Toronto FC name chosen today

[Sodboy13]

Man, this logo is class all the way. A big thumbs-up. This crop of new team names in MLS (Houston Dynamo, Red Bull New York, and now Toronto FC) shows that American teams can have their own unique and strong soccer identities without having to resort to being international knockoffs, like Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake. A very encouraging turn, all in all.

That, combined with the push for soccer-specific stadiums and one team per owner, makes me feel like MLS is headed in the right direction.

[ColeJ]

Man, this logo is class all the way. A big thumbs-up. This crop of new team names in MLS (Houston Dynamo, Red Bull New York, and now Toronto FC) shows that American teams can have their own unique and strong soccer identities without having to resort to being international knockoffs, like Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake. A very encouraging turn, all in all.

That, combined with the push for soccer-specific stadiums and one team per owner, makes me feel like MLS is headed in the right direction.

explain to me how red bull and dynamo are any better than real salt lake.... i don't see it.

[gosioux76]

Man, this logo is class all the way. A big thumbs-up. This crop of new team names in MLS (Houston Dynamo, Red Bull New York, and now Toronto FC) shows that American teams can have their own unique and strong soccer identities without having to resort to being international knockoffs, like Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake. A very encouraging turn, all in all.

That, combined with the push for soccer-specific stadiums and one team per owner, makes me feel like MLS is headed in the right direction.

Not to nit-pick, but I don't see Chivas USA as a . knock-off, being that they're owned by CD Chivas of Guadalajara. I see them as an extension of the parent club.

Real Salt Lake, now that's a name I don't care for.

On a seperate note, I wonder what clubs would be candidates for relocation.

[leedsunited]

Pure class logo, and much better than at least one Premiership squad logo (Fulham, looking right in your direction, you sad wankers).

[Brian in Boston]

I'd rank the MLS badges/logos as follows:

The Cream of the Crop

1) Toronto FC - The class of the league. A traditional badge/logo, rendered in a modern graphic style.

2) Real Salt Lake - The ridiculous team name aside, a nicely-designed badge

3T) FC Dallas - A marked improvement over the old Burn logo.

3T) Houston Dynamo - A badge/logo that communicates all you need to know about the team (host community, team name, sport, etc) in a well-designed a package.

5) Chicago Fire - A great example of using an unusual badge/logo shape to communicate an aspect of the team name.

A Step Behind

6) Red Bull New York - Surprisingly good, given the need to include a corporate icon in the badge/logo.

7) CD Chivas USA - Obviously very traditional, but loses points for being a knock-off of an existing badge/logo.

Middle of the Pack

8) New England Revolution - The league's only original non-traditional, modernistic logo that still holds up. The lack of a conventional badge-like containment shape costs it slots in the poll... and is the one reason I could potentially see engaging in a re-design.

Need Work

9) Colorado Rapids - Non-descript to the point of being bland.

10) Los Angeles Galaxy - A modernistic badge/logo that hasn't proven capable of standing the test of time. It looks like it could be the label for a so-called "edgy", "x-treme" clothing line.

Start From Scratch

11T) DC United - For the life of me, I can't understand all of the love/respect that this badge/logo receives. Yes, DC United was Major League Soccer's first traditional name. That said, the logo has always been an atrocity. There's simplicity and tradition... and then there's just poor design. This badge/logo is an example of the latter. The eagle is poorly rendered. The star-and-ball device is just "slapped on" to the logo. The font is nothing special. All in all, it looks like the sort of logo that could be put together by a middle school student.

11T) Columbus Crew - Less a badge/logo than a photo. Overall badge shape is good, but the photorealistic depiction of the construction workers doesn't seem to fit in the sense of being a sports team logo. It looks like an illustration that I'd expect to see on the tap-handle at a brewpub.

11T) Kansas City Wizards - I really like the wordmark, but the whole "ball-trailing-a-rainbow" design element seems more suitable for a youth soccer team.

[leedsunited]

Does anyone one know of any other unofficial expansion teams for 2007 that, along with Toronto FC, would balance out the conferences team-wise?

San Jose is supposed to get another team

You leaking a story?

They probably should, but I haven't seen any actual confirmation that they will.

San Jose probably won't. no place to play (Spartan Stadium is a dump) and no one's willing to pony up out there, oddly enough.

[Brian in Boston]

... and no one's willing to pony up out there, oddly enough.

Actually, it's been reported that Oakland Athletics owner Lew Wolff is interested in becoming the investor/operator behind the return of an MLS Earthquakes squad to the Bay Area. That said, his attention as of late has been focused on his efforts to get a new ballpark deal for the Athletics hammered out with the City of Fremont.

[DEAD!]

That's a pretty nice logo. Not only is the Maple Leaf motif on the top, but on the ribbon as well. The only thing that gets to me is the silver and blue sections on the shield. Is that supposed to represent anything?

[Ron Mexico]

Does anyone else think they intentionally leaked the "Inter Toronto" name to gauge fan rwaction so they wouldn't have a Real Salt Lake/Houston 1836 moment? Not saying I have proof that they did, but would it surprise any of you?

[Brendan]

What dose F.C. stand for football club?. Nice logo though the only thing i dont like is the big t

[hecticbro]

it's a picture of city hall

[ninersdd]

I thought the Quakes were gonna be back next year

[CC97]

Does anyone else think they intentionally leaked the "Inter Toronto" name to gauge fan rwaction so they wouldn't have a Real Salt Lake/Houston 1836 moment? Not saying I have proof that they did, but would it surprise any of you?

No... considering I was the one who went to the press with it

But I am positive they would've been Inter Toronto FC today had it not been for the fan backlash at the name

[rams80]

I thought the Quakes were gonna be back next year

That was contingent on San Jose building a soccer-specific stadium. Which didn't happen.

[leedsunited]

... and no one's willing to pony up out there, oddly enough.

Actually, it's been reported that Oakland Athletics owner Lew Wolff is interested in becoming the investor/operator behind the return of an MLS Earthquakes squad to the Bay Area. That said, his attention as of late has been focused on his efforts to get a new ballpark deal for the Athletics hammered out with the City of Fremont.

Too little too late! Where was Lew when the Earthquakes were on shaky ground for over two years! the MLS gave the city ample time to find some help!

[DEAD!]

Does anyone else think they intentionally leaked the "Inter Toronto" name to gauge fan rwaction so they wouldn't have a Real Salt Lake/Houston 1836 moment?  Not saying I have proof that they did, but would it surprise any of you?

No... considering I was the one who went to the press with it

But I am positive they would've been Inter Toronto FC today had it not been for the fan backlash at the name

.... nah, I really thought it was a backlash against sportslogos.net http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...l=1044529386490

[CC97]

Does anyone else think they intentionally leaked the "Inter Toronto" name to gauge fan rwaction so they wouldn't have a Real Salt Lake/Houston 1836 moment?  Not saying I have proof that they did, but would it surprise any of you?

No... considering I was the one who went to the press with it

But I am positive they would've been Inter Toronto FC today had it not been for the fan backlash at the name

.... nah, I really thought it was a backlash against sportslogos.net http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...l=1044529386490

You forgot one

http://torontosun.com/Sports/OtherSports/2...574596-sun.html

[Redskins24]

I agree with everyone. Great logo for Toronto FC.

On a slightly separate note...Real Salt Lake -WORST NAME EVER, the seal, and colors are great but this is the ultimate poser name. And really, it makes no sense at all!!

I also am not a fan at all over the entire "FC" (Football Club) stuff we are putting at the end of our team names because it doesn't make that much sense either. Finally, I think most of the logos for MLS teams are pretty good except Colorado, New England and Kansas City. D.C. United on the other hand has a GREAT logo. Yeah, there's not too much on there but its a classic.

[Brendan]

I think most of the logos for MLS teams are pretty good except Colorado, New England and Kansas City

are you kidding i love new englands logo the worst logo is the Columbus Crew

On a slightly separate note...Real Salt Lake -WORST NAME EVER, the seal, and colors are great but this is the ultimate poser name. And really, it makes no sense at all!!

but this i totaly agree with the mls has horrible names especially Club Deportivo Chivas USA. The dynamo, d.c united and the old metro stars were the only great names.

[Survival79]

Is the game in Canada called Football or is it called Soccer like in the US? I always thought it was called Soccer in Canada because of the presence of American style football (CFL) in Canada. If so shouldn't it be Toronto SC for Toronto Soccer Club instead of Toronto FC which makes it seem like it stands for Toronto Football Club.

It is called soccer in Canada... but I think you've forgotten about Miami Fusion FC and FC Dallas

And those should be SC as well. I think that is the problem with some of the Euro names coming into MLS. It's not that they are bad it's that the people naming the teams don't look at what they means. They just do it because some famous team in Europe have it.

I don't have a problem with the team having a sport club name. Just make sure it is accurate with what the sport is called in the region where the league is. The league is called Soccer and the team if they are going to go with a sport club name should match that. In this case those teams should be Soccer Club (SC) and not Football Club (FC).