Community Corner: Should teams make holiday or special event jerseys?

We are in the thick of the holiday season, and many soccer fans are looking for that perfect gift for Chanukah, Christmas, or Kwanzaa. In soccer, we also see teams design special jerseys for an important holiday or special event that’s near and dear to their fans.

Some teams take a special event jersey and make it an annual tradition. 1860 Munich traditionally releases an Oktoberfest jersey annually to coincide with the opening weekend of the world famous festival. Each year, the jersey is amazing and it’s one of the hottest items at Oktoberfest for international fans of the game. Köln also releases a special jersey to celebrate their annual Karneval, and they always have a design that ties into the event and also turns heads.

There’s also the celebration of holidays and other months throughout the year. One year, Major League Soccer released warmup jerseys to celebrate Pride Month, the 4th of July, the Armed Forces, and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Teams have also created special namesets for the 4th of July, September 11th, Pride Month, or Armed Forces Day. Finally, there’s a team that celebrates Christmas 365 days a year, and that’s Finnish club FC Santa Claus. FC Santa Claus always has jerseys that, if you can get your hands on one, will always be festive throughout the Christmas season.

It could be awesome for teams in the United States to have jerseys that celebrate a holiday, month, or a special event like you see in other sports. D.C. United could commemorate the National Cherry Blossom Festival that occurs every spring. The New England Revolution could center something around Patriots Day or the running of the Boston Marathon. The New Orleans Jesters would be able to fully celebrate Mardi Gras (even though Mardi Gras occurs before the season starts in the NPSL), and teams could have festive jerseys for Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa or other holidays throughout the year.

So, the question of the week is: should teams make holiday or special event jerseys? And, which holidays or special events would you want to see your favorite team reveal a unique jersey? Hit the comments and discuss!