Rebranding Rebrands: The MLS Identity Crisis

Over the past three years, we've seen THREE different clubs rebrand...and then rebrand their rebrand. In this video I dive in why these issues keep occurring and how this is becoming a trend in Major League Soccer.
Twitter: @antlarosa_
Business: @[e-mail]

[@mitchd.5782]

It definitely doesn't make sense from any angle in a practical way as a supporter. Many of the brands in other established North American sports struggled to find them in their professional development too, but eventually grew into the ones we see today, like the Maple Leafs, the Celtics, the Lakers, etc. Those names became iconic by virtue of the memories and history associated with that brand, not necessarily the brands themselves. Is the Bears logo good? Is the Reds logo good? Bengals, Browns, Packers, Bulls, Habs, it goes on. I wouldn't say so, some of them are literally the same logo, but we attach particular meanings to them. Of course you want the logo to look good and they've all undergone tweaks over the years. But I think what we see from newer brands, especially in a league like the MLS where the entire league is trying to "legitimize" itself and grow its consumer base, is a hyper-rationalization of the creative process. Design firms are more likely to consider the scaleability, the accessibility, the simplisticness in logos in order to market it more like a consumer product more than it is a "club". The front offices ignore the supporters because ultimately they aren't trying to sell the product back to them. The creative process is just trying to, in the most sterile way, maximize every sort of attribute that makes a "good logo" in the contemporary era so that its presentable, especially in the wake of the new Apple deal. When I look at the original Impact logo, or the original Fire logo etc, they are absolutely iconic and the first thing I think of when I think of those clubs to this day, and yet they have so many details like font choice and shape that really scream American Soccer. And they don't want to embrace that because American sport franchises are seen as culturally devoid, without its own tradition, interchangeable and so embracing a more "foreign" identity makes it more attractive to casual fans who used to think that the MLS is second rate. Most MLS clubs despite having grassroots cultures that stem back as early as the 70s are "fake" because of the league's management of them as franchises akin to the other 4 NA pro sports rather than supporter/working class driven efforts. They don't want to do their own thing with its own quirk and appeal, and sell it as the product the people created, rather just kinda make the sport a European colony, despite the fact that all of the brands from Europe haven't changed their logos with new TV deals. Its almost trying to sell the supporter on a lifestyle or a cultural idea rather than a sport.

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

I think you make a very good point here. Don’t know if I could say it better myself. Really enjoyed these thoughts

[@becausepuppets]

This is the most lucid, well articulated, and on-point comment I've ever read on KZbin. I think you hit the nail on the head. Wouldn't it be lovely if this video and your comment are seen by someone in a position to feed this back to some club ownership.

[@Good100]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but it's the lousiest form of chasing respect.

[@linsithebe7080]

I didn't think I would finish but I found myself at the end of it, really respect the comparison with English clubs, you're right, to me it's madness

[@BoliveiraNTPW]

The problem with the MLS is... the MLS.

[@Good100]

The original Chicago Fire badge was literally perfect.

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

Whole-heatedly agree

[@ChrisConnolly-Mr.C-Dives-In]

The current one approaches the original, but not as good. My hope is, in the long term, that like the White Sox, one day the classic logo will come back.

[@chargehardsdg1674]

imo crew had one of the most unique kits worldwide

[@ChrisConnolly-Mr.C-Dives-In]

@@chargehardsdg1674 being a Fire fan aka natural enemy of Crew, I must conceed, Crew with kango hats was a great logo.

[@bobbyboucher1509]

Im glad i got the 2019 jersey with the old logo before they changed it, hope they change it back to original, current one is eh for me

[@Ccccc-mi3tr]

One European you could’ve included was Welsh Club Cardiff City who’s Malaysian owner rebranded the club from Blue to Red and replaced the iconic bluebird with an Asian dragon (not even a Welsh one) for ‘good luck’ this lasted for around 3 years before finally being changed back.

[@Cuntist]

The best part about that story, was his own mother convincing him to revert the colour scheme 🤣

[@dapperduck4250]

@@Cuntist say more things right now

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

Yeah, that story is kind of crazy

[@seltonk5136]

He's a stubborn little prick. Kept red trim in there. It looks dumb

[@grindelston5968]

I remember that! What an idiot. But have you seen that Leeds badge though? With the salute? 😮

[@Goozero1]

I realised that the MLS focuses on marketing more than community. This whole bad rebrand nonsense stinks of buzzwords like 'culture' and 'community' or 'we are ___' without taking consideration from fans and getting rid of iconic club imagery. Look at basketball's Boston Celtics. They could've gotten rid of the cartoon Irishman but they didn't cuz of how significant it is to the team's history.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

The "racist looking Indian" must go yet the "racist looking Irishman" can stay?

[@c_beno3416]

Minimalism is killing the dynamism of the badges and the connexion that fans have with their team

[@patricecloutier1]

The Montreal rebrand was simply catastrophic at first. The miss was made even worse by the inept crisis communications (or lack thereof) that followed. It took months of fans/supporter unrest to rectify (partly) the logo part ...while the disappearing of the "impact" name remains a bone of contention. One key element noted in the video: the absence of meaningful fanbase engagement.

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

What didn’t help was that it all happened during the recovery from the pandemic. With games not being hosted in Montreal, it was difficult for the supporters to express their voice. Felt like it got swept under the rug which is/was unfortunate

[@davepazz580]

I liked the Impact name much better...

[@psychopathyoutubeemployees280]

@@davepazz580 - Exactly. Or you could always resurrect Wanderers, Montreal's original second NHL team that died after their arena was destroyed in a fire.

[@n_other_1604]

@@davepazz580 But why impact? Is it a french word as well or has it any affiliation with the city? I thaught giving the club a french name makes for more sense giving that it is in Quebec & french is the main language there.

[@davepazz580]

@@n_other_1604 I simply liked it better than the redundant (and now *very* clichéd) "Football Club" nonsense name (no MLS team is actually a "club" anyway)... I mean, the Montreal Canadians and the Montreal Expos weren't French names either, but worked perfectly fine... the "Impact" name is reminiscent of the old NASL.

[@monke4070]

Columbus Crew and Chicago Fire had one of the best crests and they 100% ruined it.

[@formulahank1250]

Even though I’m a TFC fan, that original Chicago Fire logo is by far my favourite North American football badge. It was perfection

[@theimrantshow]

when i saw it change it broke my heart ngl

[@nathankeys6636]

I agree......

[@Goozero1]

The new logo kinda sucked. Ngl. When I played FIFA as a kid, I had no idea of any MLS team but Chicago Fire's logo always stuck with me.

[@tarawang5466]

When will you guys demand to be called the Blizzards? Toronto FC can do with a rebrand.

[@decb]

These were rebrands for the sake of rebranding. At least I know that my club, Nottingham Forest, won't be getting a new logo any time in the foreseeable future. It's simple, iconic, and is versatile enough that it can be put in any colour against any other colour. It was introduced in 1974 and, other than a special version commemorating the 30th anniversaries of the European Cup wins (which kept the logo as the focal point), has had just a single change - the introduction of 2 stars above the tree. The moment anyone tries to replace it will be a time when an entire city covers up a murder the police won't investigate.

[@Randomperson-zt3il]

I’m a Hull fan and I like our current badge, BUT I just don’t want it to change in 5 years time like what we’ve done for a few years

[@bestrafung2754]

As a Manchester City fan, I love the badge the owners revealed in 2016. It's much closer to the club's culture and Manchester than the one with the eagle and 3 stars. City are probably a very good example of how to rebrand and do it right. Fans were also consulted. However, I personally would put 1881 and "football club" on it, but honestly it's still very good.

[@Eoghanyupmonster]

liverpool fan here and i agree, especially with the simple L.F.C logo, i have a navy top and it works just fine

[@bestrafung2754]

@@Eoghanyupmonster I actually really like Liverpool's real badge rather than the one they put on shirts now. It's strange because, if you wanna do branding, why show a completely different logo? Very odd. I don't know what most Liverpool fans think though.

[@Eoghanyupmonster]

@@bestrafung2754 the badge they put on shirts currently is just easier to recolour, not saying i dont like the real badge, i love it, but the shirts badge is fairly nice too

[@RLieutnant_61]

I've always been a critic of the new club badges, lately there is a lack of effort to make a beautiful logo, Nashville, St Louis City and others that the logos are terrible in my opinion, the MLS is following European standards which is terrible, depending on the fans that can change.

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

Just not a lot of originality anymore. I’m with you on the Nashville one but I actually like what St Louis did with theirs.

[@RLieutnant_61]

@@Anthony.LaRosa Forgot to mention minessota united, honestly st louis is the "least worst" out of these 3.

[@oogaboogazoogawooga3450]

@@Anthony.LaRosa Chicago's is nice

[@Yuan-lo3zz]

@@Anthony.LaRosa St. Louis did a terrible job with their branding to me. Poor color choice, uninspiring name nor good reason behind it, and god-awful looking crest that isn’t even proportioned correctly for what they were attempting to do.

[@MrKrewie]

they absolutely butchered the inter milan logo, the old one was iconic italian elegant, the new one looks like something i would do in photoshop as a 15 y old

[@scrubby2116]

A good example in Europe for a club rebranding without consulting their fanbase is Fiorentina. Their old logo was perfect. Unique and recognisable shape, good colour combinations, good symbolism and the writing was in the write places. They absolutely ruined it with the new one.

[@papertowel2458]

Juventus' logo is also trash.

[@jeffs813]

wow yeah that is definitely worse

[@jeffs813]

@@papertowel2458 Juve's new one actually grew on me, I like it better than the previous one now

[@bryan2458]

I will never forgive the National Mexico team for that awful badge.

[@johnmorales6281]

Never...that old design was the best design...the only one I can accept

[@jeffs813]

I can't believe they haven't changed it back yet, especially with their disappointing performance in the World Cup. It's so much worse than the old one!

[@AstroGoalHorns]

This is exactly why I am TERRIFIED for the upcoming Seattle Sounders rebrand. So far, I have not heard of the club execs consulting any of the fans. Although, of course, they could be consulting the fans and I just don't know because it's happening behind the scenes. I hope the executives at Seattle Sounders FC realize that they're toying around with the most hardcore, dedicated fanbase in the league and that a botched rebrand will have extreme economic repercussions not only for the club, but the entire MLS.

[@psychopathyoutubeemployees280]

Thank god, Mariners baseball is good again.

[@razormc954]

​@@psychopathyoutubeemployees280 You:ve also got the Seahawks who will also be good again and the Kraken, a team on the rise

[@MyselfTheThird]

Best case scenario is they simply clean up the crest and drop the FC

[@YesOkayButWhy]

Fight! aaaand win.

[@dmoney9920]

The word IMPACT on Montreal is what made that club unique . What a pity in North America were so behind

[@alexcattarozzi]

Having a name like Montreal Impact shows how behind you are when I'm comes to football...CF Montreal is in line with how the rest of the world names their clubs

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

"Impact" carried history. It doesn't matter if it doesn't fit with the "rest of the world." Impact was Montreal!

[@dmoney9920]

@@alexcattarozzi tripping. Just add the CF after . Montreal Impact CF

[@Gofaw]

@@alexcattarozzi following trends =/= being behind

[@willvintage3505]

@@alexcattarozzi Nah, fuck that. The Impact, like the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, Vancouver Whitecaps and San Jose Earthquakes have history more than even the league they play in. Fuck throwing that away to "be more in line with the rest of the world"

[@luisdelatour]

when Cuauhtémoc Blanco joined the Chicago Fire I had never heard of the club before, then I saw how perfect the badge represented the city and fell in love with the badge immediately.

[@inlivingcolor...abroad6099]

Great video. Its really about ego and thinking they’re the smartest ones in the room-they’ve been sold on the idea that being “European” will make them more marketable around the world, which will make them more money. That’s it. Nothing more. Like you said, it’s completely idiotic because no one around the world will care about your team if the ones in your immediate area dont resonate with it.

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

That last sentence…bingo. Some teams are trying to build a global brand when they haven’t even solidified their local one

[@temiomo-loto4122]

But Americans didn’t care before so nothing changed

[@razormc954]

Europeans will never take MLS seriously, no matter what they do. So why bother trying to appeal to them?

[@danielmenetrey6876]

You see them trying to be more European by removing their identities like the Impact or the Crew and going with SC or CF. And the MLS fans HATE it. Like you said, owners just care about their wallet and not what the fans want.

[@julius3428]

I know I’m a bit late, but that last sentence is truly the absolute foundation a team should have and most modern owners just don’t understand. The direct community around a football club is crucial and what carries a club ultimately.

[@jamiewebster4695]

Great video Anthony, always look forward to learning more about the MLS through your videos :) (from an English, West Ham fan)

[@jeffs813]

I just rewatched Green Street! I know it's cheesy and overexaggerated, but goddamn I love it. I'm curious, what do West Ham fans think of it?

[@blah......4970]

Glaswegian from Scotland here. Rangers fan. It's odd an feeling looking at football (soccer) in North America. I know that some times clubs merge and rebrand, and that in some places in Europe it's probably not a big deal, but here in the U.K., and particularly with Rangers and Celtic in Scotland, if there was an attempt at a corporate rebrand of the club that made significant changes, there would almost certainly be a furious rejection of it from the fanbase. There's a strong sense of culture and community here within the communities that gather around football clubs and an increasing wariness of the intentions of big-money companies and billionaire owners trying.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Say if some big $hot wants to buy Rangers or Celtic & says will provide millions improvements but wants to add Glasgow to the name? Will thier be riots?

[@HookedonChronics]

If someone tried to rebrand the Yankees, Cowboys, or Lakers there would probably be a furious rejection as well.

[@ICEMAN21097]

Incredible video! Didn’t even know there were other people who had thoughts on this subject like me. New sub and thank you for the video!

[@RichardZNot]

I Live in Brazil and i watch the Brazilian leagues and the CONMEBOL Championships And here in South America it's so rare for a club to rebrand their Team's identity, and when they do half of their people are like "uhh..." And the other half simply abominate it and do protests (even people who may not support the team) The problem with these rebrands is that the club managers simply don't care about the clubs identity, History, and supporters, it's so different from here where people would at max accept a little tweak every 20 years And it's honestly kinda sad

[@mikevismyelement]

Our only national sport that actually respects any sort of tradition continues to be college football. But I can't even explain how unpopular the MLS is here. Soccer is already not popular here, and the few that do watch, watch big European leagues and UEFA. MLS is pretty much limited to hipsters in urban areas who live close to teams.

[@RichardZNot]

@@mikevismyelement yeah but I think the next World Cup could change that, as well as Sounders recently won The Concachampions So maybe in the future the MLS can get more recognition

[@earam88]

MLS is lives in the land of no tradition: America.

[@prsancho]

What Athletico did with their logo and shirt was borderline criminal, though. Their first rebrand had been perfect. Two decades later, they’ve destroyed it for the sake of changing. The only thing they got right was bringing back the ‘h’ in the name.

[@AdiZero271]

You can tell how much time and effort you put into this video. Good job my man, keep up the good work.

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

That means a lot. I really appreciate that

[@pottermusLAG]

It seems to me many mls front offices don't understand football or fans just have a so called bright ideas which are dull and stupid

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

The disconnect between front offices and supporters is real. There is a lot of miscommunication between getting $$$ and passion

[@dmoney9920]

We are a baby footballing nation . MLS front offices need to really know what this sport is all about not just money bur passion and what it really means to be a supporter .

[@bestrafung2754]

I think it's worse than the NFL at this rate.

[@hectorramirez3757]

Every FC in this league is cringe for me. A lot of Football Clubs in Major League Soccer 😂 Kind of makes our USMNT chant “It’s called Soccer!” a huge joke with this in mind.

[@jonpata9869]

Really great video, glad I came across your channel man

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

Glad to hear that. I’m guessing you’re a Charlotte supporter, so be sure to check out my video from the inaugural match at The Bank! One of my favorite experiences!

[@regularjohan]

Great video, you deserve much more subscribers.

[@drewmyself893]

As a Crew supporter, the "the imagery [of the new badge] means nothing" that's not true, at least as far as the shape of the badge goes. The shape of the new Crew badge is a swallowtail pennant which is the shape of the flag of Ohio, which is beloved throughout the state of Ohio (it's not a coincidence that the Blue Jackets also incorporated the swallowtail pennant into their logo). You go to a Crew game, you will see Ohio flags flying in the Nordecke and even yellow and black variants of it. It's an iconic shape that the people of Columbus love more than and resonate more with than their own city flag. So to claim its "a horrible shape" is like being dismissive of the 6 pointed stars on the new Chicago badge (which is relating back to the city flag that Chicagoans love). And to play devil's advocate, it is a more unique shape than a circle or generic shield which like 2/3 of the teams in the league now use, granted just . Now what is horrible shape is the new pattern for the jerseys and flags, that weird clusterfuck of triangles and rhombuses that just make a muddy and ugly mess. But I'm getting off topic: what I'm getting at is, this new logo isn't bad.... it just shouldn't have replaced the old checkerboard badge. Like had it been created as a secondary logo (like plenty of other teams across every league already do), then I think there wouldn't be hostility to it and in fact it'd probably be well received.

[@ScrunchBug22]

This is spot on regarding the new Crew flag/shield. I was always told that shape of flag was called a 'burgee' rather than a swallowtail. But regardless of its name, you are correct in stating that it's the shape of Ohio's state flag...which is the only state in the USA to have this style/shape flag. All the other flags are rectangular. As a Crew supporter myself, I like the new design enough...to buy merch, etc., but I simply don't see it as an upgrade from the old one. I simply think that we had an iconic design that would last ages and never need updating again. It definitely needed a facelift from the firefighter crew people that were on the original badge, but the circular checkered badge was perfect.

[@bobrossantichrisst]

Well said. Although I live in Columbus and don’t give a fook about any flag, means absolutely nothing to me

[@HardStyleWillLive]

Ohio folks b like 💀

[@luisamau8398]

Is a really interesting video 👏 a design that don't have important values of design, brand values ​​and identities, always ends up needing a redesign, which is why the nothingham forest emblem will never get old, although to be honest I liked Montreal's previous redesign, I don't understand the need to do it again.

[@Eric4presidente]

The CF Montreal snowflake badge was pretty good I thought

[@davepazz580]

The Montreal Impact was a much better name...

[@brockparker5226]

It was perfect

[@Eric4presidente]

@@brockparker5226 the snowflake one or the old one?

[@Ssedia]

Honestly, I understand and kind of like the Montreal logo (the one the didn't use) and rebrand. I am not a Montreal native or support so I cannot speak about the impact name but as a neutral, the logo looked good and CF Montreal name isn't bad

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

Yeah I agree, on its own, didn’t mind the logo and name on its own. I think their jersey with the snowflake sublimation looked great too. It really just is that they totally changed the clubs identity. But yeah, the rebrand on looks alone way better than the rebrands of Columbus and Chicago

[@hebitokubei228]

Nice vídeo Dude! I am expecting those videos you will make about Inter Miami

[@basileosalexios9200]

You need to check out how Athletico Paranaense from Brazil (Libertadores's runners up from last year) dealt with their rebranding. Changed the club's orthography, changed the club's logo and kit, and the supporters backed it up. A lot of the Hows you're supposed to do a rebranding are made obvious if you check out the whole shabang, the guy behind it is a legendary president of the club that launched the whole thing the day before the Sudamericana cup final, it was either going to be a massive failure or a major success and the gambit worked. First international trophy the club ever lifted and it was with the new logo and kit.

[@jrokur551]

Should’ve talked about Seattle about to do a rebrand too. But great video 👏

[@LuxInvidious]

That’s horrible. The Sounders got the best logo in MLS

[@solracer66]

@@LuxInvidious Their 1994-2008 logo was pretty awesome as well so hopefully the trend will continue. Personally I am hoping for nothing more than small tweaks to the existing crest to make it a little more mature and not as cartoonish but we are talking about polishing a diamond here so care is warranted. But if they decided they wanted to bring back Sammy the orca I wouldn't exactly chastise them for that, he was awesome back in the day...

[@Shebbi04]

The American naming of the franchises is the only thing that somewhat interested me in the MLS. The renaming to something like SC, FC or United seems so fake because these aren't clubs, they're franchises and these typical American names are just beautiful if you ask me.

[@bearsarefast1483]

This is present in the USL too. My team (Louisville city) redid the logo from a badge with the Louisville skyline (which is beautiful) to one of the most plain and unoriginal logos ever. Terrible change that everyone has hated

[@ShauyanNoorfeshan]

This was an amazing video!

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

Appreciate it!!!

[@danboyisdopex9864]

The new Montreal logo actually looks nice much better than their old logo in my opinion but the only issue is that it keeps copying the same format trend with the Man City esc design and the name change trend of the FC AND CF. I will say however it would look a bit more classy if they added the Canadian and French flag colors on each end and of course adding back the Impact name to it.

[@betakh9267]

I mean the Montreal one was cool, but it had nothing to do with Montreal and our identity. The new one is much better and they just need to change back to Impact Montréal

[@seltonk5136]

Why would the add anything to do with French flag? The language is used in the city, same as Spanish is used Mexico but no mexican team would shoehorn a Spanish flag in their badge 😅

[@danboyisdopex9864]

@@seltonk5136 Yes but the difference is the community within the country for instance most of Canada speak English but you have a city like Montreal which is dominated by a community that speaks heavenly french same as Catalonia in Spain they have their own flag because they speak Catalan alongside Spanish.

[@RaabStephan]

Fantastic channel. Subbed!

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

Appreciate it!

[@Moon_over_Akron]

The original Crew logo was an iconic MLS staple. NY/NJ MetroStars was also cool.

[@MK-rw1on]

MLS needs the 50+1 rule like the Bundesliga has.

[@charlesjordan7542]

What’s the 50+1 rule?

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

Love Bundesliga for that rule. Would be awesome to see it in more big leagues

[@yannick245]

Dude, the MLS teams aren't even clubs, but franchises. This doesn't make any sense.

[@ryubix5724]

​@@charlesjordan7542 basically, in Bundesliga, any owner and investors can't own more than 49% of the club. The remaining 51% must be own by fans

[@robsopp2127]

Great Video!

[@ryanh1892]

The skeptic in me thinks teams do this knowing full well that people won't love the change, but it means more merch sales when they revert to the original!

[@jeffs813]

I was living in Chicago at the time of that atrocious badge rebrand. The diehard Chicago Fire fan that I knew absolutely hated it just like everyone else. That was such a head scratcher. The new one is pretty cool, though. I actually liked the Montreal snowflake logo though. The circular Columbus logo is 100x better than the original, or that rectangular nonsense I'm an Austin FC supporter, and I like the colors and the crest, but I wish they named the club either "Austin SC" (to match the league we play in, Major League SOCCER) or a real mascot. We're unofficially the Verde and the Oaks though, so not a huge deal. Great video with some excellent points made. A club is nothing without its supporters!

[@AKUNJIG]

On Point with this Video.

[@kiesh1463]

great vid! I think it also captures another example of how corporations & those in some form of power do not care what their customers, constituents, patrons, citizens, fanbase, etc. desire or what they truly are seeking. they’ve made billions and decisions off the backs of people they refuse to have anything in common with. yet being ‘loyal’ in this fashion is oddly held with some sort of prestige. maybe quit begging idiots to take our money only to be spit upon with price increases, seat premiums, supply chain shortages etc. these corporations, politicians and owners don’t give a flip about us.

[@shakukon-to]

As a Fire fan, out of context, I don’t hate the navy fire crown logo. It’s weird but I don’t think it’s terrible. But in context, it was an awful thing to do. With the logo we have now, I am most satisfied with it. Added the Chicago blue and the 6 point star, and now they’re returning to red home jerseys this season. Seems like the brand is heading back in a good direction.

[@armandobrasil7880]

Thanks for making this video. I thought I was the only one that didn’t like the rebrands

[@psychopathyoutubeemployees280]

Atlanta Flames (acquired from Calgary) Austin Evergreens Charlotte Bobcats (acquire from Hornets) Chicago Fire Cincinnati Stingers Colorado Rapids Columbus Crew Dallas Burn (or Cows) Houston Dynamo (or Oilers once you eliminate Bud Adams' brats) Kansas City Kings (acquire this name from Sacramento) Los Angeles Galaxy Los Angeles Raiders (acquired from Las Vegas) Miami Spice Girls Minnesota Loons Montreal Impact (or Wanderers) Nashville Thundercats New England Revolution New Jersey MetroStars (or Cosmos, if you can get the owner to buy this team) New York Sets (short for Settlers, think Mets being short for Metropolitans) Orlando City Lions Philadelphia Union Portland Timbers St. Louis Browns San Jose Earthquakes Seattle Sounders Toronto Huskies (easy to acquire from the Raptors) Utah Mormons Vancouver Whitecaps Washington United There. Team name problem solved.

[@mattpotter8725]

Looking from an outside point of view, my being in League One despite being in Premier League when it was launched until the early 2000s, and although not totally following MLS, do remember it from early years when DC United were dominant, and remembering Columbus Crew from that time as well. What I think the main problem here is that the clubs are franchises and the owners see them as their property that they can do with as they want, which to be fair they can but it doesn't make for a successful club. I look across the Atlantic and see owners thinking they can just follow suit with NFL franchise's by threatening to move cities and rebrands and renames as and when they want in a lot of cases. This may work, to a certain extent, in the NFL or even NBA because of the massive following and fans all over the US, but i feel that MLS is still growing, it's not big enough yet for these kind of antics to work. Lastly, as far as Chicago Fire is concerned, by all means redesign the badge but don't tamper with the history, the colors, and i agree consult the fans. I've never seen Chicago as a soccer town, overshadowed massively by the Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, more so than in say New York or other MLS cities with competing sports. A rebrand was probably needed, maybe to attract more fans, but it needs to bring along existing fans not alienate them or you are just swimming against the tide and getting nowhere. Columbus I don't think has the same problem, no overshadowing other teams to really compete with so no excuse as far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong), just corporate greed and not understanding how to run a successful club.

[@nicolasalfonsoflorio9294]

what they did to the chicago Fire's crest was criminal. Like the video stated: the original one was very original and had the team's name and history rooted in its design.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

I would no longer buy stuff.

[@thechriscrowing]

This was really interesting. I think a lot of these things happen all across business for two main reasons - firstly, owners/top management want to make a visible splash and/or improve the fortunes of their brand and it feels a lot easier to rebrand than it does to address systemic issues with the product (in a sporting sense that could mean addressing recruitment, facilities, long term planning, in other businesses that could mean infrastructure, processes, product quality, distribution) which are more expensive, take longer and don't usually come with a press conference. Secondly, capitalism loves waste and you've got marketing departments desperate to justify/increase their budget and firms always pitching for work in consultiong, designing, implmenting the brand upgrade they'll insist you totally need. Not to say a brand reset is always a bad thing, when it's done well it can be a beautiful and elegant thing, but that's so rare. As to not consulting fans properly, I think most of these clubs will think they have, as doing focus groups is ever so popular amongst brand development types, but there's also a tendency from those pushing a rebrand to ignore feedback they don't like, saying its from the 'wrong sort of consumer' or whatever. Actually doing a fully inclusive process with supporters groups is often not done and excused because they want the process to be controlled and secretive - helping with the big reveal. Then at the end of the day, even when a rebrand goes awfully, the marketing/design firm still gets paid, the manufacturer still gets paid for whatever merchandise was made etc and the wheels turn again on making it good... capitalism wins, it's always ultimately fans/consumers that get screwed over. All that said, I love the thought process of club rebrands, trying to keep the identity and elements that fans love while updating or streamlining the logos. Fascinating.

[@jeffs813]

You're spot on. Part of the charm of college football for me, as an American sports fan, are the teams/logos that haven't changed and will never change (Penn State, Nebraska, Bama, Michigan, Notre Dame etc.). Pro sports team owners and marketing departments just can't help but mess with logos and uniforms like the examples in the video. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

[@thechriscrowing]

@@jeffs813 I'm Scottish and the whole concept of a sports team as a 'franchise' that moves around is quite alien to Europeans. Teams in any sport with a lengthy history are usually quite intrinsically attached to their locality and fanbase - often in a very specific socioeconomic way - big cities have multiple teams for different areas, for the posh folks and poor folks etc - in a way that would make such a move ruinous. Of course there have been examples of teams being bought by new owners and moved, but they're usually heavily resisted by the existing fanbase - the best example I can think of is when Wimbledon AFC were bought and moved from London to Milton Keynes and renamed the MK Dons. Great for Milton Keynes, which didn't have a league team, but awful for the long term fans of Wimbledon - who started a new club with the same badge and colours called AFC Wimbledon who went from the bottom of the football (soccer) pyramid in England to joining the professional leagues in only a decade or so, which is a massive rise. Usually from European teams if a prospective owner wants to take advantage of a strong market, they buy a team from there and build them up, or just buy into an established team. That's not to say that there isn't a lot of change with designs - badges change a bit over time, kits change at least every other year and sometimes names change - although these are mostly historical as brand loyalty is pretty nailed on these days. Examples like Leeds playing in blue & yellow until about 1960 then moving to mostly all-white kits (to copy Real Madrid), Hull's new owner wanting to officially change the name to Hull Tigers and fan response shutting it down, Cardiff City playing in blue forever (their badge and nickname is a bluebird) then a new owner changing the kit for a few seasons to red cause they thought a Welsh team should play in red... again, much fan dislike of that.

[@yasanagi1999]

definitivamente los equipos de la MLS sufren por un gran cambio en sus logos, esto lo hacen para llegar a mas espectadores fuera de USA. Es comun ese tipo de cambio en marcas comerciales y por supuesto, el negocio del futbol en USA esta en crecimiento y necesitan ese plus con el cambio de identidad

[@wilfredvonkarma]

I loved the old columbus crew logo. It was one of my all time favourite logos. I was so disappointed with the new thrashy design

[@wilfredvonkarma]

And I mean the old one… with the people on it

[@tobias6511]

My local team have members meetings with the people that run the club. And in the last years they have done so the club cant sell the stadium name, and they can never change the clubs colours from red.

[@djplong]

Good video. I'm a relatively new soccer fan living in NH and can't stand the new logo of the Revolution. Who thought that making the shield look like a piece of punctuation (as if the circled-R you see for 'Registered') was good? I can understand people wanting something better than the "crayon" logo but.... I don't know.... I'd want to concentrate more on getting them a proper stadium and out of Gillette. Put 60,000 people in there for a Patriots game and you have an experience. 15,000 for a Revolution game and it has all the atmosphere of a visit to the dentist - or like the team is wearing it's dad's suit. But to add one small piece to your video, I can understand why the Montreal brass thought that the "snowflake" logo was a good idea. They got something reminiscent of the Expo 67 "Man and His World / Terre des Hommes" logo. In addition, calling it "CF Montreal" kind of panders to the more hard core francophone separatists where as "Montreal Impact" might seem to be "too English". Expo 67 resonates with Montrealers, especially older ones, as that's pretty much where Montreal announced themselves as a World Class City to the rest of the planet - that World's Fair set records for attendance and profitability that still stand today. I guess they thought that tying their logo to the Expo 67 logo was connecting with history - but the Fleur-de-Lis goes back centuries, so who knows what really went on in their minds... (For the Expo 67 logo, see www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/archives/democratie/democratie_en/expo/democratisation/modernite-tradition/piece22/index.shtm)

[@RLieutnant_61]

I liked the new NERevs logo a bit, it's not the best of things but compared to others in the league it's nice, it took a long time to change in my opinion they should have done it 10 years ago.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

I say Bring back the Crayon.

[@justbespoopin7435]

Another big point about the Chicago logo, it straight up looks like the Cubs logo. You can't do that when the Cubs are the biggest sports team in the city

[@Bharlos]

As a Chicago native, I love that they incorporated the city flag, but wish the Florian cross was more defined like with the old logo. The old logo was just so iconic and defined, it stood out. Whilst the new one is just a bit too "soft" and minimalistic, it just doesn't have that, it factor, to it. The old logo, with the city's flag colors would have been perfect.

[@Love-sg5pp]

The Montreal logo with the Snowflake ❄️ decoration was honestly not that bad at all. I mean, Montreal is a cold city up in Canada. The Snowflake decoration definitely gave a sense of their own identity, plus the two small French crosses also gave the final touch, since Montreal is a city where most people speak French. The Montreal logo was a master peace. Unfortunately, they change it 😢.

[@bobbowie9350]

They're snowflakes alright

[@joejamros]

Columbus SC only last 8 days. They played only one match without the crew against New England Revolution.

[@joejazdzewski]

The Sounders are doing a rebrand but they are pretty clear that Adrian never liked the crest. He doesn't like it because 1. It's too complicated to put in smaller spaces. 2. The space needle isn't identifiable to the Sounders. They have also mentioned that it might not replace the crest but have a second logo. see the Seattle Kracken's anchor logo. I'm not against a new logo but I would love to have a secondary crest / logo. I personally prefer the Kracken's secondary logo.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Oh no, will you'll become FC Seattle?

[@StefanBrandowX]

As a Crew fan who is a graphic designer, our new logo is absolutely horrendous. The only goal of it was to have a “C” logo like Cleveland teams to put on new merch to sell in a new stadium after winning a championship. Just because it has connections to the state, city, or history of the club doesn’t mean it visually looks good.

[@leataripledajaug]

Nashville logo is just FC NANTES logo with a few tweaks 😂

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

Haha, I’ve never looked at it that way. I’ve also never been a fan of Nashville’s logo.

[@shincaion]

In Brasil football there is a wide meme that São Paulo FC never change the design of their kits and crest, they have the same one since they were founded, on the other hand we have Athletico, formerly known as Atlético Paranaense, by having 2 names I think you must know what happened, they once had a crest who looked exactly like Flamengo, so they changed it to a Milanesque one, after Juve changed their logo, they changed it too to a similar one. I think it's better to be like São Paulo than being a club with no identity.

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

South America is notorious for staying true to their identity. So many generations have supporters the same club with the same crest, and the same identity. Boca and Riverplate are two I think of

[@shincaion]

@@Anthony.LaRosa Yes, it's common to make them more modern like River Plate did by the beginning of the year, but change it all? never. The closest thing to it is commemorative logos, Vasco has a lot of them.

[@peytondagenais479]

Remembering the Houston Dynamo rebrand. One of the smoother ones on recent memory.

[@dannylopez7411]

Ehh… it was a version of the James Harden adidas logo, who’s a minority owner. To their credit, they’ve made an attempt to unify the Dynamo and Dash as single franchise

[@accolade8060]

I miss the original Columbus Crew crest, with 3 CREWmen wearing hard hats and attitude. They had it right from the beginning.

[@RomeTrinidad10]

I’m from Chicago, I’ve tried going to a few games, there is just absolutely no culture. The chants are brutally embarrassing, all it is is “fireee fireeee fireeee fireee fireee uuuuuuoooohhhhh uuuuoooooohhhh uuuuooohhh uuuuuooohhhh oooohhhhh” Followed by, “who’s the best??”…. FIREEE!” Oh my god bro they have no culture I only go to games to watch other players from other teams

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

It's unfortunate because there are probably so many people near Chicago who are in love with the game. Such a big market, but it feels like the team isn't marketed properly (Doesn't help when they haven't been good for so long). One day, Chicago has to meet it's potential.

[@ZakhadWOW]

I feel for you.. I am a charter member of the very first ( but now defunct) RSL supporters group - The Loyalists. I even stil have my official LOyalists scarf somewhere. Our earliest cahnts were worthy of a Junior High cheerleading squad HAHAHAH

[@ray.shoesmith]

How do you build brand recognition when you keep changing your brand?

[@KoziPLUS]

What's sad is that these clubs have so few fans as MLS is not on par with the big four giants (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL). And instead of listening to the fans and hopefully growing their fanbase, the owners instead change everything that was beloved and thought it won't face pushback, but instead will be praised, and increase revenue. This shows the lack of experience and competence of these owners have with running a successful sporting franchise, and I feel like this trajectory is not good for the growth of MLS.

[@fucknugget8856]

I find it kinda hilarious as you have a team called Wrexham being owned by two famous Americans and they seem to be getting it right.

[@DiegoMagengo]

How is the Louisville example different than the Chicago one?

[@ivan_talivan]

Great video :)

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

Thanks!

[@AlexAlvarez-fp7lj]

I love the new chicago fire crest

[@SquilliamWeber]

As a Columbus fan, I’ll never forgive them from changing the OG logo 😤

[@huSTLer3293]

I honestly think the owners must resent the fact that they’re not the center of attention. You see this weird egomania around all of sports, but I notice it in American sports especially - for instance, the team owners get to hold the Lombardi trophy before it is ever given to the players at the Super Bowl, essentially saying that the owner is the most important part of the team. And the NFL moving teams from cities with a lot of fan support (raiders) further emphasizes this. These owners see the teams as theirs and the fans should be fans of whatever product they give them. They think the team should represent the owners and their message, not the community. They want to play with their toy because it’s theirs, not the city’s. It’s really weird and sad.

[@theknightowl728]

That second Columbus Crew logo was literal perfection, shame that it was changed into that hideous montrosity.

[@cia5649]

sad to see theres no supporter run club

[@joulesinc.3028]

Tbh columbus logo is growing on me unlike Nashville, Kansas, RSL and even Philadelphia, I think those teams need a rebrand.

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

I’ll admit, there are times where I see the new logo and like it. When the announcement photos came out with Cucho wearing the new kit, it looked sick. But I just keep coming back to not feeling connected to it

[@ZakhadWOW]

RSL is the oldest unchanged Logo in MLS, having outlasted even all 10 of the original members {DC united was the only one that held on a long time, but even they gave in to stupidity}. There is ZERO reason to change it, since it has remained universally popular here in Utah among people whose opinion matters. Seriously, NO ONE GIVES A FUCK WHAT YOU THINK about teams that arent even your own.

[@joulesinc.3028]

@@ZakhadWOW damn are you really a grown ass man trying to pick up a fight on KZbin? That’s embarrassing lmao. If you don’t care about my opinion imagine what I think about yours, but still that doesn’t change the fact that RSL logo is hideous lol

[@NmpK24]

Have to agree when it comes to 'Real Salt Lake' (sorry fans of this club but I have to say it). If you know your elementary Spanish 'Real' translates to 'Royal'. And this title was originally bestowed on certain Spanish clubs (Madrid, Sociedad and others) by their king when they were formed. Maybe those MLS should choose something more local to them instead??

[@psychopathyoutubeemployees280]

America and Canada are not Europe! And as long as that mindset is in place, soccer will never eclipse baseball and ice hockey etc.! I especially hate the stupid "listing the home team first"! College soccer, while having some rules I don't agree with (no extra time), at least it stays true to the North American way. I would suggest you watch that over MLS. Nothing like seeing the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines trying to kill each other on a soccer field too!

[@nibaba8414]

Never say never, football is more popular than ice hockey, but many people will go to the Premier League, Liga MX, and La Liga. But the MLS are approaching and even surpassing NHL at a very fast pace. With the blessing of the 2026 World Cup, maybe 10 years later MLS will surpass NHL

[@saintsrobbed6450]

That new Louisville City badge looks crisp

[@MarioSantos-zx4bj]

Also the problem with copying Eurpean clubs like x united where no two teams in the city united to create them

[@mikaoleander]

i actually really like the new columbus crew logo - at least as long as they keep the name

[@robthomas5827]

Montreal's circular snowflake logo looked dope. I don't understand why there was such a backlash to it. The replacement logo is boring and looks dated.

[@ZakhadWOW]

Because you're not a QUebecois or MOntrealais person. that Fleur-de-lis is EVERTYHING to that Francophone culture

[@monrow1961]

We don't like it, the original was perfect and goes back to way before MLS days, The Impact is soccer in Montreal. Toujous fidèle

[@the_real_idoit8166]

To this day I still can’t Believe Leeds thought that logo actually looked good😂

[@fernandoalvarez9613]

Why are the backlash to removing the nickname from the official name? When you ask who the Red Devils, Gunners, or Old ladies are, soccer fans know what you’re talking about. Montreal and Columbus dropping the nickname doesn’t mean supporters are then prohibited from continuing to use the nickname.

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

I think it really just comes from the removal of the name. Why take it out if it was there to begin with? Red Devils, Gunners, and Old Ladies were never part of their actual names, therefore it was normal for that to just be a nickname. For the Crew, they were named that at the beginning, so I don;'t understand the point in taking it out just for the sake of it.

[@fernandoalvarez9613]

@@Anthony.LaRosa thing is, the owners are looking at how much foreign clubs draw revenue from the US and they think they can replicate it by doing a rebrand rather than changing other aspects of football in the US. I know things like salary caps, amateur drafts, no pro/rel, etc hold the growth of the game back but I think there are other creative ways to go implementing it. Korean League System is a hybrid of US and Scottish models with pro/rel between K1 & K2 (pro leagues), K3 & K4 (Semi Pro) and so on. If there were a MLS 1 & 2 split then maybe we can get it here without risking clubs falling out like Oldham

[@razormc954]

@@fernandoalvarez9613 It's just not going to work

[@CodyJPittman]

I like the Chicago one more it has the city's flags colors looks way more Chicago I'd actually wear there gear now

[@Lefaid]

I am so angry i just discovered your channel. I needed this while I lived in the States. Now the games are going to be too late (and expensive) for me to get. Maybe you will convince me to get the Apple Season Pass

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

Better late than never!!

[@Lefaid]

@@Anthony.LaRosa The problem is that I am not coming back to the States again. MLS is now a distant League across the sea for me. I am not going to be able to be a season ticket holder for Austin FC, Colorado Rapids, or Chicago Fire ever again. It is like you following Birmingham City for me at this point. That is what makes me so conflicted. If only there were more channels like yours when my MLS fandom flourished from 2012-2022.

[@PTS-Maid]

​@@Lefaid why do you care about the MLS?

[@gamer0unreleased]

That 3D render actually made the Crew rebrand look awesome. But in the normal 2D I see why their fans don’t like it

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

I twist and turn with it haha. There are definitely times where I'm like "that looks semi-decent, and then other time I don't understand it.

[@salvymemeguy998]

I miss the 2009 Chicago Fire FC crest

[@StylistecS]

I know you didn’t want to dive in it but man I still absolutely hate that they rebrand their teams to be like Europe. Sporting Kansas City Real Salt Lake DC United Atlanta United Inter Miami Minnesota United You try to establish your own identity but you have Portuguese, English, Spanish, and Italian club names in your league. All the ones I just mentioned should rename their team. What the hell did DC, Atlanta, and Minnesota unite? Perhaps I’m wrong but is there a royal whatever in England? Is there an Inter whatever in France? No. They have their own identity. It’s a joke imo. All we are missing now is Borussia San Antonio or OGC Baltimore. These names should make the world laugh at us.

[@trorisk]

In France the Marseille club (l'OM) proposed to its supporters to change their anthem for a song by a well-known band of the city (IAM), which supports the team. The fans refused and neither the band nor the club blamed them. It's the decision of the fans.

[@danieln3999]

MLS sides will never have a truly authentic brand until they have more freedom in kit design with other makers than Adidas. Adidas is not bad, just that all the kits look nearly the same, just different color schemes. But this is a product of centralized control of MLS, and not the club controlled nature of other top domestic leagues in the world.

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

I will say, these kits this season are starting to be a bit more unique!

[@bobbowie9350]

Yup. Seems like adidas uses all the same number stencil in every teams kit. Why can't it be more unique like other sports in America.

[@saintsrobbed6450]

What annoyed me the most about the Crew rebrand is how we played with the old badge on our jerseys while marketing and displaying the new badge everywhere else. It was so stupid. That being said, I do think the new crest that uses the shape of the Ohio flag is a cool idea, even if the old badge looks better.

[@ogedits123]

I like the new Montreal badge

[@marceltech]

If there's something that no one in football (soccer) wants to be identified is COLD

[@aaronmalpica2369]

Can you do a video about my Utah Jazz when we undoubtedly rebrand in a few months AGAIN because how bad our current ones are

[@jimmyflores5976]

It’s Chicago Fire soccer club. Two hideous badges… hideous uniforms. I’ve not purchased a jersey in years and haven’t been to a game since they went back to Soldier Field. Get it right on the pitch and then focus on a rebrand. But the team never needed a rebrand.

[@fahadtiburon7210]

Old logo of Montreal is very nice.. better than new 2 logo of montreal.. so many Circle logo in East Mls

[@StephenButlerOne]

The fire rebrand looked way better.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

That's why I liked the Revolution. They kept the original "crayon drawn" logo for so long. If I ever own the team I'll bring it back.

[@Shelmer75]

That crayon logo was terrible. Desperately needed changing.

[@Hehehehhehehehehehehehhe78]

​@@Shelmer75 na it was a good logo

[@Shelmer75]

Really don’t understand why Columbus fans freaked about the dropping of “crew” when countless teams in England get referred to by names that don’t appear on their official crest or name. The Red Devils, Baggies, Gunners, Foxes, Wolves, Canaries, Blues, Cherries, Toffees. The list goes on.

[@Anthony.LaRosa]

I get that, but I think it was seen as taking away their history. Columbus Crew was their name when they were founded, and it was that way for 25+ years. To take it away from the official name is different than other teams developing nicknames that were never in their official name in my opinion. You can still call them that, but it isn’t necessarily the same.

[@UC1180_]

Rebranding is just about all the “owners” can do short of backing out as they actually don’t own the teams. MLS does. These owners are just merely investors.

[@mattd2026]

Montreal badge looked like a bank logo. I wish I bought one of their black jerseys or a hat with the logo