CASE 015: PROJECT LONG SLEEVE
CASE 015: Project Long Sleeve - Major League Soccer’s abdication of football heritage and why they should reconsider their most silent move.
Six years ago, Major League Soccer decided it would no longer be producing or selling long-sleeved jerseys for its twenty-four MLS clubs. For the past six years, as North America’s largest league has grown to over thirty teams, we have sat here in bewilderment.
At Studio 14, we have been asking ourselves, why? Why would they abandon footballing culture and tradition in such a manner?
We weren’t the only ones. In February of 2019, The Athletic published an article titled “MLS is getting rid of long-sleeve jerseys but nobody will say why”, where American soccer journalist Jeff Reuter, entertainingly details how he had called all twenty-four MLS clubs, the league, and even Adidas, but got no real answers. The internet’s best guess - they just weren’t selling very well. Lessen the number of SKUs, improve margins. Makes sense.
MAKES SENSE IF YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO RESPECT FOR FOOTBALL HERITAGE.
David Beckham wore a long-sleeved kit for his whole career. He didn’t do it through long and blisteringly hot southern California summers, to have his long-sleeved tradition die shortly after hanging up the boots. How can the MLS have icons when it doesn't have long-sleeved kits?
All jokes aside, and we aren’t joking, Long sleeves are an important part of football culture. Why…? It depends on who you ask. Protection from the sun, their idol only wore long sleeves, shielding from the cold or the wind, or they simply just liked the look. The practical importance of the long sleeve will never do it justice. A Casio keeps better time than a Rolex, but we all know which one we would choose. Of course, we aren’t equating a Rolex with a long-sleeved kit (we are taking the kit every day of the week and twice on Sundays). The point is - it’s the ineffable cultural significance of the long-sleeved football shirt that carries the true weight. David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann, and Kylian Mbappé (to name a few) are all committed to the culture. PSG even released a special European kit that was “designed to be a long-sleeved kit” this year (Soccer Bible).
The cultural significance of the long-sleeved kit is undeniable. Project Longsleeve is our campaign committed to showing the beauty of the long sleeve in a country darkened by the shadows of its absence. Featuring upcycled and retro MLS kits, we embarked on a process of refurbishment, re-design, and re-imagination of how these kits belong in the modern style zeitgeist, on and off the pitch. Sartorial and serious, we ABSOLUTELY love a long sleeve and we wanted to show you why. No, we needed to show you why.
Through the rain, through the snow, through the sun, through the wind. Forever committed to the long sleeve.
Let’s talk about the kits
TORONTO FC
Founded in 2005, TFC was the first and only, Canadian team to win MLS Cup. One of only six MLS teams to have won the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup in the same year, Toronto's history has been a story of peaks and valleys. It took the club eight years to make its first appearance in the MLS playoffs. For nearly a decade, every MLS pundit, official, and fan scratched their head as they watched TFC try to get it right, and subsequently fail. Bad luck, bad tactics, bad decisions - that was what the North American footballing community saw TFC as for so long. So what turned it around for them? You could say a few key signings (Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley (to name a few). Or the front and back office shifts from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (The owners of Toronto FC). While these were certainly drivers, it's unquestionable that those noisy fans up North are what kept this club going. They were the soil, grounding this club, nurturing this club, loving this club. Rain or shine, win or lose, with over 17,000 season tickets sold in 2014, Toronto FC had one of the highest proportions of season ticket holders and still does to this day. An embodiment of what it means to have committed fans. They have suffered, and they have sung through it.
The very first TFC kit, The 2007 Toronto FC Project Long Sleeve Kit, is here to remind you - Suffering is a part of the game, doesn't mean we shouldn't sing through the pain. Through the cold, through the losses, through the change, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. There are bright skies ahead in Toronto, you may not always see them, but you will hear them calling. Thank you for keeping it loud, Toronto. Thank you for being Noisy Up North.
COLORADO RAPIDS
Founded in 1995, a founding father if you will, the Rapids were one of the 10 inaugural MLS clubs to kick off a new adventure for this sport in North America. Plagued by "nearly moments" in their first decade and a half, the Rapids became MLS champions in 2010. Boosted by a loyal supporters group that had seen the club through 3 rebrands, 3 stadiums, and a cup final upset loss against a USL side that would make ya think it's never coming home, the Rapids stood their ground at the base of the Rockies. They lived with the lows. They lived with the highs. The grass in Commerce City got what it deserved in 2010, and that was the footsteps of champions.
The 2018 Colorado Rapids Project Long Sleeve Kit is here to remind you - with the steepest home / away win ratio in MLS history, the Rapids are an embodiment of what it means to live with the lows and still climb the mountain. One of the league leaders in environmental activism, true to the values of their home state, the club epitomizes what it means to Live With The Land, Not On It.
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS
Originally founded in 1973, the Vancouver Whitecaps died and were reborn as a phoenix club in 2009 when it was announced they would be joining the MLS. The first North American team to make it to a CONCACAF Champions League final, and the first Canadian team to make the MLS playoffs, these lot are trailblazers still on their way to their first non-Canadian honors. With some of the liveliest and most accepting supporters groups in North America (shoutout The Rain City Brigade), Whitecaps culture is the opposite of fair-weather fandom.
The Vancouver Whitecaps 2013 Project Long Sleeve Kit is here to remind you - No matter the storm, no matter the weather, that silverware is coming. In the meantime, we have to learn how to Dance In The Rain.
LA GALAXY
Lights, camera, action. Founded in 1994 as one of the ten inaugural MLS franchises, the LA Galaxy is as close as we get to footballing royalty in the United States. Named after the stars on the strip, the Galaxy is the footballing manifestation of the American fascination with celebrity culture. Wildly successful on the field (reigning MLS Cup Champions), the Galaxy has a long-standing history of attracting the glamour - Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan, to name a few. But let's be honest, none were more iconic or more impactful to the spotlight on the American domestic league than Sir David Beckham. Signed from Real Madrid in 2007, all the lights and cameras in this country found their way to soccer in Southern California. Unfortunately, there was very little action at first. The Galaxy were floundering and missed the playoffs for a third successive season. Becks went off to Milan, wanted to stay, and the Galaxy said "hell no". Brought back to LA in 2009, the pro he was, the England international knew he had unfinished business. David showed the Goliath he was signed to be and brought glory back to LA in 2011, winning his first MLS Cup in the most beautiful of long sleeves.
The 2007 LA Galaxy David Beckham Project Long Sleeve Kit is here to remind you - There is no player bigger than the club, but there is equally no shame in loving the lights, the camera, and the action. Football is a game of stories, wonderfully unpredictable narratives, and a handful of Long Sleeve Legends that make this beautifully simple sport a phenomenon everywhere it goes.
ORLANDO CITY
Founded in 2010, Orlando City made waves in the USL, winning two championships in three years, before becoming the 21st MLS franchise in 2013. With Kaka headlining and a brand spankin’ new soccer-specific stadium in the works - the lions were just getting started in cultivating an enchanted footballing culture. With a decisively bold move, Orlando City SC became the first MLS club to have a standing section in their stadium. Word on the block - the atmosphere is far more magical than any Disney theme park could dream of.
The 2017 Orlando City Project Long Sleeve Kit is here to remind you - The enchantment never leaves this city.
Forever on their feet, these fans will always be Standing in Magic.
REAL SALT LAKE
Founded in 2004, named after the owner's favorite team "Real Madrid", Real Salt Lake were long known as the "Lovable Losers" in Major League Soccer. They turned that around in 2009 - beating Beckham and his LA boys in PKs as the lowest-seeded team in the playoffs. History on the Western frontier. A well-earned gift for the fan family and family fans.
The 2018 Real Salt Lake Project Long Sleeve Kit is here to remind you - Stop sleeping on RSL, a truly family-first club, they’ll show you what it means to have true Connection on the Wasatch Front.
ATLANTA UNITED
Founded in 2014, Atlanta United started their MLS journey in 2017 as the twenty-second club to enter the league. And wow, was that a crazy year. We hadn't seen an expansion team take the league by storm in their inaugural season like that since the Seattle Sounders nearly a decade prior. Atlanta United said, "You think making the playoffs in our first season was crazy? Watch this." Led by former Barcelona and Argentina manager Gerardo Martino, Atlanta United went and won the whole damn thing in their second season. The 2018 MLS cup champs have had the highest match attendance every year since entering the league. Sure, they have had their missteps in the past decade, but we gotta give it to them - Atlanta United's brief history is a case study in what it looks like to build and fly the plane at the same time. Delta Airlines is taking notes.
The 2019 Atlanta United Project Long Sleeve Kit is here to remind you - this is what it looks like when you are bouncing from the support of a diverse fanbase, music aficionados, and art-lovers. Leadership in the local Atlanta soccer community wanted to flip the script on the city's label as a "lazy sports town". In less than a decade, we think it's safe to say - the scripts have been flipped. Atlanta United has A-Town Bouncing.