Slovakia’s Olympic jerseys have national anthem lyrics as striping (Photo)

Sochi hasn’t exactly inspired Nike to create the awe-inspiring Olympic hockey jerseys. We had the cheap-looking star field of the American sweaters. The flag-as-jersey of the Czech Republic. And of course, Jonathan Toews’ look of FAIL at the Canadian sweaters.

But give’em credit: At least they’re trying some new designs. And in the case of Slovakia’s Olympic jerseys, the ingenuity is pretty awesome: Using the country’s national anthem lyrics as the striping on the sweater.

A closer look here:

As you know, the national anthem of Slovakia is “Nad Tatrou sa blýska” which translates into “Lightning over the Tatras.” The Tatras being a mountain range and not a euphemism, regrettably.

So this is pretty cool, and much better than vinyl-sticker-looking stars and maple leaves on the shoulders.

Even cooler: The jerseys are made of exactly 17 recycled Polyethylene terephthalate bottles. Why 17? We’re not sure, but we’ll just go ahead and assume it’s a tribute to Ladislav Nagy.

Check out the full gallery of photos here.

via Y! Sports Blogs - Yahoo Sports http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/slovakia-olympic-jerseys-national-anthem-lyrics-striping-photo-175146141--nhl.html