Solar Bears Unveil Jerseys
Tuesday · Apr 10 · 2012 | 5:35 PM PDT
The Orlando Solar Bears officially unveiled their home and road jerseys today. The Solar Bears are one of the ECHL's two expansion franchises for the 2012-13 season. The San Francisco Bulls, just unveiled theirs last month.
As you can see from the photo provided by the team, they are very brightly colored. But I think we probably could've assumed that when we first saw the logos back in January. There's lots of purple and teal and orange and yellow.
If it all feels like something from the '90s, well, it kind of is. The Solar Bears are a reincarnation of an International Hockey League team that existed from 1995 to 2001. The look is basically the same... just, you know, updated for 2012.
I have to say that, personally, I'm a fan. Would I want to see every hockey team start dressing this flamboyantly? Of course not. But it's a nice breath of fresh air in a sport that thinks black is cool. It isn't. Plus, it's ice hockey in Florida. You gotta stand out. So I applaud the Solar Bears for their efforts here.
The teams says the jerseys are designed and manufactured by SP Appareal in Quebec. As is standard practice in the ECHL, the white one will be worn at home for the first half of the season, then purple the rest of the way.
One debate I'm sure we'll see is over the team using two different crests on these jerseys. I know a lot of readers prefer the uniformity (pun) of using the same logo on both sweaters. I'm on the fence. But if I had to choose one or the other, go with the logo on the white jersey. No need for all that text.
What do you think of the set?
Reader Comments (26)
I wish they'd spread the arms out so we can see them better.
Not bad. However, I don't like the alternate logo by itself. Feels like it's missing something... Other than that I like the design they went with and I think it beats their original ones.
Veryyyyy Nice Jerseys!
I like it. When I think of Florida, I think of obviously sun and lots of colours. I do, however, prefer the white jersey over the other one.
absolutely love them. very different arm design that i haven't scene before. they kind of remind me off a reebok practice jersey. overall two thumbs up for orlando!
Those are pretty slick. I do agree about the crest thing (particularly if they aren't THAT different to begin with), but it's not a really big deal for me. It's not the Montreal Canadiens, nor should it be. It's a great look for a team playing in Orlando that calls itself the Solar Bears.
That bear head and sun logo is awesome.
Huge fan of these, and I'm with you, the White one is sick! Love the logo, love the bright colors, really did a nice job. I can absolutely see a orange or teal third in a year or two...
I'd like the logo on purple jersey if it didn't have the text. If they went with that one with no text, it'd be even better. But I must say, I like it. Very ECHL.
Looks OK to me. For an ECHL team, it fits.
Being a fan of the original Solar Bears I love the jersey. I don't like the extra wide number font and the Flyer's style namebar though. Going back to the logo, I think if the sun wasn't in the logo on the purple jersey that would be the ideal crest.
Yup, it's a minor league hockey jersey alright.
I am generally not a fan of this color combination, and am pretty much anti purple in sports, but this looks GREAT.
I think the jerseys themselves are cool, it is the
Reminds me a lot of the Stockton/Malone Era Utah Jazz with the colour scheme. I like them.
I prefer the striping on the original jerseys, but not bad.
They look an awful lot like the rochester nighthawks lacrosse jerseys (albeit different logos and the addition of yellow and orange).
I feel like this is a marketing ploy for a slurpee company lol but for the ECHL and Florida its acceptable
I think they should have kept the old logo on the older jerseys. Looks like the logos should be swapped from the different era's
Heinous striping patterns.
i think of girls volleyball for some reason
Put the Islander fisherman logo on the dark one and I have flashbacks!!!!!!!!!
These are great.
Everything that's wrong with jerseys in one jersey in my opinion... Not a fan, but then again I'm not part of that market.
Why keep the text on the dark jersey? The sun/bear logo is so much better (on the white). I really like the white. Big contrast from what you expect from a hockey jersey. The text on the dark sweater is hideous. How can the decision-makers not see this?
Get rid of the piping and we have a winner. I honestly don't understand the obsession with piping on almost every single jersey. It is never well received by the fans yet they continue to do it.