I quite like it, not sure if I'll buy one though. Maybe. This shade of pink has never been popular as a football kit historically, but more and more sides both at home and abroad have used them as second and third kits in recent history. When I was growing up and had Subbuteo (as I'm sure most of us in the 60's and 70's did), I remember them doing a kit with this shade of pink with black shorts and wondering who the hell played in it? Well, it was Como. For years I believe they were the only team that had pink in the shirt colour.
I remember as a teenager sniggering at the prospect of a football team that looked like a load of girls playing in Italy and having the **** ripped out of them every week. I've no idea if they did or not as I never watched them, obviously. But it was amusing at the time, as it was the first time I heard the monkey chants that were aimed at the (very few) black players who used to play the game back then. Anyone who watches "The Big Match Revisited" will hear it on the soundtrack. I'm sure it was the same for most of us back then, as behaviour hadn't evolved to where it is now, but I'm also sure that most of us would now agree that that sort of attitude today is completely unacceptable, in fact it is horrendous and is rightly treated as a crime.
Which is actually the point I think
@Chris Powell's mate was trying to make. Nothing said by anyone here so far has, in my opinion, been offensive or homophobic, but in this modern world, innocent comments like those made could end up with disciplinary action in a work environment if said in front of people who may feel adversely treated or affected by such.
And that's the point here; it's not about offence, it's about attitude and the unconscious bias that we all have, whether the issue is equality, diversity, trans, race or gender. Five years ago I would have probably been with those who thought
@Chris Powell's mate was being over sensitive and there would have been a lot of eye rolling, head shaking and tutting on my part.
But now, I have two mixed race grandchildren (I'm not even sure if I can say that these days, I'm still learning), a step-daughter who has come out as gay and a step-niece who is becoming a step-nephew. These sensitive issues are in my direct family and I have now had the opportunity to learn about not only what it actually means to the affected parties when there is blatant discrimination or abuse that they encounter, but also the far more common and probably more long term damaging unconscious bias of the throw away, unintended comments that just totally reinforce the negative stereotype. This creates further obstacles in attitude and public opinion that need to be overcome, just in order for someone to feel in the same place that people without those obstacles to overcome do. After all, if we are not queer, trans, female or a person of colour, we have absolutely no idea what it's like to be in those bodies and deal with the day to day struggle just to be equal and have the same opportunities open to us.
I can envisage the eye rolling and many of you will have probably stopped reading by now, but when these things are evident in your own lives and directly affect your nearest and dearest, trust me, you become aware of things that otherwise would have never been considered and it makes you look at situations through different eyes, with the result that you will arrive at different conclusions.
So whilst this is all very deep and OTT for a thread about a pink 3rd kit, it's the throw away comments where the bias is reinforced.
Sorry for going on and I know it's off topic, but I thought this may help some understand exactly what the issue is and why it's important. If you have got this far, thank you and I hope that it has made some of you just maybe consider things a touch more deeply.