U.S. Soccer to celebrate 100 years with slick new kit and crest [Gallery]

Gamedayr | March 1, 2013 at 4:00 pm | 0 Comments

Photos courtesy Nike.

The U.S. Soccer team was founded in 1913, and in celebration of 100 years of Stateside football, the United States Soccer Federation has teamed up with Nike to create this classy new kit.

The new crests are far and away the headliner of the new jerseys, as they serve as a throwback to the first U.S. team, which actually did not wear them until 1916 — it obviously took time to get the organization up and running and to actually field a team. However, once that team was put together, they sported the big crests in a 3-2 win over Sweden.

There was no women’s team way back then, but both the men’s and women’s sides of present day will be sporting the looks in an effort to pay homage to the first U.S. team. Current stars Jack Dempsey and Alex Morgan show off the full kit, including white shorts with blue trim, as well white socks with blue trim.

Yes, the unis were made to look like those worn in the past, but Nike did not actually make them like they were produced 100 years ago.

These bad boys are as technologically advanced as this generation will allow. The shorts are made of 100-percent recycled polyester and the shirts use a minimum of 96% recycled polyester. Interestingly, that translates to each kit actually recycling 13 plastic bottles in the process, pretty cool.

The jerseys of the past were literally just sweaters. However, the new hotness uses Nike’s Dri-FIT tech to wick moisture away from the players’ bodies with the construction being 23% lighter than previous years while maintaining a stronger knit.

It is rare to see a company succeed at paying respect to jerseys of old while bringing the look into the modern era. However, Nike seems to pull it off effortlessly with these kits, and Americans near and far should be proud to watch our teams sports these crests against international competition.

h/t SB Nation