Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
I asked him on twitter why they basically stuck with the Reebok Edge redesign for 13-14 years when some teams refused the change, and those that made the change moved away from it quickly.
Remember the Oilers jerseys under the edge program?
So essentially I'm not blaming them. In fact I'm guessing they were on it and made the changes they were instructed to make only to be flabbergasted that other teams just rebelled (original six) and left them deep into a redesign they likely didn't want. (this is all guess work of course).
But then why stick with them?
The red ones at home are bad, but have some qualities ... but the white ones are almost embarrassing to me.
He basically said they didn't want to go away from something that worked, while admitting the appeal wasn't universal. Can't imagine more than 20% of fans liking the Reebook redesign.
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I'm so glad you asked this, as it's been a question of mine for years. The RBK Edge jersey resulted in pretty poor designs for most teams, and only a few left in the NHL wear the pick-a-jersey designs from 2008.
The Leafs, as a good example, updated the design in 2011 (or somewhere around there) as their design was awful too. The rest of the Original 6 didn't pick a template, but the Leafs had the same plain jersey Edmonton did. Edmonton even switched long ago... as the last to switch away from the sweat-eavestrough fabric as well though, mind you.
But yeah, the Away design especially is downright awful. There's definitely no excuse besides insisting on this design though and I don't get it. Fans have been very clear that this jersey is pretty bad, and surely the sales of it aren't telling them it's good design. It's either they don't care, or they insist it's good design worth keeping. So, sales of this retro are going to make things very interesting and I'm glad it looks like this switch is inevitable
But honestly, since 2008 I've studied design, practiced design, approached a hockey team and proposed design that's now on the ice... all before KK & Co. can put a design from the late 80s back on the ice. I feel like this switch could have happened a decade ago, and it's a confusing business/team/design/fandom/brand decision...