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I can imagine that during the design process for the San Francisco Giants’ City Connect jerseys, the conversation at Nike headquarters went something like this:
Nike Manager: “Okay, we have to come up with a new Giants jersey. What do people associate with San Francisco? “
Nike Marketing Type: “Uhh … fog?”
Execution: “Perfect! Fog. Now we need a new logo for the jersey.”
Marketing type: “How about the letter G? It stands for Giants. “
Execution: “Haha! We did it again!”
The Giants’ new uniforms, unveiled on Monday, arrive with all the hustle and bustle of a company-designed cash robbery and somehow manage to be uninteresting, uninspiring, and disappointing at the same time. (The Giants will wear it July 9-11, and then every Tuesday for the remainder of the season.) The jersey itself is remarkably bland, especially the stark white base the Giants haven’t worn at home in years. Maybe this should also represent fog? Who knows, but it’s a disappointing start to a look that only gets worse.
Black, the basic color of the Giants, is nowhere to be found. Instead, Nike went for a shade of orange that looks just unlike the usual Giants shadow to be extremely repulsive. I assume it’s the “international orange” used on the Golden Gate Bridge as a screen printed bridge is haphazardly slapped on the sleeves, but it still seems … off.
The front of the shirt is reminiscent of the classic “SF” road jersey of the 1980s that holds a special place in the hearts of Giants fans, but this version completely misses the mark. First, there are no piping running down the middle of the jersey to dissolve all of the white; Instead, you have a big boring chunk of nothing and a Nike swoosh.
Second, the logo developed by Nike doesn’t come close to the iconic interlocking “SF”. Instead, Nike used a “G” in a font that literally has no connection to the team or its history – and for the “City Connect”. Jersey, nothing less. It is not the “G†that is used in the “GIANTS†word mark on the home shirt or logo; Rather, it is completely new and is supposed to be reminiscent of the Golden Gate towers. Not sure how much it resembles the towers, but it resembles a 6, which will certainly come in handy at JT Snow Appreciation Night.
And the fog? As far as I know, no team has tried to put fog on a jersey, and for good reason. What is supposed to be billowing fog on the jersey instead looks like an unfortunate accident involving bleach. Did Nike printers run out of orange ink halfway through production? Hard to say.
Most regrettably, Nike couldn’t have asked for a better canvas than San Francisco and the Giants for a kit program designed to connect fans with the city and the team’s history. The city has an incredibly rich baseball history that goes back over 100 years. Nike could easily have done something to honor the San Francisco Seals, the Mission Reds, or the San Francisco Sea Lions. No, they went with fog.
And nothing against the Golden Gate Bridge, but isn’t it a bit too on-point? There are so many culturally significant places and landmarks in San Francisco – Chinatown, Coit Tower, the Ferry Building, Sutro Tower, Lombard Street, and Alcatraz to name a few – that could have been used to create an unforgettable look. You could have honored San Francisco’s deep musical history. You could have honored North Beach and the DiMaggio brothers. They could have just slapped Crazy Crab on the chest, called it a day, and sold 10 million jerseys.
According to Nike’s website, the whole point of the City Connect kit program is “to explore a franchise’s connection to its city and fan base, each with different personalities, values, customs and traditions.” Imagine having this mission statement as your road map and the best you can find for a city as vibrant and steeped in history as San Francisco is “Bridge” and “Fog”. The point of these jerseys is of course not Really to honor the city and the team – it’s about selling merchandise, which Nike does pretty well. And those jerseys, even the authentic version for $ 435 (!!), will sell, as will the new caps and hoodies.
It’s a monetary victory for Nike and the Giants, but a loss for Giants fans who witness the destruction of an already perfect aesthetic by a company with no connection to this city under the veil * checked notes * Connection to the city.
If the Giants miss the playoffs, I’ll blame the bloody jerseys.
Dave Tobener (@gggiants on Twitter) is a lifelong Giants fan whose family has owned season tickets for over 30 years. He was fortunate enough not to miss a World Series game at The City in his life, is still not quite over in 2002, and lives and dies with the Giants every year.
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