I took a stab at this a year ago. This was my favorite result thus far. Not trying to reinvent the crest, just update it. I understand the crest says "US" because its the "USSF", but why shouldn't it read "USA"?
http://happycodesignfactory.tumblr.com/ Something I've been working on for a bit, so I finally gave it a go. Would love to hear what people think.
I think your new crest should have something more to do with soccer. The eagle could clutch a ball in its talons.
I really hate the whole flying cartoon soccer ball thing. Was there a law passed somewhere saying that every other club in this country needed one in their crest? But hey, at least we're not stuck with this:
This is borrowed from the Air Force. Not sure about where red and blue would go. I prefer the volleyball over the hex ball. Feathers could go away.
It kinda looks like the Shield logo. For me, it would be cool if we changed our color pallet to using old glory colors. The result should look like this color wise (albeit the actual design could be nicer).
These are amazing kits! Love the idea of keeping the hoops as a tradition. Gets old having a completely new concept every cycle, with no tradition. Love the 2nd kits, very classy. Love the concept of a Supporters' 3rd in red that can be tweaked from time to time. What I would love to see from the USSF in the future is class & consistency. We need to have something traditional, from cycle-to-cycle, and classy (like this 2nd kit)
Nice designs! I love all three jersey designs and the crest designs. While I like the look of the fern leaves under the eagle logo, I think we would need to go with your design that has United States Soccer Federation in the banner. At a minimum, the crest probably needs a "U.S." in it.
Wow, I like that one. It looks like a soccer crest, after all and not just a US flag. In general, I don't get the obsession with that snake flag. I get that is has some kind of esoteric appeal, but it's not something most Americans identify with. It hearkens back to an era of America where only white men had rights and has been co-opted by a political group that would like it to be that way again. Let's be a modern team, with modern values and a modern crest.
The snake symbol is quite historical, first appearing in Benjamin Franklin's "Join or Die" cartoon that promoted colonial unity. The Gadsden flag and some variants were or continue to be used by the U.S. military. The snake as an American symbol is obviously not as famous as the bald eagle, but it is historical and you could argue that it might have more tradition behind it than the eagle. Just because a political group has adopted the flag/symbol doesn't mean it is now 'their' flag or symbol. It's a general American symbol, they don't own it. But someone should take up Ben Franklin's challenge and make a crest with a turkey on it.
Oh, Jesus Christ... Anyway, US Soccer supporters adopted Don't Tread on Me, the Gadsden Flag and all the rest of it well before the ********ing Tea Party did.
Absolutely. But the sad fact is that today, if you flash a Gadsen flag in front of a focus group, the most frequent immediate response would be "Tea Party," and that's something that I'm sure USSF will want to stay the hell away. You're right. They don't own that flag, that symbolism, or that history. But because so many now associate it with them, it will take a lot more than US Soccer to wrest it away from them. Then again, the swastika is a lot older than the National Socialist Party, but is there anybody at all now who does not immediately associate a swastika symbol with nazis and fascism? Not that they're on quite the same level, but I think my point is clear. Notice, however, that it's been my avatar on Big Soccer since forever. I clearly like it for a lot of reasons (none of which have anything remotely to do with the Tea Party, of course), but I don't think it or anything like it has any real chance of becoming the USSF crest.
I actually didn't know the Gadsen flag was used by the tea party. Are there any other old American Symbols we could use? I feel the 13 arrows on the dollar bill has potential.
The most frequent response will be "what the hell is that", followed by maybe Tea Party. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure no one is going to tune in to a US game and think Tea Party Convention!!!! EWW! Context means something, even to people who have no idea that Sam's Army, et. al. exist and have no association with the Tea Party. They're not even close to the same level, to the point that it moots your point. If you're scared of people associating soccer with the Tea Party, you have other issues.
Yes, the Italy crest that has such long-running history... the one that was first used in 2005. Prior to that, the stars went above the crest like everyone else.
Why do people posting on internet forums reflexively assume that everyone else is an idiot and/or extremist and paint them into that corner? It's really annoying. It's my avatar and I owned a DTOM t-shirt, so I'm clearly not too worried. But big public entities don't like to have to explain themselves, and they don't like to be the butt of jokes. It's very simple. Ad agencies, PR agencies, and market researchers make a living steering clients clear of this stuff.
I don't know, why do they do that? Ok, so... I have yet to hear anyone even mistake a US soccer match with the Tea Party in any meaningful sense. Like, ever. I think you're making way, way too much of it (and are actually assuming people generally don't understand context).
Remember that Barcelona's badge and so as Uruguay's badge are about 100 years old, they are very simple and old fashioned. USA's badge is has like a 90'ish super galactic soccer ball, it just doesn't fit
Absolutely. I've posted pictures of a big ass Gadsen Flag in the supporters section in a match in the 90s. I post it on FB discussions once in a while to prove to people that it was a 'soccer flag' before the Tea Party started using it. Sadly, the Tea Party has hijacked it and it has become part of the imagery of the TP that is ingrained in the culture.
Well what decade did the USA come to prominence in soccer? The decade where they ended a 40 year absence from the world cup? the decade where they hosted the world cup which gradually spread the sport across the entire country? the decade in which the country launched it's first division professional league? Man, I can't imagine why the USSF crest would look like it came from the 90s.