Phillies unveil 'Unapologetically Philly' City Connect uniforms
Todd Zolecki
@ToddZoleckiPHILADELPHIA -- Bryce Harper examined everything on the table in front of him.
The cap, the jersey, the combination of midnight blue, light blue and yellow. The ¡°PHILLY¡± font on the front of the jersey; the Liberty Bell; the skyline and the yellow stars on the cap; the Easter eggs scattered throughout. A year ago, Phillies executives invited Harper to look at the Nike City Connect uniforms they would wear in 2024. The group spent years working on the look and feel of them. They wanted his opinion.
Harper is the face of the franchise. His voice matters.
Harper looked at the cap and jersey in executive vice president Dave Buck¡¯s office at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla. He said nothing at first. His silence lasted for only a few seconds, but it felt like forever to everybody else in the room.
Well?!
¡°They¡¯re dope,¡± Harper said.
The Phillies unveiled their City Connect uniforms on Friday morning at Citizens Bank Park. They will wear them every Friday at the Bank, beginning on April 12.
The uniform is unlike anything the Phillies have done in the past, which was the plan from the very beginning. It explained why it took Harper a bit to say something that day in Clearwater.
¡°When I first saw them, I definitely didn¡¯t think that was the vibe they were going to go with,¡± Harper said. ¡°I never thought blue, yellow, that kind of thing. I never thought those were going to be the colors. I thought red or green for the Phanatic, or even black. Those were on my mind before I saw it. And then I saw it, and then I got the story behind it, and I thought it was cool. It¡¯s way different than anything anybody could have ever imagined, but it comes together so well. The look, the story, everything.¡±
***
Nike told the Phillies to trust the process, but it also asked for help.
It wanted to know, ¡°What does Philly mean to you? What do you like? What did you hate? What should we stay away from?¡±
It got ideas from those conversations. In the end, it presented them a uniform inspired by the City of Philadelphia flag, which is light blue and yellow.
¡°We wanted to do something outside the box, but something that connected to the city,¡± Phillies vice president of business affairs Howard Smith said. ¡°We¡¯re honoring the city through the lens of the city flag. People have to visually say, I get it. Now, when the narrative is told and all the storytelling is out there; the influence of the city flag, they¡¯ll understand it.¡±
The Phillies cap and helmet are midnight blue. The helmet has a matte finish, which the players requested and said they love. The logo on the cap and helmet features the Liberty Bell with two yellow stars. Inside the bell is a midnight blue city skyline and a light blue sky.
¡°We liked the idea that it was a play on our original mark,¡± Phillies retail marketing director Kristin Zeller said.
The jersey has a color gradation from light blue to midnight blue. It has ¡°PHILLY¡± on the front, which is new for a Phillies jersey. So is the font, which Nike said it created specifically for the Phillies. Inside the letters are subtle markings meant to represent the cracks in the Liberty Bell. There are 13 of them to represent the 13 original colonies.
The names and letters on the back of the jersey are yellow.
The pants are midnight blue with yellow piping.
The socks feature a city skyline with the same light blue to midnight blue gradation.
There are Easter Eggs and special touches throughout the ensemble, including a ¡°City of Brotherly Love¡± LOVE patch on the right sleeve. ¡°Love¡± is under the brim of the cap. The design on the sweatband is the filigree from the Liberty Bell.
Of course, every City Connect has a story and campaign behind it, otherwise it¡¯s just a random black, green or pastel uniform.
The main tagline for the Phillies¡¯ campaign is: ¡°Unapologetically Philly.¡±
¡°The narrative that we¡¯ve built around this is really about the city and the pride of the city and the uniqueness of who we are,¡± Phillies vice president of marketing and new media Michael Harris said. ¡°You get us or you don¡¯t. We¡¯re bold, we¡¯re loud, we¡¯re lovable. We take care of each other. We never shy away from a challenge. We¡¯re unapologetically Philly.¡±
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The Phillies have big plans for what they want to call ¡°Lights Up¡± Friday nights at the Bank. They will have City Connect banners hanging from the first- and third-base fa?ade. The colors inside the ballpark will be different. Phanavision will be different. The on-deck circles will be different. The Phanatic will have a City Connect jersey. The grounds crew will have City Connect gear.
There will be a mural next to Pass & Stow at the ballpark, which will be there the entire season.
Harper has his ideas, too.
¡°You know how Penn State has the whiteout?¡± he said. ¡°I was thinking about that and how other teams do it. I was like, man, it¡¯d be cool to make it midnight where the whole stadium is in that color. I think there¡¯s really cool things that we can do with it, being able to transform the ballpark into something that¡¯s way different than the red. I really like the fact that it¡¯s way different. Obviously, people are going to be a little taken aback without any red or blue or whatever, but I do enjoy that it¡¯s completely different than anything we¡¯ve ever done.¡±
Harper asked the Phillies if they could put something on the back of the jersey that acknowledged the entire city.
Could they put ¡°All of Us¡± on the back, instead of a name?
¡°The City Connect isn¡¯t about us, it¡¯s about all of us, it¡¯s about us connecting with the city,¡± Harper said. ¡°We¡¯re all together in this. Philly is all about, ¡®One of us, he¡¯s one of us!¡¯ That¡¯s the big thing if you do something. ¡®He¡¯s one of us!¡¯ I said, it¡¯s not one of us, it¡¯s all of us. You know? I really think that¡¯d be cool. It¡¯s just us connecting with everybody involved. It¡¯s about everybody enjoying this. Make it Midnight in the stadium, because when you walk into Citizens Bank Park there¡¯s such a vibe. It¡¯s a vibe every night. So if we can make Friday nights that, I think it¡¯d be really cool. Because it brings the fans to the players, and the players to the fans.¡±
Lights Up, Make it Midnight, whatever it is or however it looks and feels, Friday nights at the Bank will be different in 2024.