First Impressions

I blogged here some time ago about an outdoor NHL game in Calgary. It turns out I jumped the gun a bit, but so did the local media. In the end, there will be a Heritage Classic game played outdoors at McMahon Stadium - a short-ish walk from where I live - next February against the Montreal Canadiens. Today saw the official announcement, press conference, and unveiling of the team's retro, one-off jersey. To say that it caused a bit of a squall on the internet was something of an understatement. I certainly didn't like it, but the first image released suggested it was straight red and yellow and looked like something Ronald McDonald might wear.

Only when video/photos of it being worn by players did it actually look sort of OK and people start to come around to it. Certainly, the first image of it that was distributed was a bit of an own goal (not that such things exist in hockey, but still). Now I'll leave the reader to draw their own conclusions on whether they like it or not, but it left me reflecting on the second such 'ugh, I don't like that at all' moment in a matter of months after the unveiling of the new Bradford home strip three months ago. Just as now, I instantly didn't like it and then came round an hour or two later. I think I am becoming more reactionary as I get older and perhaps it's a lesson in not blurting out on facebook how much it's rubbish and taking an hour or two to think about things a bit.

The fact that I like it because it appears to be more claret and amber than red and yellow is entirely coincidental. Honest