Should it be Cream or White? Stripes or hoops? Clean and classy or bold and brash? As the city of Milwaukee prepares to welcome its new USL Championship franchise, the club hopes to gain some inspiration from fans so the players look good when they hit the field in 2025.
For a budding soccer team with no official name, badge, history, or colors, a kit design contest should be pointless, but when given a prompt on June 28, many fans on Twitter took the time to create jerseys that they felt best represented their city.
The Great MKE Pro Soccer Kit Contest:
1) Use our template (or design one digitally) to design a kit based on your favorite Name the Team choice.2) Quote tweet this tweet (use #MKEProSoccerKit) with your design, top 3 most liked win a prize
ANY design, ANY skill. Details ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/T5IMw4UZi3
— Milwaukee Pro Soccer (@MKE_ProSoccer) June 28, 2023
Some are great; instant classics that wouldn’t look out of place in the Premier League or at Milwaukee’s famous Summerfest music festival. Perfect for holding a beer in one hand and a bratwurst in the other.
This was my Football Manager creation for the Iron Brigade - I'll take my check later. (Also thanks Kitbasher for making this doable.) https://t.co/7ynVRlsyqd pic.twitter.com/wEhvwIeA9l
— Chris Nielson (@nielsoncp) June 28, 2023
Lake Effect - Kit: blue of Lake Michigan, local company sponsor, trim on sleeves are from the sailing flag alphabet and spell out M K E. Crest: seagull, wings of art museum #MKEProSoccerKit pic.twitter.com/YBD8d99Nly
— emily (@EmilyHabegger) June 28, 2023
Took a quick stab at a Cream City shirt. Crucial that it’s a Hummel kit, they do good work. Also the 3D mock-up looks a little worse because I could not get the triangle design to work… oh well… enjoy anyway #MKEprosoccerkit https://t.co/QatmdUEz5p pic.twitter.com/dyo5WjdHgG
— Ryan Badger (@rbadger129) June 28, 2023
Emily simply does not miss https://t.co/5AYqqOzIOs
— Milwaukee Pro Soccer (@MKE_ProSoccer) June 29, 2023
Others, to put it delicately, would look best resting at the bottom of Lake Michigan.
Give me a bucket hat https://t.co/ZToPApZWZg pic.twitter.com/WkrrJxWQS0
— Gerardo Martinez-Cortez (@CortezThe3rd) June 29, 2023
Don't worry, Milwaukee.....I got'chu. https://t.co/yPPw3L8p5C pic.twitter.com/ZSgQpjBe7a
— Will Jenkins (@WillThomasPhoto) June 28, 2023
Instead of a prize, take this L https://t.co/7ca0ZsA8cO
— Milwaukee Pro Soccer (@MKE_ProSoccer) June 28, 2023
Absolutely not, wish there was a dislike button on twitter https://t.co/Zo2Ks1i4vk
— Milwaukee Pro Soccer (@MKE_ProSoccer) June 28, 2023
Too soon, too soon. https://t.co/3jvv688E6I
— Milwaukee Pro Soccer (@MKE_ProSoccer) June 28, 2023
The kits with the most likes on Twitter after July 4 will receive prizes, including a hat, a scarf, and an MKE Pro Soccer Biñho Board.
In addition to the kit contest, the club is holding a fan vote to help choose the team’s name. After a lengthy process involving public voting on fan-submitted names, the club is down to 16 potential candidates. These will be narrowed down to 10 after voting ends on July 8.
No more matchups, it's time to choose your 5 favorites.
From 6/22-7/8, we'll collect Final Round votes that will ultimately decide the Top 10 names in the Name the Team contest. We'll then use the Top 10 to determine our Club's nameVoting starts NOW: https://t.co/tGtB8Twjbx pic.twitter.com/CQiME0GcV9
— Milwaukee Pro Soccer (@MKE_ProSoccer) June 22, 2023
Could we see some of these kits on the field in two years? Probably not, but there's a good chance the final results will take inspiration from some of the submissions. Spelling MKE with the sailing flag alphabet and wrapping the design around the sleeve cuffs? Genius. Integrating cream and blue into the designs? Stunning.
The team’s future jersey designers will have the easiest job on the planet as they draw inspiration from all the submissions and hopefully create a final product as unique as the city that will wear it with pride in two short years.
