Behind the Threads: Preds Pride Night Jerseys Inspired by Love, Inclusion

As long as they've been around, NHL sweaters have instilled feelings of pride, identity and community in whoever puts one on - whether they're on the ice or in the stands.
On Tuesday, the Nashville Predators will make sure those same feelings extend to every one of their fans by wearing some special sweaters of their own.
With some help from local designer, artist and fan Landon Matney, the Preds will take the ice for warmups on Tuesday wearing custom Pride jerseys celebrating Pride Night and the NHL's Hockey Is For Everyone initiative.

"It's going to make my heart happy to know that some kid who's fascinated with hockey will be seeing a jersey that represents my community," Matney said. "And it doesn't have to mean anything to them at the moment, but it can just mean acceptance and who they want to be and who they can be. And not thinking it's a horrible thing, but building a positive mindset in the eyes of younger hockey fans."
For his Pride jersey centerpiece, Matney opted to use Nashville's retro Mustard Cat logo over the modern Pred Head, tying in historical undertones of both the team and gay rights activism in the United States.

Matney also chose the Mustard Cat because of a very significant shape outlining the logo's roaring sabertooth tiger.
At one point used as a badge to identify and shame gay and lesbian prisoners of Nazi concentration camps, the upside down triangle has since been reclaimed by the LGBT community and repurposed to represent self-identity and love.
"They had gay men wear upside down pink triangles and gay women wear upside down black triangles," Matney said. "Later in the 70s and 80s, it was used as an act of protest. And I think that's sort of telling to the gay community and the LGBT community in general. It's kind of taking the backlash and reversing it."
While Preds Gold is still featured heavily in the design, the original Mustard Cat colors have been replaced by swaths of coloring from both the traditional Pride flag - orange, green and violet - and the transgender flag - light blue and light pink.
"I didn't want to go with too basic of an option," Matney said. "I ran with the Gold, obviously as the primary color of the Predators. I knew the jersey was going to be white and black, so the outline of everything is black. And I wanted the transgender colors to be apparent, because there are a lot of rights issues around that community right now. So that's apparent in the color and in the pattern. But otherwise, it was my goal to have kind of a uniqueness to them."
Consider the goal accomplished.
Contributing to the jersey's unique look are the colorful swirling patterns within each number, no two of which contain an identical fill.

Look closely and you'll also notice that the slits formerly punctuating the sabertooth tiger's eyes have been replaced by golden hearts.
Look even closer and you'll see the hearts again within the triangle's borders, featured alongside the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and lambda iconography - the last of which is internationally recognized as a symbol of gay and lesbian rights.

Those small details, paired with the jersey's bright colors and historical subtext, culminate into a singular, resounding message: hockey, especially in Smashville, truly is for everyone.
"I think inclusivity and representation] are always important," Matney said. "And I think it's awesome that the Nashville Predators are trying to include that."
Fans looking to bid on the Pride warmup jerseys can do so starting Tuesday by texting Preds to 76278, while T-shirts featuring the Pride design will be available for purchase at the Nashville Locker Room team store during the game, while supplies last.
Please visit
[NashvillePredators.com/Pride
for more information on the team's Pride Night celebration on Tuesday, April 4.