We’re just one short week away from kit launch, and it’s time to get excited about the Loons’ fresh threads. Everyone’s always on the edge of their seats for a jersey drop. People theorize online, AI-generating potential patterns and waxing poetic about the merits of colors versus neutrals. The question is, what hasn’t yet been done?
No better way to find out than reviewing every jersey your Loons have worn to date. I almost went ahead and ranked them, but since I don’t want to start an unending favorite kit controversy on Reddit, I figured I’d stick to walking you through all our sweet threads from oldest to newest.
2017 Inaugural Gray and White
Technically this is two jerseys, but they’ve got one name, so let’s run with it. The primary and secondary kits for Minnesota United’s inaugural season in MLS were understated but effective. The home kit, a smooth gray cut by a blue sash down the front, paid homage to nature in the way so many of our jerseys do: gray for the iron range, blue for the Mississippi River. What’s even cooler is that it mirrors the club’s crest. First adopted in 2013, MNUFC’s club identity is centered around the red-eyed loon, six-pointed star, and that iconic three-striped background. As for the secondary jerseys, the same iron-and-river representation is still present on the shoulders while the rest of the jersey is white. Presumably because, you know, snow.
2018 Loon Gray
Turns out, this is not called the Stripe Kit. Go figure. The Loon Gray kit’s vertical stripes are reminiscent of so many pro soccer kits, tying the Loons to the world’s game without losing that markedly Minnesotan heritage. Keeping the gray base is a statement in and of itself — few other MLS teams use that particular color, making it feel distinctly ours. Plus, it’s got that little red button representing the eye of the Loon, which is a cool nod to everyone’s favorite bird.
2019 Drift Kit
This one’s for the winter enthusiasts, if you catch my drift. (Sorry.) From a distance, it’s just a plain, snowy white, but up close the Drift Kit is broken into textured geometric patterns that give the jersey a whole new dimension. It’s an ode to subtlety, which extends to the three blue stripes on the torso that aren’t visible with your arms at your sides. A kit full of pleasant, hidden surprises, not unlike a Minnesota winter.
2020 Wing Kit
Red Bull does not give you wings, but we do. The Wing Kit reminds everyone with bold, dark gray that though the loon is a water bird, it can absolutely fly. The three blue stripes are not symmetrical this time around, only present on the right shoulder and leaning in the same direction as the wing’s topmost feather to create the impression of that original sash. This one’s a classic, and a new twist on a beloved kit from the NASL era.
2021 River Kit
The River Kit is perhaps the simplest of Minnesota’s lineup, but it’s worth noting as the first one to be entirely blue. Switching those blue stripes to pure black, it doubled down on the Black and Blue identity and reminded everyone just how well loons take to water.
And that while we may be the Land of 10,000 Lakes, we also have cool rivers.
2022 Minnesota Night Kit
Another subtle but impactful installation in the lineup of Loons kits, the Minnesota Night kit is a sleek inversion of its predecessor. Its statement black base is broken up by blue detailing, including the Star of the North star on the neck, and quiet pinstripe patterns give the impression of the constellations breaking up the northern sky. It’s the perfect match for the River Kit, putting Black and Blue front and center no matter which of the pair the Loons wore on the pitch.
2023 Northern Lights Kit
The Northern Lights Kit was a shock of color, disrupting the Black and Blue standard in the best way. It brought in purples and pinks to paint the aurora borealis across a snowy background, successfully maintaining Minnesota United’s identity while tying some of the brighter aspects of its natural landscape into the threads. The club crest on this particular jersey is also a lone loon with no background, a bold statement placing the bird right up in the sky with the stars.
2024 Starry Night Kit
A fan favorite, the constellations of the Minnesota Night Kit were brought back in massive proportion with the Starry Night jersey. It’s simple, but it’s iconic, and it blends all the shades of the night sky and stars of varying brightness and intensity into a perfect, united landscape. Just in case you ever forgot the pitch was full of stars. We’re all sad to see this one retired.
2025 Convergence Kit
This one’s fresh in your minds, and it’s not done yet, as the intersection of two rivers will remain the secondary kit for the 2026 season. The Convergence Kit takes the previous kits’ emphasis on the Mississippi River and combines it with the Minnesota River and the state’s abundance of natural waterways, and its isolated loon echoes that of the Northern Lights Kit.
2025 Heritage Kit
Okay, everyone loves this kit. It sold out so fast when it dropped that I know I don’t need to convince you, but let me just reiterate how sick it is anyway. Minnesota has a history of professional soccer that long predates the Loons, from the Kicks to the Strikers and so on until we finally landed in MLS in 2017. The Heritage Kit took colors and themes from those past iterations and wove them together with the Loons identity to create what is possibly the most iconic retro kit of all time. Bright orange, teal, bubbly seventies lettering. What more could you want?
2026… ?
Again, I’m not ranking them. But if I was… this would be number one. I can’t wait for people to see this kit so I can talk about how cool it is to someone other than my cat. Get excited for kit launch at the Black and Blue Team Store next Tuesday, February 10, at 10:00 a.m.
