2013-14 Premier League kit rankings

It's been a few years since I did a Premier League kit ranking. With the 2013-14 season starting this past weekend, let's get started. How do you think these compare to the 2013 Major League Soccer uniforms?

20. Cardiff City

Puma continues to be the worst major kit manufacturer in soccer. A bland red shirt with the crest up way too high; it's basically on the shoulder. But by far the worst transgression of this shirt is the change in color. Cardiff have worn blue shirts for over a century. Their nickname is "the Bluebirds." But last year, new Malaysian owners of the club decided to change the primary team color to red, because red is a lucky color in East Asia, where the owners want to market the club. The bluebird crest was replaced by a red Welsh dragon crest, with the bird relegated to a small place at the bottom of the logo. I guess red is what the club needed to gain promotion to the Premier League, but it's a shame a century of history is lost in the process.

19. Southampton

Another club who changed their century-old identity to a bland red design for promotion to the Premier League. I know Southampton didn't want to become the third Premier League club with an "S" name and red/white stripes, but it's a shame they decided to forego their history in favor of a more generic all-red kit. I also dislike the monochrome crest; it can work on third kits and even away kits, but home kits are meant to have the "real" team crest in full color. Especially with such a complicated crest that's by no means iconic, all Southampton has done is make itself more anonymous. Not a bad shirt, just generic. At least they have striped socks.

18. Stoke City

Did someone say "club with an 'S' name and red/white stripes"? Stoke's newest design isn't ugly, but it's nothing new. It looks exactly like any other jersey released over the last five years. It's disrespectful to the fans to make them pay full price for a "new" kit that wouldn't have been out of place in 2008. And the Stoke crest is strangely small. It all looks very low-budget, especially compared to some of Adidas' other designs this year. They get bonus points for striped socks, though.

My five favorite sporting events of 2012

5. Tottenham Hotspur defeat Manchester United in Manchester for the first time in 23 years

Tottenham have had a very up-and-down year, but this 3-2 win at Old Trafford was a huge deal. Just look at the disgruntled United fans in that photograph! Any time Spurs can defeat one of the biggest clubs in the world in an away match is fun times. What may have been even more significant was that the three Tottenham goalscorers--Belgian defender Jan Vertonghen, Welsh wunderkind Gareth Bale, and American Hero Clint Dempsey--are the stepping stones for the club moving forward. Unfortunately, with European soccer how it is, there are no video highlights of the match online other than guys recording shaky video straight off their televisions using their camera phones. Which decade are we in?

New Tottenham kits! And why I've got a thing for uniforms.

"Ooh, why is Peter Crouch staring me down with his sultry gaze?" you may ask.

The 6'7 English extraordinaire is proudly displaying the new Tottenham Hotspur kits for the upcoming 2010/11 season, of course.

Now, let me preface this by explaining my enthusiasm for soccer and hockey uniforms.

I love understanding how people decide to represent themselves visually. They have to retain their years of tradition, while at the same time looking toward the future.

Soccer kits are unique among sports uniforms, because unlike North American sports jerseys that sometimes remain unchanged for decades, soccer teams release a new kit almost every single year--they may be drastic shifts in image, but often they're very minor changes just to cash in on supporters wanting the most updated shirt.

In addition, soccer teams usually display their club crest as a small badge on the left breast, while almost all feature a huge sponsorship logo across the chest. It's ironic: you'd think the famously materialistic Americans would be the ones releasing new jerseys annually for the fans to buy, with advertisements emblazoned bigger than the club logo. Instead, it's the Europeans!

Anyway, back to the new Tottenham kit. Let's compare with last season's home shirt. A lot of Spurs fans complained about the yellow in last year's kit, but I actually liked it. It was distinctive. With the 10/11 kits, Tottenham return to a more classic two-color look, with a bold diagonal blue shoulder flash.

The multiple Puma logos on either side of the collar were excessive in 09/10. There are still too many pumas on the new kit, but the fact that they're on the sleeves makes them more bearable.

A drastic improvement over last year is the sponsor. Yeah, it's still a random software company, but that's better than a shady online gambling site. Plus, Autonomy's color scheme matches the Spurs shirt much better than Mansion's did.

I also highly enjoy the white stripe on the right leg of the new shorts.

Overall, I think this is a slight improvement over last year. Most other Tottenham supporters will see it as a huge step up.

The away kit doesn't pass nearly as well. It's a completely uninspired generic Puma template.

That color? I swear I've seen it on another Puma kit. Oh yeah... Uruguay's 2010 kit.

Those stripes? That collar? I swear I've seen it on another Puma kit. Oh yeah... Italy's 2010 kit.

This second-choice shirt is an insult to Spurs fans. Massive downgrade from last season's classy away kit.

The new third kit is much better than the second choice. It's a very fitting shade of navy blue, and the Spurs crest looks great in white. The lime green trim is adventurous, and I appreciate that; it's what non-home kits should do. I just wish this was the away kit.

This is a substantial upgrade from 09/10's "nighttime jogging" third.

Taking all three new kits into account, 10/11 is a decent move up from 09/10, with the unfortunate exception of the second-choice. But alas, it's the home shirt that matters most, and it delivers.