The jersey that any professional sports team wears should be a representation of what the franchise is all about and what it means to the community.
Or in the case of the New York Red Bulls, the many communities that make up the team’s fan base.
For the 2022 Major League Lacrosse season, the Red Bulls are set to debut “1Ritmo”, a new secondary jersey designed to unite all of the team’s communities and to celebrate all of the cultures within those communities both inside and outside Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls will wear their new jerseys for the first time at the home opener on Sunday March 13th against Minnesota at 3pm.
(Photo of Red Bulls defender John Tolkin courtesy of NY Red Bulls)
The jersey, inspired by last season’s “1Beat” jersey, has many features including the checkered pattern which represents a symbol of unity for the Red Bulls.
“The checkered pattern is a visual that blankets the South Ward (supporters’ sections),” said Kevin Maulbeck, Art Director for the Red Bulls. “The South Ward fills Red Bull Arena with the energy that directly impacts the outcomes of the match, truly delivering a home field advantage to our eleven (players) on the pitch.”
The checkered pattern is also meant to be a tribute to streetwear and fashion from all over the New York/New Jersey area.
And of course, the jersey is red which is not just the Red Bulls’ color but it also represents the passion in the hearts off all of the club’s supporters.
After all, they are the New York RED Bulls.
“Our brand position of Red Runs Deep is being utilized to champion our pillars of culture and community and this jersey will be at the forefront of everything we do this season,” said Justin Baier, Director of Marketing and Content for the Red Bulls. From our fans proudly wearing it to the stands, in our neighborhoods from South Jersey to Brooklyn Bridge Park, to our players wearing it proudly on the pitch.
When the team goes through the process of creating a new jersey, the players don’t play much of a role in the design. Instead, the franchise looks to the fans for inspiration as to how the club should look on the pitch. If the jersey resonates with the fans, they’ll not only wear it at Red Bull Arena, road matches, viewing parties and other team events, but they’ll wear it around town because it looks good.
“The players are always going to be given the jersey and wear it on matchday, but it is the fans that have to go out of their way to purchase, wear and support,” said Maulbeck. “They are the core of the club and give the players the ability to enjoy the game they love to play.”
The Red Bulls, who open up the 2022 MLS Regular Season on the road Saturday at 6pm in San Jose, gave the players their first look at the new jerseys recently at the team’s photoshoot for the new season. The response was great and now the only thing left for them to do is to wear them in a match.
And when they do, they’ll be very comfortable in their new threads because their feedback led to the engineered woven fabric for the jersey, a technique designed specifically for the Red Bulls by Adidas.
“Adidas really pushes the technical side of the sport that the players notice right away,” said Maulbeck. “If they feel comfortable and proud, that is extremely important and a lot of that is out of the hands of the designers and more on the development team of Adidas.”
It’s a new season for the New York Red Bulls as they continue their quest for MLS Cup and with the new season comes a new look with the “1Ritmo” secondary jersey. The response has been great from the players and the expectation is that the fans will love them as well as they wear them at Red Bull Arena and in their communities.
The supporters will love them even more if they get to stand up and cheer a lot of Red Bulls goals and wins this coming season.
About the Author
