Reason number seven for attending Colorado Avalanche games next season is to see the new jerseys, which Adidas patterned after the sweaters from the glory days.
As the days of August start waning, the Colorado Avalanche season seems tantalizingly close. Indeed, the rookie training camp begins in just a couple weeks.
Pretty soon, we’re going to have to start making choices about going to Avs games. We’re hoping the 2017-18 season is an improvement over last year, for sure. The cold hard truth is, there are probably still some painful days ahead during the rebuild.
Well, to while away the hot (and sometimes surprisingly rainy) days of summer, I’ve been listing 10 reasons to go to Colorado Avalanche games:
Today we’re looking at reason #7 to attend Colorado Avalanche games — new jerseys. All last season the NHL was talking about how Adidas would take over when Reebok’s contract expired. Many teams were expecting to get new designs for their sweaters.
Well, the Avalanche were one of those teams, sort of:
Colorado Avalanche 2017/18 Adidas Jersey https://t.co/bkcIo5hUNi pic.twitter.com/ciOYQGIZld
— Acerbity /əˈsɜː.bə.ti/ (@plandericus) June 21, 2017
As you can see, the new jerseys look very familiar. They are, in fact, a slight update on the sweaters from the Colorado Avalanche’s glory days:
There are a few differences. The fabric is a big one — the modern version features an aerated, more breathable material. Also, the black and white piping appears to have merged into a gray. There’s also a little Peter Pan collar out of blue with the NHL logo in between.
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Oh, and of course, the yeti foot has been replaced with the C logo.
It’s probably no surprise that I prefer the old jerseys. I think the black and white accentuates the colors better, and I’m not a fan of the collar. I’ve no problem with the C logo, though.
The initial jersey was designed with the symbolism of Colorado in mind. The silver piping was meant to represent the silver mining that brought people to this locale in the first place. The peaked shape of the coloring at the hem is a nod to our Rocky Mountains.
Some fans were disappointed that Adidas hadn’t come up with anything truly unique. (Seeing what they did to the Nashville Predators’ sweaters should make us glad they didn’t try too hard.) However, I think returning to the old style might bring some good luck back to the Avalanche.
That’s what happened with the Pittsburgh Penguins. They had that old-time bird as their logo from their formation in 1967 to 1992, after they’d just won back to back Stanley Cups. For the 1993-94 season, they introduced an updated logo, a graphic Penguin.
They kept the updated logo for just nine years, but they couldn’t recapture their previous success. They blamed the logo as being unlucky, and they switched back to the old logo. Just a couple years later they drafted Sidney Crosby and, well, the rest is history. Currently, they’re the reigning Stanley Cup champs with back-to-back victories.
Next: Short-Term Goals for Next Season
It would be nice if it functioned that way for the Colorado Avalanche — heaven knows they never had real success with the unipron jerseys. Regardless, though, the 2017-18 season is the first time we’ll get to see the retro sweaters in action.