Washington Freedom(WPS) logo

[roxfan00]

The Washington Freedom unveiled their new logo today and it has the same shield as the Colorado Rapids.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 24, 2008) ? For fans of the WUSA version of the Washington Freedom, the announcement of professional women?s soccer returning to the Nation?s Capitol has been five years in the making.

On Tuesday, the long wait took one step closer to finishing as the Freedom ?re-introduced? themselves to the Washington, D.C. area with a new league, a new logo, a new stadium and a new player.

For everything that changed though, some things remained the same ? John and Maureen Hendricks still own the team, Jim Gabarra is still the head coach, Abby Wambach and Ali Krieger still should excite the fans they played for in the past and the fans are still as passionate as ever. Whether they came from somewhere close to RFK or as far as Virginia Beach, fans packed the team?s opening press conference ready to share how excited they are for the return of a professional team.

?Our loyal fans have stayed with us,? said Maureen Hendricks. ?They have continued to support the Freedom and we are grateful for each and every one of them.?

Although Wambach could not attend the press conference because of her rehab schedule and Krieger could not attend because she is under contract with FFC Frankfurt in Germany, Freedom fans did get a chance to meet the newest member of the team, defender Cat Whitehill. She let the fans know right away that she shared the same passion for her new team.

?I am so unbelievably happy to be here,? Whitehill said. ?One of the things that I looked at when coming to DC was this team has been around from day one. There?s no other team that?s been around since day one and that just shows you the foundation and the effort [the Freedom have] put towards soccer.?

Whitehill was a college senior at North Carolina in 2003 when the Freedom won the last Women?s United Soccer Association championship and was ?devastated? when the league folded the year she became eligible for the draft. With the start of a new league, Whitehill can finally see her childhood dream come true.

?It?s been a dream of mine since I was a kid,? Whitehill said. ?I wanted to play in a professional sports league and now I get that opportunity.?

Gabarra also mentioned that Wambach is ahead of schedule recovering from her broken leg, and although he is having a hard time believing she will be ready in March, he said he knows better than to doubt Wambach?s word.

?In Abby?s case I think she would be the last person anyone would bet against coming back from any kind of injury,? Gabarra said. ?She?s a pretty tough individual. From what I know of her personality and Cat?s personality, they truly enjoy this game and will do everything they can to get back into it.?

The rumor mill also appears to be active in regard to Krieger?s status in Germany, and while Gabarra said the team is trying to work on a transfer deal to get Krieger here next summer, he also revealed that the approach the team is taking is about more than just winning in April.

?What we?re dealing with now is trying to build a team, not only for 2009, but something that will be long lasting,? Gabarra said. ?That?s the whole idea of this league is building something that lasts for a long time.?

The building process Gabarra mentioned is taking place off the field as well, as it was revealed the Freedom and Major League Soccer?s D.C. United are forming a partnership that will allow the Freedom to take advantage of the expertise of United while keeping operating costs down at the same time.

?We are very excited about the opportunity to work with the Freedom,? D.C. United President and CEO Kevin Payne said. ?We think it makes sense, particularly in the early years of this new version of the Freedom, to help share some of those overhead costs. I think we can provide support and some expertise as we?ve been working now 13 years. We have a top staff of people who have been working here since. We are very, very pleased and happy to do that.?

Washington Freedom

[Mac the Knife]

I for one am wondering why Raleigh's team isn't part of WPS... if I recall correctly (and admittedly, I may not), the team was among WUSA's attendance leaders and put a competitive product on the field, plus has an MLS-level facility (well, almost) in nearby Cary.

[roxfan00]

The St. Louis logo.

St. Louis

[gueman]

It's as if Buckminster Fuller designed the Capital.

[ManCalledAmp]

Wow. I'm extremely impressed by both of those logos. Solid. Very nice, WPS.

[BallWonk]

Ugh. What a downgrade. It's just way too "noisy" a logo, and it really doesn't feel like a Washington-appropriate crest. We are a shield-heavy town, after all, and none of them look anything like this. Not that the Freedom need to have a crest that looks exactly like the Department of Homeland Security or whatever, but there is a distinctive local visual language of seals and crests, and this one isn't speaking it.

Aside from the business of the logo and the silliness of the overall shape, I'm seeing gradients, or at least waaaay too many levels of color in this. This thing doesn't even reproduce well at large scale online; it's going to look terrible at small scale in thread. Plus the unmediated red on blue is giving seizures to Japanese children as we speak, and there's a subtle but absurd contrast between the curved lines of the DC flag stripes (which in real life are straight) and the straight lines of the Capitol dome (which in real life are curved).

Plus, when you think of "freedom," do you picture the dome of the U.S. Capitol? No, you don't. "Freedom" is really not a concept that most people associate with state buildings. Freedom is more about fireworks and voting and parades and women finally getting the chance to play sports for money and that sort of thing; it's not about government offices.

Just a muddled, noisy mess of a logo here. Hopefully the uniforms won't be as craptastic as this crest suggests, because my wife is a huge Wambach fan and I'm going to watch a good number of the team's games.

[RollWolfpack]

I for one am wondering why Raleigh's team isn't part of WPS... if I recall correctly (and admittedly, I may not), the team was among WUSA's attendance leaders and put a competitive product on the field, plus has an MLS-level facility (well, almost) in nearby Cary.

I'm with you completely on this one...

I worked for the Carolina Courage for the final 2 years they were in existence, and was able to meet and get to know some people pretty high up in the Courage organization and through Time Warner Cable, the team's owner.

When the league suspended operations, we weren't shocked, as we knew a lot of teams were in deep financial trouble, but it was my understanding that the Courage led the league in revenue and in attendance. The business model at the time though didn't reward teams for success, only the league for success/failure. We figured Cary would be a shoe-in for another team once the league restarted in 2006...which became 2008....and now is looking like maybe a 2009 date? I don't know, it's a whack system.

[Ben7]

I love that Washington Freedom Logo from every aspect (colors, shape, content and symbols). Was never really into womensoocer but this whole "creation" of an all new women league and teams makes it interesting.

heard anything about the other teams, specially LA ?

[wolverine_95]

I feel there's a conflict between the simple line art of the flag/crest and the intricate wordmark and dome. It works at first glance, but then you look another time and it doesn't seem to fit together. It's a good idea, but could have been executed better. Look at the St. Louis and Chicago. Also, as a DC resident, it weirds me out that the flag is kind of upsidedown. I know it isn't becuase the stars are right side up, but it still feels weird.

[gordie_delini]

why aren't the colorado rapids sending them a cease and desist order for using their crest design?

[Brick]

Plus, when you think of "freedom," do you picture the dome of the U.S. Capitol? No, you don't. "Freedom" is really not a concept that most people associate with state buildings. Freedom is more about fireworks and voting and parades and women finally getting the chance to play sports for money and that sort of thing; it's not about government offices.

The statue on top of the Capitol is the Statue of Freedom.