The LA Chargers have released their new uniforms. Here are the initial reactions and grades from the Bolt Beat staff.
Well, here it is folks. The best uniforms in all of sports have officially gotten better. The LA Chargers just unveiled their new uniforms for the upcoming season and they are absolutely fantastic. Here’s what the Bolt Beat staff thinks of the Chargers’ new look.
the best got better. pic.twitter.com/UTXPM8yYvI
— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) April 21, 2020
Initial Reactions
Brandon Viera: “The Good Morning Football reveal was a bit odd. In-studio it likely would’ve been a great idea, although seeing the wonderful Kay Adams in a new jersey was still great. While some may have thought it’d be difficult to improve on an already amazing look, they crushed it.”
Tyler Gallagher: “The new uniforms give off a 70’s/80’s era vibe in a newer and cleaner format. It is difficult to pay homage to an old era while still having a fresh look, but the LA Chargers design team absolutely nailed it.”
Faustino Felix: “Wow. The best just got better, indeed. The new uniforms will reflect the Chargers’ electric play perfectly. The numbers on the helmet are great, and every single combination looks awesome.”
Jason Reed: “The GMFB reveal was weird and their lightning did not do them any favors. The royal blue color rush looked like a Rams jersey and I am going to be completely honest, I was extremely let down at first.
However, the graphics for the jersey are infinitely better and they are pretty sweet. I am sure it would have been a better reveal if it was in-studio.”
Devon Auriemma: “They are absolutely gorgeous. Not a single one that I wouldn’t buy a jersey of. Very simple with a throwback feel to them. Love them embracing the powder blue more and bringing back the numbers on the helmets. Wasn’t too high on the idea of gold pants, but they look great. Everything about these uniforms are perfect.”
Alexander Insdorf: “Really nice looking. When I saw them on GMFB, I wasn’t totally sold because it was an awkward presentation. The twitter presentation alleviated any of my fears. I loved the numbers on the helmet and how clean they look.”
Gary Johnson: “They are absolutely stunning. From bringing back the numbers on the helmets to the all navy alternate having blue bolts on the helmets. These uniforms are a blast from the past with a modern twist.”
Worth the hype?
Brandon Viera: “Absolutely. Even with a strange and unexpected reveal, as soon as these uniforms were posted in their entirety online I just fell in love. I can’t wait to see what these look like on game day in SoFi Stadium. Many people in the football world hyped up these uniforms for a really long time, and I can certainly say it was for good reason.”
Tyler Gallagher: “The jerseys are excellent, but the hype was absolutely tremendous. I would say they fell just short of that hype, primarily due to an awfully disjointed reveal show on Good Morning Football. The images were grainy, and poor Joey Bosa was confused on his webcam, but the uniforms look excellent on Twitter.”
Faustino Felix: “Either the LA Chargers had everyone on their pockets to praise the new uniforms, or they were indeed great. It was clear after just a few seconds that it was the latter. The uniforms look clean, elegant, modern and flashy, and should be well-liked by everyone.”
Jason Reed: “Oh yeah. These are clean. If this does not live up to the hype then you were expecting too much.”
Devon Auriemma: “Absolutely worth all of the hype. The best jerseys in the NFL got even better.”
Alexander Insdorf: “Yes. For one, I didn’t expect for them to carry two color rush uniforms. The gold pants are a nice throwback to the 70s Chargers. All of the combinations look solid and aren’t awkward like the Patriots and Falcons.”
Gary Johnson: “All the hype surrounding these uniforms had me wondering if I was building up for a letdown. Boy, was I wrong.”
Favorite combination?
Brandon Viera: “My favorite combination has to be the powder blue with the sunshine gold pants. Classic look with a more modern touch.”
Tyler Gallagher: “White on white.”
Faustino Felix: “Navy color rush. Just the thought of seeing them under the floodlights of SoFi Stadium makes me extremely excited for the Chargers’ new era.”
Jason Reed: “The all-white and the all-navy, although the royal blue color rushes come in a very close third place. What can I say, I liked homogenous uniform combinations, I guess.”
Devon Auriemma: “This is tough because all of them are great. If I had to pick a favorite or two, the powder blue jersey with gold pants looks amazing and I love the all-navy look too.”
Alexander Insdorf: “The all-white look is perfect. It’s effectively the modern version of the mid-2000s throwbacks. A close second was the blue top and yellow bottom combo.”
Gary Johnson: “With all these combinations, it is so difficult for me to pick a favorite. If I had to pick one, I’d probably go with the powder blue and sunshine gold combo. After that I’m probably going to go with the all navy alternate.”
Criticisms?
Brandon Viera: “The only thing I could ask for on these jerseys is the incorporation of the new logotype, possibly across the chest right above the numbers. I personally love the logotype, and
Tyler Gallagher: “The near-black color-rush style uniform with just the outline of a yellow bolt is underwhelming. It simply does not look great. Otherwise, it is near impossible to criticize any of the other jerseys.”
Faustino Felix: “Maybe it’s just me, but I find they have a very, very, subtle Arena football/XFL/AAF feel. The new Chargers logotype in the front would have looked good in my opinion, but I’m just cherrypicking, it’s hard to find any criticisms for these new uniforms.”
Jason Reed: “I don’t know how I feel about the bolts on the shoulders. On GMFB it looked a little quirky, but I am sure it will look better on the players with the shoulder pads. I prefer the non-yellow pants as well, but I do not hate them.”
Devon Auriemma: “Honestly, I don’t have anything. These are perfect.”
Alexander Insdorf: “I’m not in love with the number font. Perhaps it’ll grow on me, but for now, I like the previous number type better. It looks a little like the Lions’ numbers.”
Gary Johnson: “One criticism would be that I wish the bolts over the shoulder looked a little more like the throwback ones. Also, I was hoping for numbers on the sleeves.”
Overall Grade
Brandon Viera: “A+. I love these uniforms like Alex Insdorf loves Isaiah Simmons. The LA Chargers had these jerseys hyped up beyond belief, and in my opinion, they could not have done a better job.
The logotype is something very small, and I’ll most definitely get used to it because every other aspect of this jersey has just nailed it. The Chargers have done this branding update perfectly every step of the way. I love it.”
Tyler Gallagher: “A-. One underwhelming uniform combination out of six is not bad at all. And my goodness, do the powder blue and white uniforms make up for it.”
Faustino Felix: “A+. In the words of Joey Bosa, good job design team.”
Jason Reed: “A+. Anything short of an A is not fair. The LA Chargers got this right at a time where every other team is getting it wrong.”
Devon Auriemma: “A+.”
Alexander Insdorf: “A-. The number font is my only criticism, but that’s almost nixed by the fact they brought the numbers on the helmet back. The colors all go together and none of the jerseys feel forced. I’m very happy the all grey rumor ended up being false, as that would’ve looked mediocre. My wallet just got a whole lot smaller.”
Gary Johnson: “A.”
Well, there you have it. We here at Bolt Beat and LA Chargers fans everywhere have less money than they did before 6:45 AM today. The Chargers have done an amazing job so far building up the hype for this upcoming season, and I’m sure I can speak for everyone when I say we cannot wait for football to be back.
For more looks at the new jerseys, check out Chargers.com.