Wizards return to Kansas City: The story behind Sporting KC’s old, yet fresh, jerseys

The Kansas City Wizards will play in Kansas City for the first time in 14 years on Sunday night.

No, Sporting KC didn’t play the Uno reverse card on its wildly successful rebrand that was unveiled in November 2010.

However, the Wizards logo, which was last used in the 2010 season, and the famous “rainbow,” last seen on a kit in 2000, will make their way onto the soccer pitch in Kansas City once again.

Even better, those jerseys will be worn at Children’s Mercy Park, the stadium that was built on the backs of those early Kansas City Wizards teams.

Sporting KC released its first true third kit since 2016, and it’s a bit of a throwback.

What makes it special: While it calls upon many iconic elements that made the late 1990s Wizards gear “must-have” retro fashion, the kit itself is one-of-one.

The response has been beyond the brightest hopes of those at Sporting KC. Thomas Earle, director of retail at Sporting, told The Star that early concept discussions included the question of how fervent the love for the old Wizards branding was.

“Was the Wizards love still there?” Earle pondered. “We’ve seen it, yes. But how much ... did (people) want to see it on-field? And was it a minority that we heard from, or were the masses craving it?”

They have their answer.

“This is our most successful jersey launch from a numbers standpoint in the last 10 years,” Earle said.

While Earle did not provide any hard sales numbers, he said Sporting has sold more customized kits in the 10 days since the kit launched than the rest of the season.

The response has made the new Wizards kit semi-viral. Even kit collectors based in Europe, who usually show little interest in MLS jerseys, are trying to get their hands on it.

This “third kit” launch last Tuesday was part of the Adidas x MLS Archive Collection, which launched five “retro” kits:

• The Portland Timbers’ old-school NASL throwback to honor Clive Charles.

• The LA Galaxy bringing back the green and black.

• LAFC’s callback to the NASL’s Los Angeles Aztecs of the 70s.

• Inter Miami’s retro-looking jersey in the colors of the Miami Dolphins.

And then there’s the Wizards kit.

When it comes to this one, it’s all in the details.

Sporting has released quite a few tops over the years as part of a retro night promotion. These tops are similar to the late 90s Wizards kits, with a modern twist.

Early in the design process, Earle said the Sporting KC creative team told Adidas representatives they didn’t necessarily want a throwback or like-for-like remake.

The creative team pondered what the next iterations of the rainbow would have looked like if it had continued through the 2000s. After all, the “rainbow” was phased out of production following the 2000 season.

You can see the more hard lines and “grungy” look of the 2000s than the wavy lines from the 90s. But most important: Earle and the Sporting creative teams made sure that while it met that 2000s feel, it also translated into something that could be “cool and modern” in 2024.

And here’s what they got: a unique Wizards kit with a modern fit. There’s the authentic Wizards crest, the original MLS logo on the back of the neck and “Kansas City” displayed across the front in as near as possible to the original font.

The words “Oh when the Wiz” are placed on the jock tag, calling upon the song The Cauldron fan section and players sing and sway to after home wins.

A black track jacket and Wizards-colored custom Adidas Gazelles accompany it.

“We really wanted (the collection) to feel like one cohesive statement: ‘This would be us right now if the Wizards still existed today,’” said Aaron Borns, Sporting’s vice president of marketing.

Born said he hopes the collection serves as a reminder of the shared experiences — both good and bad — from the Wizards’ early days.

“To nod to that, for those that were there, is fabulous,” Borns said. “And also, for those that weren’t, it just drives home the true history that we do have here in the community. And, to me, it only bolsters the importance of the club and the connection to the community given that history.”

Sporting debuted the Wizards kit on July 17 and will wear it during both scheduled home games in the Leagues Cup, beginning with the Chicago Fire on Sunday night. The kits will be worn for a few more matches throughout the regular season (Sporting KC has only 8 games left) and return to the vault.

This collection will not be worn in matches after the 2024 season. But given the overwhelmingly positive response, will the Wizards return through the club’s secondary kits in the coming years?

“Anything’s possible,” Borns said.

He had more to say.

“I think that the response has been so positive, I think when it does make sense ... clearly the opportunity is there for more creativity in this space,” Borns said. “So we’ll see. I think it’s always about trying to find that right balance.”

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.