US Women's National Team 2015 Jerseys

                So in the past week Nike has unveiled the home uniforms that the US Women’s National Team will wear for the World Cup this upcoming summer in Canada. Currently, for the friendlies and qualifying games they have been playing around the world, the team has been wearing an ombre top that starts as white and goes to a royal/navy blue color as you go down the shirt, then paired with white shorts. Obviously those are the colors we expect them to wear when they represent us at the World Cup, and you would think that for their home jerseys it would be an innovative design from Nike that incorporates our national colors. So, when I first saw the new jerseys Nike created I did a double take.

                In case you haven’t seen the new home jerseys for the Women’s National Team, I’ll give you a quick rundown. They are all white with black piping, with a similar design to last year’s home jerseys, and then the socks are ombre, with white at the top and neon green at the color. Yes, you read that right, the only colors I mentioned where white, black, and neon green. These are the colors that you will see out on the field representing the United States of America.

USWNT Home Jerseys 2015

                Personally, I am sitting at a crossroads about how I feel about these new jerseys. I mean, it seems like lately neon has been the new trend in sports fashion and I understand why Nike would want to stay up to date with the latest trends, but is the grand stage of the World Cup the best place to be tinkering with our national colors? If it were a few friendlies or a tournament besides the World Cup and the Olympics that they decided to create these jerseys for, then great, it’s cool to throw something a little funky into the mix and try new things. But, I feel like when you are representing your country on a big stage like the World Cup, that will be televised worldwide, you should probably stick to the colors that so many people can recognize. When people think of the United States, they think of it as the home of the red, white, and blue.

                Once the jerseys were unveiled, I first saw them on the accounts of the players who I follow on social media, like Instagram and Twitter, and I didn’t see too many people in the comments who absolutely hated them, it was more about how we were going to win, and it had a patriotic feel. So in the end, I guess the jerseys don’t make that much of a difference, people are more focused on them winning the World Cup, which really is the number one priority.

 

Images Courtesy of www.ussoccer.com



T-Shirts for a Cause

          The battle against cancer is one that all American’s are fighting whether they have it or not. Across the country, and even throughout the world, people are donating money to charity, holding fundraising events, and having dance marathons as ways to help find a cure. In my own hometown area, there have been two big fights that have been initiated by two separate schools, one being mine, and the other in a city about 30 minutes away. Each of the schools have held different evens and fundraisers as means to supporting their cause, but there is one symbolic thing that brings everybody together, and it is the t-shirts.
          At my school, freshman year, our school supported a classmate who was battling cancer and the slogan was “Just Drew It” with bright purple shirts. The other school in the past year has been supporting another boy battling cancer with the caption “Fight with Flash” on red shirts. These two fights have been huge in our area and supported by everybody in our own respective communities. I find it amazing how in times of need people come together to support such a great cause. I think that the t-shirts at each individual school are a uniting factor. My freshman year, we had a Just Drew It t-shirt out for one of our basketball games and I found it was amazing how even our rival school who we were paying that night wore the t-shirts and supported the cause. That night all you could see in the gym was a sea of purple in support of a kid battling cancer and nobody cared what school he went to, all we cared about was helping fight his battle.
         So what would happen if these two schools paired up and fought their battles together? Well last week in soccer we were playing the other schools and they thought it would be cool to design a t-shirt that incorporated both causes. Both teams then wore the shirts during warmups for the game and snapped a picture to show our combined support.
         What amazes me is that all it is, is t-shirts. The face of both of these battles are the respective t-shirts that you see classmates, teachers, parents, and community members wearing. It’s amazing how people put aside their hatred for their rival school and throw on a t-shirt to show their support for a student. These t-shirts truly are powerful.

Half-Zips are Perfect in the Spring Time

                We are at that point in the year when we are kind of at a limbo with the weather. One day you walk outside and it’s a perfect 70⁰ and sunny, and then the next it’s a chilly 48⁰ with gusty winds and even a few rain showers. So, when you are getting ready in the morning, it can be difficult to decide exactly what to wear because you know that the weather could throw you a curve ball at any point in the day and what you planned for doesn’t end up happening.
               Half-zips are definitely my new favorite piece of clothing for this time of year. They are nice and easy to pull over any top and come in numerous colors so they can go with your outfit for the day. Also, another nice thing about half-zips is that they come in varying forms of thickness, so you could get a heavier half-zip to wear in colder situations, or you could opt for the lightweight half-zip to wear on a breezy afternoon. Also you can decide if you want the half zip to be a little looser on you like a sweatshirt per say, or you could get a tight fit half zip that is common in yoga clothing. Personally, I think half-zips can work in any type of situation. Sometimes I like to wear them during warmups before my soccer game, or you could easily pair them with jeans and wear it to schools for a casual look.
              Almost all sportswear brands offer their own take on half-zips. My personal favorite brand to wear is Under Armour because I like the more lightweight feel of their material and the different color options they have available. Also for the half zips that you want to wear for sporting events, it’s common for people to get a team logo added on one side of the chest. (You can check out my post Embroidery Applications to determine which style for the logo that works best for you.) I highly recommend for you to go get a half zip because they are something that can honestly be worn year round and can be worn in many different situations. They are a universal piece of clothing.