Lucky #13 on the Kit Countdown brings us to the reigning MLS Cup champions, the Colorado Rapids. I’ve been torn on their look for a long time. On one hand, they do tons of things right: a unique color scheme, a solid crest, and leaving the chest of the shirts blank even though they don’t have a sponsor. On the other hand, yes, the kits are a bit unexciting. The 2011 season brings us some brand new Colorado threads, which are less of a new look than a cosmetic update. And maybe that’s just what they needed.

Colorado’s home jersey is burgundy, and I love it. There aren’t many big soccer teams out there wearing this color, so it helps the team establish an identity. The biggest change in the shirt this year is the collar—gone is the polo-style collar, and now we’ve got a very modern V-neck. Sporting Kansas City has a collar on their new home shirts, and it’s one of the few positive things I said about their kits. But Colorado’s old collars were a different style, and looked much more dated. The introduction of the new V-neck is a big upgrade for the Rapids.

Speaking of Sporting KC, they took the all-sky-blue look from Colorado’s old away jersey. And although I appreciate that sky blue is a unique color, I wrote at length in my SKC review about the faults of sky blue as the primary color of a soccer jersey. So I’m relieved the Rapids have this new white away shirt.

“But wait, Jake, don’t you hate white away jerseys?” Yes, I do, but the burgundy on the shoulders here makes a huge difference. It reminds me of the excellent Russia away jerseys, and the contrast of the burgundy against the white creates a look that doesn’t exist anywhere else in MLS.

It should also be noted that the Rapids’ jerseys will be sporting the “MLS Cup Champion” patch this season for their title defense like Real Salt Lake did last year, which adds a nice little flair to their minimalist look.