Saturday night was the debut of the Braves "City Connect" uniforms (CC), designed by Nike. Throngs were buying the new caps, t-shirts, jackets, and jerseys. Hoodies. From a distance, the unis look okay out on the field. The royal blue pops. Still a notch below the iconic 70's feather unis. The new cap's royal A looks too cluttered with the red outline.
Only Ozzie wore high-cuffed pants, showing off the $30 CC Stance socks, also available in the team store. Braves are now 0-1 wearing the CC's. They'll wear them every Saturday.
On Friday afternoon I had been awarded the Saturday night Braves tickets, because of Easter, the Masters, and rain and cold were forecasted. But I could see the rain was ending at seven, so I knew the Braves would want to get the game in. I waiting until 6 pm to leave the house, and walked inside the stadium at 6:35. A horribly long line to the Braves Clubhouse Store. I should've joined the que. Concessions were 40% off until game time, but I didn't bite.
Made my way to my seat and settled in. Grabbed some free popcorn. Padres fans were gathering, including the second-baseman's parents, both proudly wearing his jersey.
It was the 49th anniversary of Hank Aaron's 715th home run, so that was celebrated. I should've worn my Aaron jersey, but didn't get the idea to layer underneath. At 45 degrees, I should've worn one of my Braves stocking caps. I wanted to wear my "new" navy Braves windbreaker, so I layered but under that. Wore my matching Braves home cap – the older one, since I didn't want to get my new Braves cap wet. A good night to wear my red white & blue Puma hightops, since they were warm and matched my Braves merch.
First time the Braves played a game without their iconic "Braves" script across their chest since when, the 1940's? Was this an effort by Nike to downplay the team name? Many would say "The A" is a lousy substitute.
The national anthem was sung by the appropriately named Cherokee High chorus, the first pitch thrown by a rep of the Cherokee Casino. Not sure if the fair-skinned blond-haired kid who hollered "play ball!" has any Cherokee affiliation or not.
After a couple of innings I was disappointed to learn the ice cream machine was not in operation. I should've tried the one in the right field corner. I made my way around the park only to find the Team Store line just as long as before (above). Took me 40 minutes to get inside.
While waiting I spied my old friend Rob and his daughter ahead of me in line, so we got to catch up for a bit. I tracked down the royal CC shorts I was after, and checked out.
On my way back I checked out what the Chevrolet people were giving out this year. Last year's clear plastic bag didn't grab my attention, but I took the time to get the white cotton "For the A" t-shirt with only a small Chevy logo on the back. Missed out on the designated driver coke.
Okay the City Connects are not the worst. My rank:
1. 70's throwbacks (no longer in use)
2. Cream alternates (no longer in use).
3. Home whites.
4. Road greys.
5. City Connects
6. Friday red jerseys
7. Road navy
I think my next jersey purchase will be the 1969 Braves road grey jersey – Satchel Paige's number 65. Should've got 65 when I bought the 69 home pinstripe. No hurry on this, since I have too many jerseys already.
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