Rhetorical Analysis of Chelsea FC Jersey - Term Paper Example

Duaij Alkhalifa Prof. Kat Gonso January 29, 14 Rhetorical Analysis of Chelsea FC Jersey The quote “Blue is the color, football is the game” aptly describes Chelsea Football Club. Known by diehard fans as the “Blues” and based in southwest London, Chelsea FC is an English football club that has featured in the country’s top division since the club’s inception in 1905 (“Soccer Jersey Expert” 1). The team plays its home games at one of the most famous football stadiums in the world in Stamford Bridge, which has a capacity of 41,837 seats (“Soccer Jersey Expert” 1). Devoid of success for much of the 20th century, the year 2003 was a turning point in the history of the club. Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea and transformed the club into one of the most successful English teams and richest soccer teams in the football world (“Soccer Jersey Expert” 1). In reference to the team’s nickname and club motto, Chelsea’s regular team kit is comprised of a royal blue shirt and matching shorts along with white socks. Furthermore, the Chelsea FC jersey contains the club’s crest, that of a lion holding a staff, which imparts a lot of meaning for the fans, players, and other stakeholders of the football club. Since the club was founded in the early 20th century, there have been various changes to the club’s crest. The reason for this has been so the club can re-brand itself and modernize its image so that it can take advantage of new marketing opportunities. The club’s original crest was used for the first half of the 20th century, although it was not used on match day shirts. This pensioner crest was replaced it the 1950s because it was considered to be out-of-date. Chelsea FC changed its crest in 1952 and became the first club badge to appear on the Chelsea FC jersey (“Chelsea FC” 1). A further adaption occurred in 1986, but once Roman Abramovich came into the picture the club’s supporters demanded the restoration of the popular 1950s badge, as seen below (“Chelsea FC” 1). Figure 1: Chelsea FC crest 1953-1986 (“Chelsea FC” 1) As such, the club’s crest changed at the start of the 2005/06 season, which also served as Chelsea FC’s centenary season. The current crest on the Chelsea FC jersey features a ceremonial lion rampant holding a staff and the phrase “Chelsea Football Club,” depicting a modification of the immensely popular 1950s crest (“Chelsea FC” 1). One slight change is that the current crest features two red roses, which represent England, and two footballs on either side of the lion. Figure 2: Chelsea FC Crest 2006-Present (“Chelsea FC” 1) A special crest was used on the Chelsea FC jersey in 2005 to commemorate the centenary season of the club (“Chelsea FC” 1). However, the current crest on the club’s jersey depicts the naturalistic traits of the club (“Soccer Jersey Expert” 1). The new badge on the Chelsea FC jersey shows pride in Chelseas heritage, as it reflects the club’s traditions (“Chelsea FC” 1). While the crest is a symbol for the club, being a Chelsea fan is simply more than just watching the club’s games; it also includes buying and wearing the Chelsea FC jersey. The Chelsea FC jersey is important to fans, players, and football experts alike because it represents a great history and heritage. The original Chelsea football kit was made up of a light blue jersey, white shorts, and dark blue socks; this design was borrowed from the horse racing colors of Lord Chelsea (“Soccer Jersey Expert” 1). However, in 1912 the club introduced the current Chelsea FC jersey, which has the dark blue color; this is where the term “royal blue jersey” was hatched from (“Soccer Jersey Expert” 1). Because of this fact blue has been the color used for the Chelsea FC home jersey for every season since that time. Furthermore, in the 1960s Tommy Docherty introduced royal blue shorts to cement the club’s links with the color blue (“Soccer Jersey Expert” 1). Although Chelsea shorts were initially white in color, the current combination of colors used for the Chelsea FC kit have a distinct aspect that marks the uniqueness of the jersey and the team, as no other club uses the same combination of colors. In changing the kit to royal blue shirts and shorts and white socks, the then Chelsea manager Tommy Docherty had the belief that these new royal blue colors represented modernity and uniqueness (“Soccer Jersey Expert” 1). The current Chelsea kit comprises the royal blue jersey and shorts along with white socks, creating a unique soccer uniform that is not replicated elsewhere. The German sports manufacturing company Adidas has produced Chelsea FC’s jerseys for the past seven seasons. In an added design feature, the royal blue shirts come with silver detailing that showcases Adidas to the world (“Soccer Jersey Expert” 1). In terms of shirt sponsorship, Samsung has sponsored the Chelsea FC football jersey for more than eight seasons (“Soccer Jersey Expert” 1). As a modern digital communications company that strives for creativity and innovation, this relationship dovetails well with the ideals and traditions that Chelsea Football Club holds dearly. In addition to a home jersey, Chelsea FC also has an away jersey that is somewhat a mirror reflection of the former. The club’s away jersey is white in color with blue trim, the opposite of the home jersey, which is dark blue in color with white detailing. Figure 3: Chelsea FC Away Jersey Figure 4: Chelsea FC Home Jersey (“Soccer Jersey Expert” 1) (“Soccer Jersey Expert” 1) While the home kit includes a blue jersey, blue shorts, and white socks, the away kit includes a white jersey, white shorts, and white socks. It is worth noting that the branding of the Chelsea football jersey only began in 1975 (“Soccer Jersey Expert” 1). The branded football jersey revolution of the 1970s forced Chelsea and other prominent English teams to brand their playing kits and develop associations with major football jersey manufacturers, such as Adidas and Nike (“Soccer Jersey Expert” 1). Since Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea FC in 2003, prominent and expensive players such as Torres, Eto’o, Drogba, and Lampard have worn the Chelsea FC football jersey in Premier League games. Because of this fact, the jersey depicts a sense of respect, success, value, tradition, and uniqueness. Furthermore, continued sponsorship from Samsung adds value to the club and puts Chelsea in the global consumer market. Adidas manufactures the Chelsea football jersey with a view to making the players perform better, faster, and stronger. To do this, Adidas has created the best performance kits for its football players, as in the case of Chelsea Football Club. By having international appeal, Adidas plays a significant role in enhancing the value and performance of the Chelsea FC jersey. In the 2013/14 season the on-field Chelsea FC jersey contains cutting edge Adidas TechFit technology, which enhances the performance of the jersey (“World Soccer Shop” 1). The current Chelsea FC jersey manifests additional and advanced technologies, which include a white color block on its sleeves. This white color block on the sleeves represents the iconic three white stripes that are seemingly blue in color and create a distinctive and striking design. The Chelsea FC jersey is made with a jacquard fabric that Adidas uses to enhance the technical capabilities of the jersey. The company’s revolutionary Tech-Fit technology enables players to improve their speed, increase their endurance capabilities, and enhance their awareness on the field of play. This emanates from the fact that the Chelsea FC jersey stabilizes and concentrates muscle energy (“World Soccer Shop” 1), which enhances the maximization of power output and increases the speed of players on the field (“Chelsea FC” 1). In addition, the Chelsea FC jersey adopts CLIMACOOL technology (ClimaCool™), which is made of a combination of heat and moisture controlling materials, ventilation channels, and 3D fabrics, all of which play a significant role to improve airflow to the skin in key heat zones (“Chelsea FC” 1). The most important thing is that Adidas uses 100 percent polyester to manufacture the Chelsea FC jersey; this is a convenient material for the players to wear while on the field. It is clear that the current Chelsea FC jersey makes good use of the latest Adidas technologies to invoke the true meaning of a Chelsea player or fan and also gives the club an edge on the pitch (“Chelsea FC” 1). The anatomically placed mesh at the back of the neck and underarms of the Chelsea FC jersey plays the role of ventilating each player’s body to maintain coolness while playing the game (“World Soccer Shop” 1). As such, all of the materials that make up the Chelsea FC jersey are intended to ventilate each player’s body, enhance performance, increase awareness and endurance, reduce heat and moisture build-up, increase comfort, and facilitate perspiration while playing (“World Soccer Shop” 1). However, despite these facts, the club’s crest on the left hand side of the home and away jerseys is the most significant aspect of the jersey because it can be identified with the club, “The Blues.” The Chelsea FC jersey is not only special and comfortable for players but also for the fans, most of whom proudly wear the jersey to every Chelsea game and on other occasions also. Fans who wear the jersey during Chelsea games have the intention of showing their loyalty to the team by celebrate the club’s rich and immense history. The jersey helps fans to relate to the players, management, and overall history of the club. To give an example in some previous seasons Adidas and Samsung have called on Chelsea fans to order the club’s updated jersey without seeing it beforehand. However, with a huge and loyal fan base, the call achieved its purpose as many fans adore the jersey due to its comfort, design, uniqueness, availability, modernity, and performance (“Chelsea FC” 1). Despite all of the technological advances with the jersey, the manufacturers of it maintain that only the blue matters because it depicts the uniqueness of Chelsea FC. At the beginning of every season, some of the club’s most notable and famous stars feature in advertisements that display the iconic imagery on the jerseys that the club will use for the forthcoming season (“Chelsea FC” 1). This inspires the fans and shows that the club aims for continued success. The meaning behind the jersey confirms the belief that Chelsea is more than just a football team because it has a connection with the fans (“Chelsea FC” 1). Chelsea Football Club is the only club in England that calls itself “The Blues.” The interaction between the Adidas and Chelsea brands has been significant to the extent of reaching fans of other clubs (“Chelsea FC” 1). The Chelsea FC jersey develops magical thinking among players, fans, and managers who believe that the jersey can influence the success of the team on and off the pitch. Works Cited “Chelsea FC.” New 2013/14 Official Home Kit. 2014. Web. 20 January 2014. < http://www.chelseafc.com/shop-article/article/2911465/title/home-kit>. “Chelsea FC.” Chelsea And Adidas Reveal New 2013-14 Kit. 2014.Web. 20 January 2014. http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/3147489/title/chelsea-and-adidas-reveal-new-2013-14-kit. “World Soccer Shop.” Chelsea 13/14 OSCAR Authentic UCL Home Soccer Jersey. 2014.Web. 20 January 2014. http://www.worldsoccershop.com/90156-oscar-11.html. “Soccer Jersey Expert.” History of Chelsea Soccer Jerseys since 1905. 2014.Web. 20 January 2014. http://www.soccerjerseyexpert.com/chelseajerseyhistory.html. “Chelsea FC.” Club Badges. 2014.Web. 20 January 2014. http://www.chelseafc.com/club-badges. Read More