KTTP EP. 57 | WC18 RECAPS W/ SEBASBK & AFROXANDER

With the World Cup in full swing Drew recaps how teams have done so far with the help of Seb from Sebasbk Photography and Ivan Fernandez, the Afroxander, a writer and photographer based in SoCal. Seb and Drew explore the photography in the game and how influencers, social media, and major brands have affected the business.

The guys revel in the terrible performance from Argentina and highlight Colombia’s wild route to the round of 16. Colombia are coming off a loss, an unexpected win and a narrow 1-0 over Senegal to advance—they will face England on July 3rd. Seb and Drew run down the entire line of teams and debate what could go down in knockout stages. For now, France is bland, Neymar better turn up, and Uruguay could shock everyone.

Ivan Fernandez, or Afroxander, a writer and photographer has worked with GameCrate, Remezcla LA, and LA Weekly. He talks Mexico in the World Cup, their inability to be consistent, and what a win could mean for the Hispanic population in Los Angeles. With Lozano’s goal in the 35th minute over Germany, Mexico could actually see the light and Chicharito begs them to believe. Mexico clearly has the tools, now they need consistency.

One thing we can all get behind is the World Cup’s ability to unite a nation, not under one team, but behind a love for the same sport. Seb said it best, “No matter a language barrier, soccer is a language all its own.” Oh, my heart. Hopefully you all survived doomsday, aka the one day without World Cup action. We certainly can’t wait to see what happens here at Kicks to the Pitch and we will continue to brief you on the action. Personally, I’m hoping we see a lot more of England if you know what I’m sayin’.

BOWERY FC’S WORLD CUP CLUBHOUSE AND EXHIBIT

Bowery Football Club is keeping it classic this World Cup. The Manhattan-based group is hosting a pop-up exhibition in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for the duration of the tournament, where you can feast your eyes on beautiful classic kits and watch any of the games on a massive projector screen. Club members Quinn and Carlos were happy to host us for the Switzerland-Serbia game and show us around the former firehouse that they rented out for the four weeks, which comes with a fully stocked bar and a patio out back.

 

Bowery FC teamed up with their partners Lagunitas Ale and Manchester-based Classic Football Shirts, who so graciously supplied the beer and kits, to bring this football idea to fruition. The attention to detail could not be ignored, as the jerseys were arranged by group order for this year’s edition of the World Cup.

Also on display are some of Bowery’s own apparel, my favorites being their Umbro kits and OnlyNY collabs. I have to say, there’s a unique flavor to BFC’s designs; one can tell just by looking at their custom stickers which ooze New York.

One can only feel right at home at the clubhouse thanks to the hospitality of the club members. I even managed to meet a DJ from London who lives in Dubai but was in town for the weekend, which just goes to show how the World Cup and soccer bring the world together, no matter your country of origin or if their team is in the tournament. Shout out again to Quinn and Carlos for having us, and keep up the good work. Bowery Football Club is a true representative of what New York can bring to the playing field.

You can follow Bowery FC on Instagram and Twitter. Their clubhouse exhibit is open for the duration of the World Cup at 411 Kent Avenue in Brooklyn, NY.

SCOUTING REPORT: LET’S TALK BARCELONA & PSG

Aren’t we tired of talking about Real Madrid and the Champions League finals? Finally, Liverpool gets some of the UCL spotlight that has been dominated by Los Blancos for the past three seasons. Being a Barcelona fan myself, this weekend’s final is not something I am looking forward to. Of course I want Liverpool to snatch it from Madrid, but considering my bad luck in sports this year, I have a feeling the boys in white are going to win it again and I’m going to avoid all soccer forums until the World Cup – I don’t like facing the truth. And being a bitter Barcelona fan, I want to steal the big spotlight from these two teams, especially Madrid, at least for the length of this article. For this week’s Scouting Report, I’ll be covering Nivelcrack’s most recent release of their half-zip pullovers inspired by the colors of Barcelona and PSG.

Overall Design: The design of the two pieces are simple and clean. No graphics are integrated, but the main colors of each club were used to show the inspiration behind each piece. The colors of FC Barcelona are blue and red, which is also why they are known as the Blaugrana meaning blue and deep red in Catalan. The colors of PSG are blue, red, and white, hence the name of the piece is “Tricolor” after the three signature colors of the Parisian club. This is a contrast from the rest of Nivelcrack’s SS18 collection as most pieces from that collection were graphic-heavy. The structure of the pullover featuring the half-zip up to the neck is also a great look in my opinion, where it definitely has its roots in soccer.

Score: 4/5

Functionality: These pullovers are made from 100% polyester and yes you certainly can play on the pitch with these, and I actually recommend it as I’ve done so myself! The quality on these is up there with other tracksuits and tops from other major sporting apparel companies. The reason why tracksuits and athletic tops like these became a fashion trend was not just for its looks, but also how comfortable and practical they were for daily wear. When I first laid my hands on them, they felt rich and thick, but also light enough to not drag you down when you wear them.

Score: 5/5

Uniqueness: When you think of this criteria, you’re looking for something that is different from what’s out there right now in the market. Being a Barcelona fan and maybe from a biased perspective, I had a very positive first impression when I first saw the “Blaugrana” pullover. Not because anything in the design was out of this world, nor because it was something I haven’t seen before, but because it perfectly captured how I would want to represent my club without having to boast about the actual crest of the football club. It had just enough of the Barcelona DNA (shout-out Xavi) for me to want to wear it.

Score: 4/5

Details: The details of both pullovers are in their colors, but not much else. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the point of this release was to have the colors be the focus of the overall design, and I think Nivelcrack played their cards right with this one. This is the only way for us to talk about Barcelona and PSG during this time of the month, and I want to thank these two pieces for giving me an opportunity to snatch some of the spotlight from the Madridistas of what would soon be a terrible weekend for me.

Score: 3/5

You can now purchase the Blaugrana and Tricolore Half-zip Pullovers from RBC for US customers or Nivelcrack.