The jersey is black with the name "Islanders" across the middle in Mets-type coloring. There is gray shoulder piping with the Islanders regular logo on the shoulders. Down the sides are blue, orange, and gray vertical stripes, with a blue sleeve starting around the forearm. There's no word on what the lettering and the back will look like (but if it's anything like the prototype, it's going to be worse).
CH: I'm not even going to focus on the jersey here. We all know it is horrendous (save me with the "it's not that bad." Trust me, it is). It's debatable if it is worse than the infamous Fisherman jerseys, but I actually consider those to be better - at least they were trying. What we have here seems like a clear attempt to do everything you possibly can on a jersey, which becomes overload.
But that's besides the point. I'm angry because this jersey shows the Islanders clear inattentiveness to the fans. No more than a month ago, the Islanders on their Twitter and Facebook asked fans what they wanted in a third jersey. An overwhelming amount of responses clearly suggested "NO BLACK." So what do they do? They make the jersey black, supposedly. And yes, I realize this is still technically a concept, but the point is the Islanders should not have even tried black when it was so blatantly obvious the fanbase wanted nothing to do with it.
I don't want to complain about this. So instead, I want to offer up a potential solution to this problem. The first, and most obvious, is that if this is the actual third jersey - scrap it, and scrap it now. Secondly, it's clear the Islanders need help in the "fan relations" department. Ever since Chris Dey left, the Islanders marketing and public relations on a non-hockey basis has been miserable. Maybe it stems from the owner, maybe not. But everyone needs to be held accountable. What the Islanders need to do is add a position in their marketing department that talks directly to ticket holders, game attendees, event attendees, and anyone who supports the Islanders organization. They need a liaison to be there when things get bad to avoid answers of complaints such as the infamous "well, the future is bright!" That may be so, but that has nothing to do with the topic.
This situation still can be avoided. Nothing is official yet, and for all we know the Islanders may scrap this horrendous idea after seeing the outcry from members of the media like Pro Hockey Talk and Puck Daddy. They can make it right. But my point stands. The Islanders need to start listening to the fans for off-ice issues. They need to stop alienating the fans by giving them something that is the complete opposite of what they want. And they need to stop ignoring the fans thinking they don't need anything from them, when in reality the fans are what drives the Islanders organization. Without the fans, the Coliseum would be empty, and there would be nothing but tumbleweed rolling through the asphalt parking lot on Hempstead Turnpike. Time for the Islanders to wake up and listen to their customers.
AT: I disagree with Carey that the Islanders need a new PR person, on the basis that I have hope for humanity. What does that mean? It means I don't believe anyone working on any level for the Islanders could not see the relentless backlash that was shown for a black jersey already. There is no way somebody could be that oblivious to the feedback so far. The Islanders even posted a Facebook status asking for opinions and almost every other comment basically said "JUST NO BLACK". So, what does Terry Goldstein and crew do? Make a black jersey. That's not incompetence. To me, that screams that the organization did this purposely even though they knew nobody wanted it. But why? For what purpose? This is a fanbase that is basically hanging on by a thread after 4 losing seasons, a failed arena referendum and basically being the joke of the league for the past 5 years or so. Why would you want to do ANYTHING that would possibly set off the fanbase?
We were already a sinking ship. Now, for a few Saturdays in the season, we're gonna be an ugly one.
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