New Look Orca

A few days late but I have a lingering question for the Vancouver Canucks: All the hype for that?

Seriously, I would have thought there would be a little bit more creativity put into the new Canucks’ jerseys released Wednesday after much anticipation and talk. But ultimately, I was disappointed along with many others. From what I’ve gathered and read, the general consensus of the new RBK Edge Uniform System-designed sweaters was more of a “it’s not the worse but it’s still below average” type of reaction . In terms of first impressions, it didn’t pass my grade.

Vancouver has a history of not so attractive unis, with the flying-V and the crazy red jerseys, which came prior to the whale. Many still don’t like the orca as our logo, so of course, their hopes of a change was shattered at the unveiling. I can complain all I want, but it’s not going to change anything. That doesn’t stop me from throwing in my opinion.

Here are my criticism towards this jersey:

When it comes to the word mark ‘Vancouver’, is it truly needed for the home jerseys? We know where we are from. Plus it just makes the whole outfit so busy, which is the main reason why I don’t enjoy it. I think that’s what ruined the jersey for me.

Now was a good chance to change the whale logo, but unfortunately, management slipped on the opportunity. Instead they took out the red, and made our logo look inverted in colour. Bravo.

I’m not a big fan of those horizontal lines on the ‘eyesore’ jersey. Sure, they bring the vintage feel, but we’re in 2007-08 and I personally would prefer a more modern, cool look with vertical stripes along the sides.

They shouldn’t have messed with the ‘Millionaires’ patch. It looks like a crappy caricature you would see face-painted on a child’s cheek.

However, with all the negatives I’ve pointed out regarding these uniforms, there are some ‘thumbs up’ attributes. For example, I think the collars look very modern and slick. Also, the overall colour of the jerseys are eye-catching and well-representing the vintage aspect.

My final verdict would be this: They tried too hard to incorporate the future and the present in the design, which resulted in confliction between the logo, wording and layout. Also, fans or season ticket-holders should have had some sort of say in the whole process.

But in the overall picture, the jersey doesn’t determine the Stanley Cup champions, the players wearing it do.

Hosea C