On Monday the Minnesota Twins revealed their first-ever City Connect uniforms, and while not everyone is a fan it seems that the overwhelming consensus is they're better than expected.
That seems like a low bar, but these City Connect uniforms seem to be intentionally weird, and the Twins managed to thread the needle between that and actually embracing the spirit of what the uniforms are designed to be.
Rather than build the uniforms around the city they play in, a move that almost every team in the league made, the Twins zoomed out and made the uniforms a tribute to the entire state of Minnesota. This meant involving lake culture, the wilderness of the north, and the greatest natural resource the state has ever produced -- Prince.
Twins City Connect uniforms pay a subtle tribute to Prince
It's not an obvious reference, but the Twins gave a pretty cool and deep cut nod to Prince. If you've ever seen Purple Rain, there's a scene where Prince's character utters the iconic line "you have to purify yourself in Lake Minnetonka".
The Twins included a topographical map of Lake Minnetonka on underside brim of the City Connect hat.
The topographical map of Lake Minnetonka under the brim of the hat is the Twins' nod to Prince.
— Betsy Helfand (@betsyhelfand) June 10, 2024
Byron Buxton: "I like that part a lot. Just little bitty things like that that kind of make it cool." pic.twitter.com/GKucfqSEo5
This is sort of a two birds with one reference sort of deal, as it's both a nod to Prince but also stays within the overall theme of lakes. It's also a type of deep cut reference that might go over the heads of some folks but will hit home with fans who are in the know.
Prince has been central just about every professional team in the state. The Timberwolves debuted their iconic purple and back City Editoin uniforms that were Prince themed, the Vikings play "Let's Go Crazy" after touchdowns, and both the Lynx and Wild have incorporated him in some fashion over the years.
The Twins have actively made an effort to create a Prince Theme Night each season, with special giveaways involving limited edition crossover gear. There was the Purple Rain jacket, the inflatable guitar, a Prince bomber jacket, and this year the team will be giving away Prince themed track jackets.
Most of the reference to Prince have been front-facing, though, so it's pretty cool to see a deep cut like this with the City Connect uniforms.
More Minnesota Twins news and rumors