As you may have seen earlier today, Nike has released a brand new jersey to celebrate 100 years of U.S. soccer. In addition to the jersey, Nike has also released some other great looking products as part of its USA Centennial Collection. Since we’ve already taken a look at the jersey, we are now going to take a look at two other great products: the Nike USA authentic N98 jacket and the Nike5 Gato USA 100 leather indoor soccer shoe.
The Nike USA authentic N98 jacket looks spectacular and is comfortable as well. This jacket is perfect to keep you warm while still remaining stylish. It is predominantly navy blue with a single red stripe going down each arm to tie in the country’s colors. Subtle vertical stripes also run up the front of the jacket to provide a little more style instead of plain navy. It’s a minor detail but it looks awesome.
Since this jacket is part of the Centennial Collection, it features the Centennial crest on the left chest. The Centennial crest, unlike the modern USA crest, has thirteen stars and stripes to represent the original 13 colonies. It is a great looking crest and, in my opinion, should become the regular crest on all USA soccer gear. It is simplistic but looks fantastic. Finally, we move to the back of the jacket where we see “USA” pressed on so everyone can see where your support lies.
This jacket is a cotton/polyester mix, which is very comfortable. It is also fairly thick to provide enough protection from the wintery weather to keep you warm. The neck of the jacket goes a little higher than most jackets. It almost provides a turtleneck look, which is nice to keep wind out and provides warmth.
Even though there are currently some cool looking USA jackets, this is my favorite. I like the combination of red and blue and the Centennial crest. The combination of great design and comfort make this jacket the perfect option for any USA fan.
SoccerPro does not normally carry shoes; therefore, Soccerprose does not normally look at too many shoes. However, as part of the Centennial Collection Nike released a pair of great looking shoes.
The Nike5 Gato USA 100 leather indoor shoes are off-white/cream, which should help make them a little easier to keep clean than pure white shoes. These shoes also feature navy blue to tie in the national colors in the design while also maintaining a stylish look. The shoes tongue features the Centennial crest above the laces to show that these are part of the Centennial Collection. However, the coolest part of these shoes is the outsole. The outsole has stars and stripes to, once again, tie in the United States flag. It looks awesome and is a nice touch by Nike.
As the name suggests, the upper is made of leather to make these extremely durable since they are built for indoor soccer. With durability in mind, these shoes also have toe and medial overlay to help keep the toe from tearing up with tough indoor surfaces.
Not only do these look great and provide great durability, they are also very comfortable. These shoes feature soccer specific Cushlon technology that helps with cushioning and stability. Style isn’t the only nice thing about these Gato’s. These shoes have an articulated gum rubber outsole, which is non-marking but also provides great traction on indoor surfaces.
Even though these are called indoor soccer shoes, they don’t have to be. These shoes are stylish and comfortable enough to wear with jeans while you are hanging out with friends or whenever you cheer the United States on in soccer. You can now be dressed from head to toe with great USA soccer gear.
Of course, these two products and the jersey mentioned already are not the only products available with the Centennial Collection. A retro jersey, t-shirts, shorts, socks and soccer ball are all available. These products were just two of my favorites that I wanted to share. The jacket and shoes look amazing and are a stylish way to support the U.S. soccer teams. You can find the other gear at SoccerPro.com.
Written By: Eric Stoyanov, Contributing Writer, soccerprose.com
