If I ran a club I would...

...probably run it into the ground! I have no idea what it really takes to run a successful sports franchise, I make no claim that I do. There are a lot of elements, skills, and a good dash of good luck that comes to running a team.

BUT if I did have the power I would do a few things in particular. I would love to take the New England Revolution and transform that franchise into something, I feel, it should be. This is what I would do:

Start off by Rebrand it, a complete overhall of NER. I would rename it The Boston Soccer Club (BSC). I've never been fond of of teams "claiming" a state, like Colorado Rapids, or regions like the Revs do. You play in a specific city, that is your home base. If the Revs played in various NE cities as part of their representation of NE's team, that would be one thing. The simple fact is that they play in Boston. The Red Sox and the Celtics have no problem "representing" NE and still stating the obvious that they play in Boston, do they?

I am also using Soccer instead of Football because, for better or worse, the game is called Soccer in this part of the world. Not sure why or how that came about, but we don't call it Football here, so that is why I'm using Soccer in the official name of the club. It is just a personal choice.

This would be the new crest for the BSC:


Nicknames for the BSC would be: Green & Whites; Rovers; BSC; The Irish. Kinda a Euro tradition of fans giving the team a nickname, but other MLS teams are doing this as well. DC United and FC Dallas have a few nicknames in this naming tradition.

I'm using a few elements in this new brand for the BSC. First, the strong Irish history of Boston plays heavily in the new identity. Also tapping in into the strong Irish/Celtic culture in soccer found around the world. Teams like Celtic, Panathinaikos, and Shamrock Rovers are all inspirations and "sister" clubs to the new BSC. I look at teams like the Boston Celtics and Notre Dame as strong indications of the marketability of this new look.

The kits will obviously follow the new rebranding initiative. These are what I would do:
Home kit:

Away kit:

3rd kit:

I'm keeping the NE flag at the back of the neck on the kits because I think that is a nice nod to the NE area. It is one of those classy, quirky things that is unique and cool.

One thing I would also do is use the old Rev logo as the american flag patch as a nod to the past. Not sure if there is some MLS rule that you have to use a "real" flag patch, but if there is not, I'd use the Rev flag logo instead. Again, just something to give a nod to the past of the franchise.

One of the big things I would do for the fans of Revs is follow the footsteps of Seattle and create a Fan Alliance group that have voting rights. It creates a great dynamic for the fans that they actually have a say in their club. It builds interest in investment in the team. There is a reason Seattle draw 40k+ a game, the fans are invested in the team. There is a loyalty there in such a short time. I think that this Alliance, while not the only reason, is a big part of it. Other clubs should follow this example.

Anyways, that is what my ego would lead me to do if I had the power over the New England Revolution. There are other things I would do, but these are the most drastic and visible changes I would make.

What would you do if you could run a MLS club? Would you take an existing one and make changes like I did with the Revolution? Would you start a new club in a new city? What city? What would the identity be? Why did you pick a certain city? Love to see what people would do.