I'm not sure if the FO or adidias have any plans for an RSL Championship scarf, but I really want to get one. I checked out the MLS Cup Champions scarf on MLSnet, but I'd rather have something in RSL colors, and I've seen some of the sweet designs that have been suggested in this forum for scarfs, shirts, jerseys, and was wondering if we might start a thread and see what kind of killer ideas come up and maybe get some made before next season. My first idea (sorry no visual, I'm terrible with anything related to photoshop or computer animation) would be to incorporate the "Royal Army" idea that was being used as a t-shirt design in the other thread on one side of the scarf (red background with yellow letters), and then something with RSL and 2009 champions on the other side.
Let's all email the FO and tell them that we want MLS Cup scarves with our colors—and we want them available for the celebration at RioT!!! (OK, that probably isn't gonna happen.) The MLS Cup tee looks less like a basketball T-shirt than the ECC shirt, but the design is still a little awkward, as if our crest were an afterthought.
Forget the front office and make your own. Incorporate the names of your SG's into the scarves. There are plenty of companies that Fire, D.C., USMNT SG's already have relationships with and I'm sure the fans of those teams will be happy refer you to them. BTW, congrats on the win, I enjoyed that video of you guys celebrating the arrival of your team. I love seeing supporters culture grow in the smaller market teams like RSL and Columbus. Keep it up.
I will work on photoshopping a royal army/championship scarf if that Roughneck poster gets in here and lets me know what MLS/RSL insignia the design could use. If they can use the trademarked logos, it might be worth it to go through them.
I was wondering about that. They seem to have trademarked crests on all their MLS scarves, so it seems like they must have a deal with the league.
So they got more Championship scarves in at the Team Store today, and I took a look and decided not to get one. The actual scarf is well-made, but the RSL crest looks iron-on. The printing was mangled in two of the four on display (the rest were in plastic wrap). So in conclusion, I'm emailing Ruffneck to encourage them to make a proper Championship scarf with the team's colors. In other news, the guy at the Team Store said that this year's scarves wouldn't be the team colors either, but white. WTF?
Waiting anxiously for these scarves. The champion scarves available now are the neutral colored things they made before the game. I'm not interested in those. Are the REAL colored scarves going to happen in time for Christmas? I'm skeptical but would love to hear otherwise.
I think Blitzz was just making a joke regarding the "commemorative" "All-Star-Game" scarves given to STOs, and not referring to anything in particular coming from Ruffneck. Too bad it won't be there in time for Christmas. Probably not the best planning on the league's or Ruffneck's part—they could have had designs ready and approved for both teams BEFORE the game was ever played. Maybe they're on a tight budget and the doubled labor cost required them to wait.
There are a lot of things about the MLS Cup that were not planned out well. Ruffneck isn't the only one caught with their pants down. There should have been a lot more available in Seattle in the realm of merchandise. I was at a sports shop just west of the stadium and just in the 10 minutes or so I was there I heard several people come in asking for RSL beanie caps and hoodies. There weren't any in the town. And they should have had those black MLS Cup Champion scarves or RSL Champion T-Shirts ready for sale as people were leaving the stadium. They would have sold thousands. I've seen that kind of preparation for college pointy-ball bowl games. We just didn't have it for the MLS Cup. And that's without going into the topic that's already been discussed here ad nauseum about how Seattle and the RSL front office should have been prepared with seating packages and travel packages for our supporter section immediately after the conference championship game (preferably non-nosebleed seats). We should have been able to order our tickets while we were watching Kyle Beckerman treat the Eastern Conference champion cup like a naughty toy. Maybe other American sports can work out Champion t-shirts as you're leaving the game because their leagues have been in existence longer and they've worked out the kinks. I just hope people are taking notes in the MLS headquarters and Seattle's front office and RSL's front office and Ruffneck's business office.
Agreed—by no means was Ruffneck the principal ball-dropper. For all we know, Ruffneck might have assumed that the MLS/Adidas scarf would already corner the market, only to find that fans wanted a better one. And like you said, they would've sold a ton right after the game. I was on such a high I might not have cared how un-RSL they were! I had friends in SLC calling me asking me to grab them scarves and other merchandise, and I couldn't find any! They had Beckham Jerseys and RSL jerseys and training shirts at the main Qwest Field store, and that was it. I know they had some other stuff across the street, but the general lack of cool merch was definitely disappointing. Maybe in past years they produced too much and couldn't sell it? Whatever—this year they would have made a ton.
Exactly. If they had been available right after the game, I would have bought 3 or 4 of the black Champions scarves. When the team stepped up on the podium with those scarves on, I really wanted one. I only decided I didn't like them after I got home and had time to consider. And I would have bought a shirt, even if the price was even higher than the team store, because it would have been worth it just to show it off during the travel home. As for over-producing, the merch should really be handled by our own team store, and sent to Seattle on consignment. Then anything that doesn't sell comes back here. That way over-producing isn't as big of an issue.
Are you talking about the official MLS ones? How much were/are they? I got one of the club ones with CHAMPIONS running down vertically under the crest because I like the design better (the Fan for Life crap is on the back). It was only $10 when I went in after the WC draw.
I need to pick up one of those Fan for Life shirts. I didn't mean any shirt in particular. I would have bought any shirt they had available right after the game. The design wouldn't have even been all that important in the heady rush of celebrating the win.
Ah—read it again and I see what you mean and agree. Adrenaline was flowing and I would have bought stuff no matter what. The first time I read it, I thought you were implying that the team store price, was expensive.
Jeff at Ruffneck just sent me the following design for the Championship Scarf. Post anything that you like or dislike, and lets get him some feedback. Personally, I think it's a sweet design. I'd change the "We Won!" phrase to "Champions", but I don't know if that infringes on anything the league already made. Here ya go:
Yeah, I too would rather just see CHAMPIONS really big and then "2009 MLS Cup" underneath, but as Senor said, the league might not want that since their scarf says "CHAMPIONS" across it. If they can't do it, then we should still think of something better than "We Won!" Like "WE GOT THE CUP!" (in reference to the "We want the cup!" chant) or … well, really "CHAMPIONS" or "2009 CHAMPIONS"—don't y'all think? I like "Salt Lake 'Til I Die" on the reverse, but simply "Real Salt Lake" or "Royal Army" would be cool as well. "338 FOREVER" would be awesome, though maybe not as much for those who weren't in section 338.