Black Is The New Orange

I have been of the mind for some time that the Philadelphia Flyers should never wear a black jersey. I know they did in the past, but I wasn't a fan of the black jerseys from 1997 until 2010 and I was pleased when they returned to their orange-and-white roots. While black is a key color in their logo, they have traditionally worn white or orange depending on where the games were held. With the Stadium Series game being located in Pittsburgh, it appears that the Flyers are going bold rather than traditional with their jerseys for this single game.

Seriously? This is what they came up with? Does the NHL consider these Stadium Series games to be their version of the NFL's Color Rush? My goodness are these terrible in so many ways.

Let's be honest: the contrasting name plate is done. Over. Enough with it. You're wearing it on three jerseys already, so I'll commend the Flyers for consistency, but these name plates are horrid. White lettering on the black would pop very well when you factor in the larger font size, yet they opt for black on orange on black. The whole idea of the larger font is to be able to read the name on the back from the stands!

I appreciate the Flyers using white to outline the numbers. At least those on the back will be readable from a distance, but the Flyers added the orange stripe underneath the TV numbers on the sleeves, making the white outline completely unnecessary except on the tops and bottoms of the numbers. I don't know who is in charge of designing uniforms, but there is one case of black-on-white numbers on an orange jersey. It works there due to the fact that the entire background is orange, but this color scheme simply doesn't work with a measly orange stripe.

With me being baffled as to the choice of colors employed by the Flyers, I went searching for some info. From the NHL's release,

The new jersey stands as a contemporary homage to the unique characteristics of 50 years of the Flyers uniform - a bold design for a passionate city. The primary color of the uniform is black, fiercely showcasing the traditional winged-P on the chest. The single dominant orange bands are a reinterpretation of the singular bands of color on the team's current home and away uniforms. In addition, these bands of color are complemented by a contrast color name-plate, which is a signature design feature of the Flyers' NHL uniform.

The full uniform carries the theme of orange accents over solid black - black socks showcase a single orange stripe across black, gloves include orange highlights, and the black helmet includes numbers mirroring those on the jersey.

So if I read that correctly, the reason they went with a black jersey is because it's a "contemporary homage" to the past? Those two ideas normally don't go together. By definition, contemporary means "belonging to or occurring in the present" while homage is defined as "special honor or respect shown publicly". When referring to the last 50 years, they decided to wear black - a color they wore for 13 of those 50 years? Wow. Whatever PR firm spun that yarn deserves a medal.

If there's one advantage that the Flyers will bring with them outdoors, it's the fact that the puck will disappear into the uniform. For Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth, that could give them an advantage during scrambles around the crease as the puck may blend into the black uniform despite still being loose. I guess we'll categorize that as a positive for these jerseys, but it won't change the final score when it comes to the design and color scheme.

I'll discuss Pittsburgh's choice in an upcoming article, but the Flyers could have done better. Orange probably wouldn't have been the best choice given what Pittsburgh is wearing for the Stadium Series game, but a white uniform would have been perfect as both a road uniform - it's a road game, after all - and as a contrasting color that fits into their 50-year history.

Black jerseys went out of style a long time ago. Philly could have done much better.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!