There is not much Adidas could do with the Capitals Reverse Retro (TM) jerseys than what they did. The inaugural era has been done and it was onto the bronze era for the Caps. But if you would have told me it was going to be the #1 seller for the week it came out, I probably would have rolled my eyes and then not think highly of your opinion for a while. That still goes, mind you, but it’s still a shock.
Note– jerseys are quite subjective and everyone has their own style and what-not, but this is my opinion of this bullshit cash-grab jersey Adidas has put out.
For me, the jersey is not very aesthetically pleasing, mainly because I think the Capital dome logo and jersey would have been a better choice for the RR collab. However, more than aesthetics, it’s about what that era represented to me as a fan and the memories– or heartache– it brought in those jerseys.
Before I get started– we all know this is a throwback to the white jerseys from 1995-97, right?? The ones where there’s two colors on the home jersey and it still said “Capitals” up the side which they got rid of before the Stanley Cup run?? Okay, just making sure. Many places have it equated to the blue away jersey, but that was all one color whereas the homes had that clash.
The move to the screaming eagle was one that was very unexpected and one that I still think was a mistake to this day. Not once when I think of Washington, DC do I think about blue, bronze, and black. More over, it was the start of the Capitals move to DC; which personally ended my in-arena attendance of games– which is part of my loathsome attitude towards it.
On the ice, that jersey conjures up very bad memories. The Petr Nedved goal in the fourth OT in 1996 to knot up the series they will eventually win. To lesser extents because it wasn’t the white jersey at the time– the whole Stanley Cup run ending in a sweep and the Jaromir Jagr drama which led to the Caps need to rebuild. Sure, Ovechkin wore the updated white jersey and the black dome jersey– but they switched soon after. Not only that, but the dome logo would have been a great link of the time where the Caps turned the team around with Ovechkin and Backstrom coming onto the scene. I mean, that was 16 years ago that Ovechkin got drafted to the team– I think that’s enough time to have a retro linking his drafting to the new era.
Again– your results may vary, but this is kind of an explanation/reference point to anyone who asks what I think of the jersey and if I’ll buy one or not. Though, the latter can be answered by the simple fact I don’t wear jerseys much anymore and wouldn’t want to shell out the cash for it to just hang in my closet when I dislike it as much as I do.
Scotty Wazz 