The NHL Reverse Retro jerseys have been garnering a lot of love the past couple months, so the gang over at Lacrosse Flash decided to see what National Lacrosse League teams would roll out if they introduced Reverse Retro jerseys.
The team took matters into their own hands by designing NLL Reverse Retro uniforms for the thirteen active NLL franchises, so we decided to take a closer look at the concepts that Lacrosse Flash came up with. You can read more about the reasoning behind these designs at LacrosseFlash.com. Now let’s get started on breaking down our favorites.
NLL North Division
The best of the NLL North Division is without a doubt the homage to the Rochester Griffins, a team that played in the original incarnation of the NLL, winning the 1974 NLL Championship in the team’s only year of existence. Combining the old Griffins logo with the new Rochester Knighthawks colors is a match made in heaven. The Lacrosse Flash team also nailed the Toronto Rock look with the jersey featuring music notes on the side and the team’s logo from 1998 to 2001 that featured the CN Tower rocking out with a lacrosse stick-guitar.
Since the Buffalo Bandits currently use the same sweaters that they wore during their MILL days, the Lacrosse Flash team was in a tough spot when it came to designing a retro-looking uniform. The Halifax Thunderbirds jerseys are also quite bland, but there’s not much the team could do without touching the team’s Rochester Knighthawks roots (we’ll get to that later).
NLL East Division
The Lacrosse Flash team came to play when they designed the NLL East Division’s Reverse Retro jerseys. The team didn’t need to do too much with the Georgia Swarm sweaters except bring back an old alternate the team used during its Minnesota Swarm days. It’s drastically simpler than the current honeycomb and stripe patterns today’s jerseys feature, and it’s all for the better. The jersey makes great use of the team’s colors and their criminally underused alternate logo.
The New England Black Wolves jersey is quite basic as well, but also in a good way. The tan jersey really evokes a retro vibe and feel like something you could have seen in the National Lacrosse Association of the 1960’s. The team could have considered borrowing some elements from the New England Blazers of the MILL, but overall the decision to create something more unique worked out.
Unlike the Black Wolves, whose history is directly tied to the original Philadelphia Wings, the team had plenty of options to consider when designing the New York Riptide uniforms, with teams such as the Long Island Tomahawks, New York Saints and New York Titans all calling Long Island home at some point. We personally, would have loved to see the Titans get some love, but the team crushed it with the New York Saints-New York Riptide mashup. The dog collar is a great touch and the jerseys are a perfect homage to the Saints of old.
As for the Philadelphia Wings jerseys? The Wings front office should call up Lacrosse Flash right now because these sweaters belong on the floor not just for special occasions, but every single night at Wells Fargo Center. The old Wings logo is still one of the best in all of lacrosse and needs to be brought back permanently.
NLL West Division
In the NLL West Division, we get a great variety of superb sweaters. The black and red Calgary Roughnecks uniform is one of our favorites due to how simplistic, yet sleek it looks. The same can be said for the San Diego Seals jersey that opts for a regal yellow and purple look that gives us a vintage Los Angeles Kings vibe.
The Vancouver Ravens design is also executed so well that we almost wish that the current Vancouver franchise renamed itself the Vancouver Ravens instead of adopting the name Warriors during the then-Vancouver Stealth’s 2018 rebranding. Then how could you go wrong with a Saskatchewan Rush jersey that evokes the franchise’s Edmonton days with the simple black and silver color scheme? Answer: you can’t.
While the West featured some real hits, the one that missed the mark for us is the Colorado Mammoth jersey that features an homage to the original Baltimore Thunder uniforms. The attempt to really go retro and pay respects to the franchise that eventually moved to Colorado to become the Mammoth is an admirable one, but some jerseys are better off left in the archives. The modern Mammoth logo feels a bit out of place on this outdated, three-color striped sweater, but we certainly respect the effort to strike a balance between the past and present.
Overall, we love what Austin Owens, Pat Gregoire and the Lacrosse Flash team came up with in regards to their Reverse Retro concepts. Yet, we still would’ve loved to see the old Rochester Knighthawks logo and color scheme make a return in some capacity. So, we took our own stab at the Reverse Retro jersey style with concepts for the Halifax Thunderbirds (formerly the Rochester Knighthawks) and new Rochester Knighthawks franchise.
What do you think of these NLL jersey concepts designed by Lacrosse Flash? Do you think the NLL should roll out more retro-style jerseys for its teams in 2021 and beyond? Let us know in the comments and on social media.
