Well, the time has come for the Philadelphia Phillies and their fans. The team will finally get its own City Connect jerseys that Nike has been releasing for teams over the last couple of years.
As reported by MLB.com's Todd Zolecki in his Phillies Beat newsletter, the jerseys will be released in the spring, and the design is "expected to incorporate some element of the City of Philadelphia flag."
The initial reception of the leaked design idea by Phillies fans on X (formerly Twitter) was, let’s just say, not great. User Philliesupdates_ (@DylanPowerMLB) had an almost immediate, visceral reaction, describing the design idea as "absolutely vomit worthy."
That’s horrible I hope for all our sake this isn’t true, absolutely vomit worthy
— Philliesupdates_ (@DylanPowerMLB) December 28, 2023
User William Hussey (@WCHussey) pleaded with the team to reconsider this design idea. We hope the Phillies and Nike listen.
@Phillies, for the love of the team, please reconsider this decision before it's too late!
— William Hussey (@WCHussey) December 28, 2023
And Ethan (@EthanScannon) even offered up a series of alternative design ideas they'd like the team and Nike to incorporate.
Such a missed opportunity. Will look terrible. Liberty Bell. Phanatic. Mummers. Love sign. Cheesesteak. Terrible on Phillies part here.
— Ethan (@EthanScannon) December 28, 2023
Phillies' red jerseys being retired for City Connect uniforms
Because of the new rule from the MLB, teams can have no more than four different jerseys. Due to the City Connect jerseys being released, the Phillies had to retire one of their recent staples, with the red jersey tops nixed. They were somewhat of a fan favorite but were definitely the most sensible option to give up.
That being said, if Nike doesn’t come out swinging with the new jerseys, the fans will make their displeasure known and loudly.
Nike and MLB launched the City Connect brand in 2021 to give teams alternate jerseys that reflect “the personality, values and customs that make each community and their residents unique.”
The City flag has been used before, with underwhelming results
The Philadelphia Eagles used the City of Philadelphia flag as jersey inspiration back in 2007 and the reception was also underwhelming. Those jerseys were as bland as a design could be so hopefully Nike adds some flair to the uniform for this version.
User Intimidator21 (@Intimidator21) reminded us all how well the design idea worked out for the Eagles.
Yeah because it worked so well last time 🤮 pic.twitter.com/4LOjBGWKkN
— Intimidator21 🦅 (@Intimidator21) December 28, 2023
The 76ers have their own version of the Nike City Connect jerseys, which are a navy and red color scheme with plays on “Brotherly Love.” Overall, the fans love the jerseys and gear. It would be great to see Nike create a unique scheme for the Phillies to drive excitement and buzz.
The Boston Red Sox also have a City Connect design inspired by Patriots Day that uses an eerily similar color scheme to what is being proposed for Philadelphia. Again, you’d hope that Nike, who probably has some of the best creative minds in the world, makes the Phillies' jerseys different than Boston's design.
The jerseys are expected to be released in the spring, so Nike has some time to come up with something exciting. Hopefully, they saw how the fans reacted to the initial reports and are putting in extra work to spruce them up.