifying our players more quickly and easily." I found this comment to be insulting. As a dedicated Sharks fan, I've learned to identify my boys in teal simply by the way they skate. Granted, this would be tough for new fans to do, but if you watch enough Sharks hockey, you know what I mean. Besides, having the numbers on the front don't really help identify players. If you can see the two inch number on the front of a player's jersey, you might as well look at his face for identification purposes...call me crazy, but that just seems easier.

Overall, I personally still like the jerseys that were on the ice last year. Both the home and away versions were very cool. However, Sharks management saw an opportunity to drive revenue through a re-branding effort and I can't blame them...professional hockey is still a business. At the end of the day, I'll probably own a new teal jersey because I'm a Sharks fan, even if it makes me a bit of a hippocrite.

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