Another season, another kit. United have announced that the new kit will be revealed on the 7th of July. We've all seen the rumoured kit for next season and we're all disappointed. Whether we're reigning champions or whether we've finished 7th, United supporters always expect the best of everything. We expect the best transfers, we expect to have the best manager and we expect to have the best, or one of the best, kits.
Let's face it, Nike have been poor in producing good looking home shirts for the past couple of seasons. The last kit which everyone liked was the 08/09 one. Nike also have a knack of making United's away shirt look better than the home one. Whether or not this is to intimidate opposition when we travel, who knows. Below I've compiled 4 emotional stages which every United supporter undergoes when a new kit is to be revealed.
1. Denial
We deny the heck out of it. "I'm sure it's just a rival supporter trolling us". "Haha! No way would that be OUR kit!". Yes, this is what happens when the very first pictures of the new kit surface, usually a couple of months before the season ends. We console ourselves with the thought that Nike couldn't possibly make a worse home kit than the one they made for the current season.
2. Anger
This stage usually involves all of us voicing our outrage about how we absolutely will not spend our hard earned money on another bad looking shirt. I mean, really now, what are the people at Nike thinking? If you're consoling yourself with the thought that maybe they're doing this with all the teams which they have shirt deals with, take a look at AS Roma's kit for next season. I would also like to know who at United is in charge of approving the new kit designs and if they need some help with their lack of ingenuity.
3. Preparation
All United supporters know this one all too well. We all think, "Maybe it isn't that bad at all. Maybe it looks different in reality. Maybe if I see it, and touch it, I'll like it better". We try to convince ourselves that maybe, just maybe the new home kit isn't that bad and that it will grow on us. We do have to watch our players play in it for the entire season so if they can grow into it, maybe we can too.
4. Acceptance
By now, we're all fed up. Once the new kit is launched, we see it at our local sporting goods store, we go into said store and have a proper good look at it. We touch it, feel it, see that club crest that we've all fallen in love with and then suddenly think, "Why not?". We end up buying it, we end up wearing it on the next match day and we end up being more proud than ever of our beloved team.
Have you reached the stage of acceptance yet? If you have, allow me to refresh your memory:
Cheers :)
