by Chris Magalee for Hudson River Blue

IN THE END, I suppose we all saw it coming.

This morning, NYCFC revealed their home kit for the Inaugural 2015 season at Terminal 5 in New York City. I arrived at the venue about thirty minutes prior to the opening and had some time to talk to some of the fans in line and get their opinions on what the kit might look like or what they wanted to see. As expected, with as diverse a fanbase as we have (a reflection of the city in which we live) there were many, many different opinions.

We’ve all spent the last week browsing various forums and social media outlets, viewing fan-made concepts (all of which were fantastic). All of these concepts had one thing in common, and it was also a very present opinion of those in attendance: they had something distinctly different.

That sounds oxymoronic – the thing they had in common is that they all were different. Let me address the elephant in the room, as there’s no point in dancing around it.

New York City FC is primarily owned by Manchester City FC. On its face, that is not a bad thing. MCFC makes available resources New York would not have otherwise in the form of international scouting, relationships with international clubs, coaching, training…the list goes on. Manchester City is a fantastic football club. They won the Premier League last year. Their academy is one of the best in the world. They’re playing Champion’s League football this year against the best clubs on the planet.

One little thing, though: New York City FC is not Manchester City FC.

After the announcement was made, social media swept into action. As was the case with the line outside the venue, the opinions were varied — but a pattern began to emerge.

Disappointment. Ambivalence. Concern.

Most importantly, a notable lack of excitement.

This was the opportunity for New York City to send a statement to MLS, to its fans, and to the world that this team is not just a “little brother” squad of a big European club. This was a golden chance to define themselves not through association with Man City, but to really brand New York City soccer as something new and unique, worthy of the world’s attention on its own, determined to stake its own claim to glory.

On the left, we have Manchester City’s home kit from Nike. On the right is NYCFC’s Inaugural Season home kit.

Nike could practically sue for infringement.

This is not to say that the kit isn’t classy. It’s a spectacular looking kit. But it isn’t ours, the way so many of us wanted it so badly to be.

So what does this all mean for the club going forward? It means that NYCFC’s identity will have to come from its fanbase. The Third Rail and BrownBag SC were at this event in force. We, as fans of the club, must take it upon ourselves to tell the league and the world that we are not Man City Lite. We are not a “feeder club”, or Chivas USA 2.0.

We are not some kind of token MLS squad started by a European powerhouse for advertising dollars.

As Tim Pernetti said: “Help build the passion, bottle it, and then on March 15th, let it fly.”

Man, will we ever. Our love for this club is only building; we will set that love aflight, and with our voices united in song, we cannot help but lift our men to victory come next March.

Chris is a native Long Islander who eats, sleeps, breathes and (now) writes sports. A New York City FC season ticket holder, he’s also a Charter Member of The Third Rail, the club’s biggest supporters’ group. When not supporting NYC, he’s cheering on the Mets, Islanders, Eagles, and Tottenham Hotspur.