It is no secret that the United States Soccer Federation has an atrocious logo. It was first used in 1994 and perfectly described soccer in the U.S. at that time--cartoonish. When I heard the USSF and Nike re-vamped the logo in 2014 before the World Cup, I became cautiously optimistic. Then I saw the updated logo and vomited.
Now, there is a
leaked version of the logo floating around the Internet that is, at the same time, different, the same and decent.
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| From FootyHeadlines.com |
The good thing here is that we have a clean, simple, American crest/logo/emblem by which we can identify our national soccer teams. The bad thing is that it still looks super duper American soccer.
The shield itself is a definite improvement. It has clean, shaped lines that give the crest a modern feel. In graphic design, I always ascribe to the KISS method, which is "Keep it Simple and Sincere." I think the new shape does that. However, in my opinion, there is a bit too much white in the actual logo. I'm losing it on a white shirt.
Thankfully, the USSF and Nike went to RED stripes in the logo. Why did we have blue stripes in our old logo? How is that American? Our flag has 13 RED and white stripes. Red. The stripes should be red and now they are. Also, there are 13 stripes, so that's also like our flag, whereas the old logo had 11. The stripes are the biggest improvement in this logo.
Most national soccer teams use the country's football federation as the letters that emblazon their crests. The USSF has no plans to do that with this logo. An edgy "USA" in navy letters sits atop the stripes. This font and its positioning makes me think of
USA Basketball, which I guess isn't a bad thing at all considering it's kind of our thing. However, I do think we have to remember the point of this is to be the crest of the soccer association/federation of the country. I don't think this (or the previous crest) did that well.
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| From FootyHeadlines.com |
Two obvious omissions from the old logo are the shooting ball and the star. Most U.S. soccer fans refer to this ball as the "clip art" ball, which any Microsoft Office user can agree with. But without the soccer ball, how will anyone know that his is for soccer?? I do believe this is a valid question, because in America, us Americans don't really know what soccer is yet. But I think, ya know, seeing it on a soccer jersey will help.
What I do miss is the stars. The USA is full of stars, from our flag to our celebrities. I'm sad there are no stars on this crest. However, maybe the USMNT could
earn them? Interesting thought. The USWNT has three stars above the crest (which I'm anxious to see how they look above this), which was the same amount the old logo had.
Overall, I think this is a definite upgrade for the U.S. Soccer Federation and our national soccer teams. It's cleaner, less cartoonish, and definitely modernized. Supposedly, we will see the new crests in 2016 at the Centennial Copa America, hosted by the U.S.
Also relevant, USSF and Nike extended their partnership until 2022, so let's hope Nike stops giving the U.S. national soccer teams the Oregon treatment and picks a home and away kit that makes sense.
It's important to remember that this is all speculation at this point, but "leaks" are often very correct. What are your thoughts?
UPDATE
It has been rumored (on BigSoccer's forums) that this could be the crest used for the Olympics, because teams apparently cannot use the federation's logo on their uniforms. I don't know how valid that claim is, so I'll investigate further this weekend.
So it looks like this is the new look for the USMNT going forward
