Cherry Blossom Uniforms Get Love And Hate From Readers In Exclusive Patch Survey

WASHINGTON, DC — A majority of the readers responding to a Patch survey, possibly experiencing spring fever or intoxicated by the beauty of the cherry blossoms encircling the tidal basin in D.C., loved the blossom-themed uniforms rolled out last Tuesday by two of the city's major league sports franchises.

Patch conducted an informal survey last week, asking our readers to tell us what the they thought of the cherry-blossom-adorned Nike MLB City Connect Series hats and jerseys for the Washington Nationals.

When asked to rank the jerseys from 1 to 5, with 1 being "hate 'em" and 5 being "love 'em," 36 people (51.4 percent) gave the jerseys a 5 and nine people gave them a 4 (12.9 percent), which added up to 64.3 percent being in favor of the Nationals' cherry blossom jerseys.

Here's what some of the survey takers who liked the jerseys had to say:

• "Pretty in pink."
• "I like that it highlights something important about the District."
• "The pink on grey looks great"
• "Nice colors, something different!"
• "Soft gray uniforms and the cherry blossom (Sakura) is a beautiful symbol of Washington D.C. Love the grey background with imprint cherry blossoms on the front of the shirt and the hat. It is a perfect tribute to the flower of the city area and anyone can identify with it and have no major dispute one the symbol which nearly everyone in the nation loves at this time of the year."

Twelve people (17.1 percent) gave the jerseys a 1, meaning they hated them. An additional seven people (10 percent) gave them a score of 2, and six people (8.6 percent) were neutral about the jerseys and gave them a score of 3.

Here's what some of what the naysayers had to say about the Nationals' new jerseys:

• "The shirts fail to use the Nats traditional red or blue. I don't think there's a need for a co-branding effort with the Cherry Blossom Festival."
• "We need a winner far more than we need a new uniform! Bring us some WINS!"
• "It's sports, NOT fashion."
• "Never, ever stray from the 'curly W' and put 'Washington' on the front, not 'WSH.'"
• "Baseball uniforms should look like baseball uniforms. Hideous. Players have to feel embarrassed to wear them in front of fans."

Others called the jerseys "too girly" or a marketing gimmick meant as a money grab.

Related: Cherry Blossom Makeover For Nats, Wizards: Tell Us What You Think

If the cherry blossom jerseys and caps are indeed just a means to separate fans from their money, then the Nationals should be happy with the response to the next question:

Forty-four people (62.9 percent) said they would consider buying a Washington Nationals cherry blossom jersey or cap, while 26 (37.1 percent) said they would not.

While the response from the survey takers for the Nationals' cherry blossom uniforms was mostly positive, the same couldn't be said for the city's National Basketball Association franchise.

The Wizards debuted their cherry blossom-themed 2022-23 City Edition uniforms last Tuesday as well, but only 23 people (32.9 percent) gave them a score of 5, meaning they loved them, and 11 (15.7 percent) a score of 4. Taken together, that meant that only 48.6 percent found the jerseys likable.

Fifteen people (21.4 percent) gave the Wizards jerseys a score of 1, and nine people (12.9 percent) gave them a score of 2, which means 34.3 percent of the survey takers didn't like them. Add in the 12 people (17.1 percent) who were neutral on the uniforms, and a majority of respondents (51.4 percent) either didn't like or didn't have an opinion about the jerseys.

Here's what some of the survey takers had to say about the Wizards new jerseys:

• "I dislike them even more than the Nats jerseys. Ugly."
• "Not as crazy about them."
• "Change the won/loss record, then we shall see!"
• "Not as cherry blossom specific."
• "Cherry blossoms seems like too short/narrow a phenomenon to base a uniform on."
• "A little blah."
• "Nope, sorry hard pass. Maybe they should make it a romper."

One person said the uniforms were too pink and resembled "Barbie's basketball jersey," while another said they looked like an "explosion at a lollipop factory."

Perhaps not surprisingly, fewer survey responders said they would consider buying one of the Wizards' cherry blossom jerseys:

Even though some people who shared their opinions on Patch's survey may not have liked the cherry blossom uniforms, the majority of respondents — 68.6 percent to 31.4 percent — did say they liked watching their favorite sports teams play in specially themed uniforms.

Patch also asked its readers what other Washington, D.C., themes they'd like to see used on future uniforms for the Nationals or the Wizards. Here are some of their responses:

• "Watergate."
• Buzzards because they have been playing like death warmed over."
• "Summer time - Chesapeake Bay."
• "July 4th."
• "Red/white/blue, Military, Monuments to Nation - symbols of strength and National Pride."
• "Support for Ukraine."
• "Camo and gray on Memorial Day, and Stars and Stripes on July 4."
• "Perhaps the concept of 'DMV.'"
• "Embassy days and that we are a very diverse and international city."
• "Jefferson Memorial, pandas, MLK Memorial."