Wednesday 31 August 2016

The Philadelphia Goldmembers

There are certain things that professional sports teams just shouldn't do for any reason. They're fairly simple rules: don't change your name, don't change your logo, and don't change your color scheme. Unless there's a very good reason to break one of these rules, the vast majority of fans will always clamor for the original look of the team with which they grew up and to which they are accustomed. Seeing the Flyers logo above in gold, for example, just doesn't look right.

The Flyers, however, don't seem to care about these fairly unbreakable rules because they are going to celebrate their 50th anniversary with a new colour, a new jersey, and no one will tell them otherwise! Ok, maybe they're not that adamant, but they will wear the jersey seen below twelve times in 2016-17 as they celebrate their semicentennial anniversary, also known as the Golden Jubilee. You can see where this is going from the image above. I'm surprised that the Flyers haven't named Johan van der Smut as a member of the executive committee at this point.

Instead, the Flyers will wear this on twelve dates including their home opener on October 20 against the Anaheim Ducks.
Holy schnikees, that's a lot of gold, but we haven't even seen the worst of it yet. If you thought Pittsburgh ditching the gold was a good idea, it appears that the Flyers found that burial ground and unearthed all of it.
Oi vay. Why do hockey jerseys have to celebrate anything other than what they represent? Look, I get that the Flyers being around 50 years is a heckuvan accomplishment, but what about the Kings, Penguins, and St. Louis Blues who have not gone down the golden road? You're not the only team with an anniversary this season, Flyers. Maybe this goldenrod addition to the jerseys was a bit of a misstep, eh?

The only thing worse than the jerseys? Paul Holmgren's hair!
What is going on with that dye job? Not only is it hideous, but that is not a colour found in nature. Even on nuggets of gold. If Holmgren's hair was part of Golden Jubilee celebration and he agreed to the dye job, be thankful he's not in charge of Flyers personnel moves. That's Donald Trump-esque hair colour. Yikes.

If there's one bright spot for the Flyers, it's that these jerseys look better as you move further away from them. Seriously. That's not meant to be insulting, but the obscene amount of gold seen up-close blends into the jersey as they get further away.
Of course, there's still all that gold on the back, but at least the front-facing side of the uniform is respectable when you're sitting in the nosebleeds at Wells Fargo Center. You might barely even notice if you're in the cheap seats!

You'll still see a lot of black and orange this season, Flyers fans. There's even a special Stadium Series jersey to come, so don't dwell too much on these Golden Jubilee jerseys. If you're smart, you'll buy nosebleed tickets and barely notice the added colour to the uniform. So get yourself a ticket, a hot dog and a beverage, and you'll be golden!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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