Kansas City Wizards Rebranded as Sporting KC

[fishheatcats]

It's it's "Sporting KC," then what does SC stand for? This makes no sense. Kansas City Sporting Soccer Club?

I think it stands for "Sporting Club".

I really hate this change. It's a flat out attempt to manufacture a Euro-sounding name, in of all places, Kansas City. I doesn't legitimize MLS, it makes it look more like a joke than having names like "Clash" or "Burn" or "Wizards". After TFC joined MLS was on a good run of adding teams and keeping with local soccer traditions. The Sounders, Timbers, Whitecaps and soon Impact have all brought their local soccer legacies with them to MLS. This move is shunning KC's soccer legacy in favor of a pseudo-European name that makes no sense.

It's be one thing if, like Toronto FC or AC St. Louis, this was a new team with no real major local pro soccer history to draw from. If you start from scratch with one of the more traditional football names than it makes more sense. This sadly doesn't.

*facepalm*

[Droost]

It is very euro but you have to admit it is better then the Wizards, and worst case scenario would have been a recoloring similar to the Timbers...........

[TruColor]

My first thought is that the color scheme looks almost exactly like the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

[BB61]

I've been a defender of the Euro names, but I'm not a fan of this one. And "Wizards", as lame as it was, had more of a link to the area.

[BeerMe]

http://twitpic.com/37rxko

[kmccarthy27]

http://twitpic.com/37rxko

They look like cookie cutter kits Vancouver would have gotten if they did not get the unique designs they got.

[Droost]

Agree w/ the cookie cutter comment. Need an up close look. I remember when the Vancouver Navy's were unveiled everyone thought it was bland until they realized the integrated logo....... Disappointed they eliminated the yellow - I wonder if they are saving the royal and yellow for the cosmos.......

[Gothamite]

So, what are "people grounded in traditional soccer culture" to make of "Euro-style" team names that conform to the place name-noun structure of "traditional North American" sports team names? You know, such team names as...

Blackburn Rovers FC

Bolton Wanderers FC

Queens Park Rangers FC

Kidderminster Harriers FC

Blyth Spartans AFC

Stourport Swifts FC

Walton Casuals FC

FC Girondins de Bordeaux (Bordeaux Girondists FC)

Orlando Pirates FC.

I'm not familiar with some of your examples off the top of my head, but I can tell you that "Wanderers" and "Rovers" are not nicknames in the way we think of them. It's a suffix usually added to the city name to denote that the club has moved, itself an unusual occurrence. But no more a nickname in the way we understand it than "United" is.

When Arsenal built its new stadium two blocks away, certain Tottenham wags tried to christen them "Arsenal Wanderers" as an insult. Ironic, really.

Even with "Queens Park Rangers", "rangers" isn't the nickname - they're the Hoops, among other things.

Walton Casuals I have heard of (friends in Woking), but that's not a nickname either. They're the Stags. I think "casuals" refers to their original amateur status, but don't quote me on that.

Orlando Pirates aren't European, they're South African. A place with a dfferent tradition. And even then, when I was in joberg nobody called them "Pirates" - I mostly heard "Buccaneers".

So many of your examples show just the opposite. While there may be a couple clubs with North American-style name/nicknames, they are by far the exception to the rule. Not exactly what you tap into if the plan is to reflect the sport's historical trends.

[_RH_]

[crashcarson15]

Wow. They really missed a great opportunity for horizontal stripes to correspond with the logo.

[Kess]

The "SC" does stand for "Sporting Club." Here's a link to an interactive explanation of the brand:

http://www.insightkc.com/sportingbrand/index.html

I know it's an unpopular move, so allow me to be the weirdo with the dissenting voice. I love it and am excited by the possibilities. On the site, they say have a desire to be "a dynamic organization focused on creating opportunities for social, cultural and athletic connections." They mention the addition of "vertically-aligned sports and entertainment properties." Color me intrigued.

I'll still refer to them as Wizards and Kansas City in, but my club is now technically Sporting.

[Sodboy13]

The "SC" does stand for "Sporting Club." Here's a link to an interactive explanation of the brand:

http://www.insightkc.com/sportingbrand/index.html

I'm too lazy to look back, but whoever said the shape inside the shield was some half-ass representation of the Kansas/Missouri border, please claim your prize at the Customer Service Booth on the lower concourse.

So the shield technically reads "Kansas City Sporting Sporting Club." Well, if you're gonna go stupid on something, might as well go all-out.

On the site, they say have a desire to be "a dynamic organization focused on creating opportunities for social, cultural and athletic connections." They mention the addition of "vertically-aligned sports and entertainment properties." Color me intrigued.

Color my bull detector solidly in the red, with at least one flashing light.

[Red Wolf]

"Dodgers" is kind of silly. "Trolley Dodgers" may have been a cool/witty name a hundred years ago, but that's it.

Regardless, this "Sporting" thing is completely preposterous.

I think they officially have the WORST name of any sports team in the U.S. Although FC Dallas, FC Toronto, and Real Salt Lake are also terrible. It's even worse that Teal Bunbury plays for KC, I will not be able to root for a team with such an idiotic name....

Toronto's in Canada, not the US chief.

Toronto FC works anyway. When you consider the fanbase for the team, and the atmosphere they're creating, a traditional football-style names fits.

Let's be honest. Toronto FC has something going on that parallels Man U's "red devils" nickname.

Yes, they are officially called Toronto FC but I rarely hear anybody call them that. I hear "the reds", "TFC", "the FC" and (although only used in situations where it's already established that the conversation is about TFC) "the boys".

Being Reds isn't nearly the same as Red Devils. At least with Man U there's more to it than just, "The team wears blank so let's call them the blanks" that most of the naturally nicknamed teams end up with. Obviously not what happens every time, but just look at baseball where some of the teams ended up just being named after what they wore like the Reds and White Sox.

Now I'm not completely against Euro-style names for MLS teams (I like DC United for instance) but they can come across as being even more contrived than the artificially nicknamed Tigers and Eagles of the world (Real Salt Lake for example).

The fact is that the Toronto FC fanbase draws from the ethnically diverse neighbourhoods of Toronto. People who are from countries that have traditional Euro-style named teams or people who's parents or grandparents are from countries with Euro-style named teams. These are the people whose support, or lack thereof, the fate of MLS in Toronto will rest on. To appeal to people grounded in traditional soccer culture you're best off using a Euro-style name, a type of name they associate with top level football. A traditional North American name, the Toronto ________s, will look minor league to people who are grounded in a traditional soccer culture.

I'm not saying every team in MLS should have a Euro-style name. The Wizards should have just gone back to their rainbow badge. Sporting KC is just awful. For some teams, like Toronto FC, it makes sense.

+1

I was so excited when I heard Toronto FC was established, I'm a big fan of the Eredivise. The gentleman who sits beside me at BMO is a big fan of Irish soccer and, the guy 1 row in front of me (we're all former half seasons upgraded to full seasons this year) is of Scottish and Italian decent and he loves to watch the EPL.

To my point about the Man U/TFC nick name comparisons, Red Wolf, who cares if it's a colour they wear? Part of the reason "the Reds" is a nickname is because we were the only Canadian team, obviously playing off the red in the Canadian flag. Not to mention we have 3 regulars to the Canadian Men's National team.

I just think it's silly when people talk about how every team in the world should have "natural" nicknames which mostly end up being something involving the teams uniforms (Reds, Blues, Hoops, etc.). However, I don't have any problem with Euro-style names for the most part such as Toronto FC and DC United. I think those are just fine. Really, the only Euro name I don't like in MLS is Real Salt Lake, but that horse has been beaten to death enough times, and I'm to the point where I don't feel stupid saying it anymore at least.

As far as Sporting KC, everything is pretty much better than what the Wizards used to have, but it's not necessarily good. The team keeps being called Sporting KC, but Kansas City appears before Sporting making it look like Kansas City Sporting. And then there's the interlocking SC to make it look like Kansas City Sporting (Soccer) Club. Just seems very poor. It's also disappointing that they're just yet another navy and powder blue team. I don't mind the name at all and will still root for KC's soccer team, but I think the rebrand could have been much better.

[rams80]

On the site, they say have a desire to be "a dynamic organization focused on creating opportunities for social, cultural and athletic connections." They mention the addition of "vertically-aligned sports and entertainment properties."

Come now, I'm sure there's one or two more utterly vapid meaningless buzzwords that you could have thrown in there. Maybe for "exercized" or "Web 2.0".

[Kess]

Color my bull detector solidly in the red, with at least one flashing light.

Duly noted, sir. Can I throw in an extra light for you?

Come now, I'm sure there's one or two more utterly vapid meaningless buzzwords that you could have thrown in there. Maybe for "exercized" or "Web 2.0".

Eh. It's my club, so I realize I'm way biased here. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt by being patient. I'm going to give them more than 5 hours before I declare the whole thing a poseur, meaningless buzzworded disaster.

[Corvus]

On the site, they say have a desire to be "a dynamic organization focused on creating opportunities for social, cultural and athletic connections." They mention the addition of "vertically-aligned sports and entertainment properties."

Come now, I'm sure there's one or two more utterly vapid meaningless buzzwords that you could have thrown in there. Maybe for "exercized" or "Web 2.0".

Don't forget "paradigm"

[TalktoChuck]

Wow. They really missed a great opportunity for horizontal stripes to correspond with the logo.

That's the first thing I thought of when I saw the uniforms too. Striped kits would have at least made the crest a smidgen better. This whole identity, from crest to kits to name, is incredibly bland.

[AJM]

http://twitpic.com/37rxko

They look like cookie cutter kits Vancouver would have gotten if they did not get the unique designs they got.

Another disappointment...not sure whether to blame Adidas or the team...no creativity.

[TruColor]

Anyone else bugged by this?:

[AJM]

Aside from being equally bugged by the close colors of both franchises, I came along an interesting tidbit.

Commish Don Garber mentioned in his State of the League address that every MLS team will have a kit sponsor in 2011 and expects some of those to be announced soon.

That means Colorado, FC Dallas, Sporting KC, New England, and Philadelphia should all have kit sponsors.