Key to appreciating Sounders’ kit leak might be backstory

From the very beginning of their MLS existence, the Seattle Sounders have been known for taking chances with their jerseys. From being one of the only teams in the world to use a bright green as their primary color, they’ve never shied away from going “off palette”, especially for secondary and third jerseys.

In that sense, the leak of their newest kit is very “on brand.” In a broader sense, though, it appears as though some backstory will be extremely helpful in properly appreciating the jersey that has now leaked (good find by Reddit user sherlocknessmonster).

Even by the standard of the Sounders’ often bold design choices, there’s a lot to unpack here. Beyond the smoke effect — which is likely an homage to Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” and might be enough to cancel out any negativity — there are a few other details that will merit some explanation. Namely, why are they using both orange and yellow as accent colors?

Assuming this is the actual tie-in, the jersey likely goes from “huh?” to “wow!”

Whether a jersey needs a backstory to be good is, of course, a separate question. I have a feeling that once we see this in person and/or on actual soccer players that it will look a lot better. In the meantime, what are your thoughts?