The Philadelphia Phillies city connect jerseys had a lot of potential, but just as they have in other cities, fans in the city of brotherly love were left disappointed. That is -- if these rumored leaks are actually the real deal.
The Phils should get a city connect jersey for this upcoming season. Prior to the big reveal, though, an image circulating on social media regarding what the jersey may look like has Phillies fans concerned, and rightly so. I mean...what the hell is this?
Alleged leaked pictures of the Phillies City Connect jerseys. What do you think?
— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) January 31, 2024
(via @Gottagoto_MOs) pic.twitter.com/X5men3vLgm
That is some rough early-2000's font, and I'm not particularly sure what the different shades of blue have to do with the city of Philadelphia. Typically, these jerseys have an intricate meaning -- a bond with the city they represent that is easily explained. That is not the case upon first glance for the Phillies.
More pics pic.twitter.com/EKyimrP8e1
— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) January 31, 2024
Phillies fans are furious about leaked city connect jersey
The colors, it would seem, represent the Philadelphia flag. The yellow sleeves and blue hue do have meaning in Philly. However, when applied like this...what was Nike thinking?
The Phillies 2024 City Connect jerseys will be released in the Spring. The design will resemble the City of Philadelphia flag. pic.twitter.com/eP8EyZDsYc
— Philly Nation (@Philly__Nation) December 28, 2023
Perhaps even worse for Phillies fans is that the team's red jerseys will be retired (for now) because of the use of the city connect threads. MLB teams can only have four jerseys in rotation at once. As TBOH wrote in the moment, Nike had plenty of time to change the design, especially after the reaction to the colorway leak was so negative:
"The jerseys are expected to be released in the spring, so Nike has some time to come up with something exciting. Hopefully, they saw how the fans reacted to the initial reports and are putting in extra work to spruce them up," wrote Michael Sadowsky.
I was looking forward to these since the city connects were coming out and let me tell you, these STINK
— Matt Miller (@MattyMillz85) January 31, 2024
Looks like a softball team Jersey
— Bell (@YNWABell) January 31, 2024
Even more disgraceful than I thought it would look. Wear it once and never again—it’s that atrocious.
— David Meatmachine (@atmeatm) January 31, 2024
They gotta stop with this crap. Devalues the brand in my opinion.
— Lee (@WorkItBaby2183) January 31, 2024
How bigs the yacht gotta be?
There's plenty more where that came from. If Phillies fans don't like the design, then what's the point?