City Connect is once again upon us with the Texas Rangers City Connect uniforms! The Texas Rangers are the bringers of a brand new uniform for us to analyze and appreciate (or not)! I was most curious of what approach the Rangers would take for a City Connect because they are a team identified with their state, not their particular city. The possibilities were wide open for what approach they would take, so I was appreciative of the mystery.
When analyzing the quality of City Connect uniforms, I refer to the following criteria:
1. Does it actually connect to the city, as the name implies?
2. Does it look like it belongs to the team they represent?
3. Does it look like it fits the mission of exotic, but not obnoxious?
Texas Rangers City Connect: Does it City Connect?
Let’s start with the first point because I do believe that is the uniforms strength. The theme of the Texas Rangers City Connect uniform is to pay homage to the former minor league teams in the Dallas and Fort Worth area. These teams include the Dallas Eagles, Fort Worth Panthers, and the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs. No other team has taken their approach except the Marlins who payed homage to the Havana Sugar Kings. The gesture is appreciated, and there was clearly thought and care put into the theme. Above all, the jersey feels very personal and individualized.
I started off with the positive, because there are not many more of them coming.
The Texas Rangers City Connect jersey is the biggest culprit to my personal biggest City Connect pet-peeve: Why is all of the important information hidden? In this case, Texas Independence Day and a meaningful quote by the mayor of Arlington are respectively placed in the inside of the collar and in the bottom of the jersey that gets tucked in.
These logos/quotes are the most meaningful elements at the root of City Connect, so what does Nike keep putting them on the parts of the jersey that won’t be seen? Atlanta did this with Hank Aaron references, and the Angels did this with the surf board (ironically the only surfing reference available on a uniform they claim is “surfing” themed). I do not, and likely never will understand this logic.
Texas Rangers City Connect: Does it Look Right?
Next, this uniform is unrecognizable as a Rangers jersey. There is no hint of the team that it belongs to in any way, not even the colors. Even more ironic is the “TX” on the right chest and hat. The “TX” is meant to mimic the “D” of the Dallas Eagles.
For those who do not know what that looks like, it is the Detroit Tigers “D”. Yes, this jersey is a Rangers jersey that’s meant to look like another major league team. It isn’t even a bad lookin logo, it just goes to show how distanced the uniform is to any resemblance of the Texas Rangers brand in any way.
Texas Rangers City Connect: Exotic or Obnoxious?
Lastly, the uniform is far too conservative for City Connect. This seems to be the running theme of 2023 uniforms so far. City Connect needs to have flair and be willing to try something adventurous and out of the ordinary. The best of the collection do that, and this uniform has almost none of that besides black pants. If you take this uniform by itself without telling fans who it belongs to, it passes as a decent-enough minor league or college uniform. It doesn’t look bad, it just doesn’t look fun.
Overall, the Texas Rangers City Connect uniforms have heartfelt beginnings and fall flat on its ultimate execution. City Connect as a whole in recent reveals seems to be confused as to what important information should be most visible. The collection since it’s conception in 2021 ranges from fantastic to underwhelming, and everything in between. New City Connect Rankings are as follows:
- Astros
- Marlins
- Padres
- Rockies
- Nationals
- Brewers
- White Sox
- Red Sox
- Dodgers
- Diamondbacks
- Braves
- Rangers
- Cubs
- Royals
- Giants
- Angels
Let us know your thoughts on the Texas Rangers City Connect uniforms in the comments!
