The Portland Thorns jersey does not go unnoticed

Every rose has its thorn and the Portland women's football team has decided to take that saying literally. In fact, the Portland Thorns have finally unveiled a jersey that has been hotly debated since previews, thanks to its design that combines the aesthetics of y2k prints with the creativity of overseas football uniforms. Indeed, on both kits, one in white and the other in green, there is an old-school tattoo-style design of a rose garden with flowers and thorns and a dagger piercing the company logo this season. On the sides the words Rose City till I die, celebrating the Oregon city's nickname. 

It is certainly an unconventional design, even for football, where it is normal to see more daring choices than in European teams, which have to abide by stricter rules and submit to a more consistent tradition, with fans ready to criticise every single deviation from it. Even in the case of the Portland Thorns, there was no shortage of controversy and irony regarding the use of such obvious graphics. References to Ed Hardy's style, which was all the rage during the early 2000s with its prints that echoed the style of old-school tattoos, and Von Dutch's truckers hats, raged online.

But the team's female players were positively impressed by the Nike jerseys. Player Kelli Hubly told The Athletic "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. 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.”