Last May, the United States played a final friendly against Latvia before departing for the World Cup. For this send-off match, the United States wore a "throwback" kit, goofily called the "Don't Tread on Me" jersey. (Huh? Why dump on poor Latvia?) While it wasn't quite clear what we were throwing back to—kinda, sorta 1950, with rejiggered colors—the Don't Tread on Me campaign (launched by Nike) was an admirable attempt to give the team a slogan and identity. Plus, the uniform was a beauty: a dark red, with a diagonal navy-and-white sash. Finally, the National Team had a good-looking uniform with historical precedent. So, what happened? Immediately after the Latvia game, the jerseys were auctioned off to charity.