Colorado Rapids New Home Jerseys Will Have Names of Season Ticket Holders Appear on Fabric

The Colorado Rapids will bring their 12th man onto the field in 2013 — literally.

Starting next season, the Major League Soccer club will have season ticket holders’ names woven into the fabric of home jerseys, according to the Denver Post.

Colorado unveiled its jerseys for the 2013 and 2014 seasons on Sunday. The new-look includes an innovation designed to honor the Rapids’ most fervent fans.

“The chief change [in the new jerseys], however, involves the names of the season ticket holders, which was announced in the preseason as part of the Rapids’ ‘One Club’ initiative,” the report says. “Fans got their first glance at how it looked: four rows of names in black, small but readable up close.”

The jerseys bear the names of fans who purchased season tickets by March 1. Colorado reportedly had 3,100 season ticket holders in 2011. While this year’s figure is unknown, attendance at Dicks Sporting Goods Park is up from last season.

The names will only be included on the authentic home jerseys. Replica and road jerseys will not have the distinct element.

The Rapids join Spanish club Sevilla FC as clubs who are bringing their fans onto the field. Sevilla’s can pay the club to have their pictures appear on the players’ numbers.

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Photo via Flickr/wordcat57