“You’ve never seen a jersey like this before. It’s really out of the box.”

Portland Thorns FC defender Kelli Hubly, who had just hopped off the field from training and onto a phone call with The Athletic, described the team’s new secondary kits for 2023. 

The uniforms, designed by Nike, are certainly unlike others we’ve seen in the NWSL. The tattoo design-inspired look has roses on the shoulders, the Thorns crest placed centrally on the cream-colored jersey and is surrounded by what Hubly jokingly called “a chest piece” design featuring the team’s three stars for their three NWSL championships (2013, 2017, 2022). 

“It’s crazy and it’s wild and it’s unexpected,” Thorns forward, and 2022 MVP, Sophia Smith said. “But it’s sick and it’s different, and I think that kind of describes us.”

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The front of the jersey features more roses, plenty of thorns and banners with the familiar mottos, “Rose City till I die” and “by any other name,” hovering over the crest. The kit is complete with dark green shorts, embroidered with more of the rose tattoo design, and light socks with a black band and roses on the back.

When just the jersey leaked on Twitter, the reaction was divisive, to say the least. Jokes were flying; Ed Hardy references were everywhere. And Thorns players were reading many of the tweets.

“I wasn’t surprised by people’s reaction because people love to hate Portland,” said Smith, echoing her comments after her game-winning goal at last year’s NWSL Championship. 

“And honestly,” she added, “we love that.”

When players first saw the new kit, the initial reaction was simply, “What?”, Hubly said. But they came around pretty quickly, and now she said she’s obsessed with the look. 

“Once we actually looked at it and all the tiny little details that went into it, we were like, ‘Wait, this is actually really cool,” Hubly said.

She also wasn’t too surprised that the leaked look spurred a big reaction. 

“I knew it was gonna send everyone in spirals because it’s so insane. Honestly, we deserve a wild jersey because we’re just so different,” Hubly said. “The team’s been through so much, we came out winning last year. We deserve to have a statement jersey — there’s no other place like Portland.” 

Unlike Smith, Hubly is old enough to have lived through the Ed Hardy apparel era the first time around and joked she was going to go find a trucker hat to match the jersey. 

“It just takes me back to middle school,” she said. “But Y2K fashion is coming back. You never know, like low rise jeans are coming back.”

But if there was one thing that did surprise Hubly, it was that the team’s supporters group, the Riveters, didn’t embrace it. For her, the kit fits the vibe of the Riveters in the North End — what she lovingly called a “hard ass vibe.”

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Both Smith and Hubly hope once people see the full reveal — and see it in action — that popular opinion will turn. If they don’t though, well, that’s on them. Hubly noted that no one’s actually obligated to buy the kit if they’re not a fan.

“Here in Portland, we like to keep things weird,” Smith said. “We’re just moving with it. A lot of people complained about everyone’s boring jerseys, but now people are complaining about too much. You can’t make everyone happy.”

Seeing the jersey in the context of the full kit does help the overall presentation. With the hunter green pairing, Portland is not wearing white shorts with this secondary kit, something the Orlando Pride announced they were doing to their own uniforms “to make players more comfortable and confident when playing during their menstrual cycle.” 

“I think it ties everything together and obviously for other reasons, it’s nice to have a darker color short,” Smith said.

Jersey design trends have also started putting team crests in the center of the kit, but Portland’s jersey fully embraces the central placement as a design element. 

“I think it would look weird if (the crest) was on the side,” Hubly noted. Though generally, she said she still thinks the central look is odd for soccer kits. But Smith embraces the change.

“I love it in the middle. That is who we are. That is our symbol. That’s what we represent,” Smith said. “It being the centerpiece of the design is really, really cool, and you can see the stars up above it. The three stars, that is us, that is our club, that’s everything we’ve earned.”

Smith and Hubly are ready to defend the new kit. But if the rest of the league never comes around, they’re ready to fully embrace their villain era as defending champs. Smith’s smile is practically audible over the phone as she delivers her closing line.

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“We love the haters, all the people finding more ways to hate Portland, but we love it,” Smith said. “Keep it coming, because that just makes winning feel even better.”

Bold. Unique. Undeniable.

This is Portland. Introducing The Thorns ’23 kit. 🌹#BAONPDX

— Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) March 14, 2023

(Photos: Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Thorns FC)