Islanders Unveil “Meh” Black Third Jersey For 2015-16 Season

“It’s like, how much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black.” – Nigel Tufnel

As reported on Monday, the Islanders have unveiled their black third jersey for the 2015-16 season. The inaugural season in Brooklyn comes with roommate-specific branding initiatives to meld the Nets and Islanders fans into one collective unit. Ok, fine (#synergy).

(I really hoped that the Islanders would have announced a time for the reveal, not just put it on the socials while I was in a morning staff meeting. Not that I’M important but structure and fanfare would’ve been nice.)

What we had seen in a “leak” looked to be a practice jersey version of the 2015 Stadium Series jersey. It cause much consternation on the internet but at its core the jersey is generally inoffensive. Borderline dull and boring.

And here’s the real thing. Exactly as the leak. You can peruse more Islanders provided pics here.

This jersey is…well…oh, who cares what I have to say, the internet is now on fire.

From purely a design perspective, this is neither bad nor good. It’s uninspired and droll, but remember the last black third jersey? Yeah, that bullet was already fired and cannot be matched.

Orange makes more of an appearance on the inside of the jersey than the outside. The specialty patches continue to be on the shoulders, unviewable at most angles and very Ranger-esque. “NY” on the pants can be seen from Pluto. And that Al Arbour memorial patch….it’s an NFL helmet sticker. Really bad and lacks personality. Did the sewing machine have a hiccup and stitch those lines all over the place?

Yes, yes, I/we can sit here until the cows come home, pigs fly, or the Isles move back to Nassau (BWHAHAHAHAHA!) hammering home the point that black has nothing to do with anything Islanders or Brooklyn, but we won’t do that. That’s what the rest of the internet is for. All we’re doing here is critiquing the execution of the design of a hockey jersey.

It’s not bad, just dumb. Many out there will buy it and we should be proud of them. Many out there will refuse to acknowledge it and we should be proud of them, too.

Our lives are, ultimately, unaltered.