By Bridget McDowell // @BCMcDowell
We Minnesota United FC supporters will sing “Wonderwall” any chance we get. But it isn’t often that we get to sing it in a packed four-story rotunda.
An estimated 1,000 Minnesota faithful and curious onlookers gathered in the Best Buy Rotunda at Mall of America for the reveal of the Loons’ 2018 primary kit. While many of the fans had seen leaked photos of the replica shirt and sneak-peeks released by the club of the authentic jersey’s details, the first glimpse of the entire kit was still an event.
Fresh off the plane from preseason training in Florida, the squad filed on stage to model their new primary kit in its entirety: Grey Henley shirt with a red button, dark grey vertical stripes on the front, the Adidas piping down each side in sky blue, a borderless crest and a small loon silhouette at the bottom. The light grey shorts, with matching piping, set off the dark stripes of the shirt, making it appear much less bland than most fans feared after seeing the leaked images.
This kit will certainly stand out more than last year’s light grey/blue sash kit. I haven’t decided if it’s the dark grey stripes that do the job or the exceptionally bright white bullseye front and center, but it works.
Speaking of bullseyes…
Target, one of the first sponsors to hop on board for MNUFC’s inaugural MLS season in 2017, sent its canine mascot, Bullseye, to model his own dog-friendly jersey (not yet for sale, I checked).
The event was also an opportunity to get a preseason status check on the squad. Field reporter, and former Loon, Jamie Watson talked with coach Adrian Heath and defensive back Brent Kallman about their Florida trip. Both spoke of progress on the field and off, with chemistry building between the newcomers and veterans. Heath also hinted that the much-talked-about potential deal with Columbian mid Nicolas Benedetti is still on the table despite rumors to the contrary.
There was plenty of promise and positivity to sing about. But, just to be sure, the squad returned to the stage, this time with scarves which they raised high as staff queued up the Oasis hit on the rotunda’s speakers. And we sang…
There’s more to come. The Loons head south again this week to close out their preseason at the Carolina Challenge Cup before opening the season March 3 in San Jose.
Featured image courtesy: @MNUFC
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