Why does the logo of the league matter? How is that special? And that doesn't look too "Soccer-mom-ish"? It looks like a logo for a U9 team. And this? Looks as if it were inspiration for MLS' logo, and I'd say it looks the best of the bunch.
lol Alec, I was hoping no one would be pointing to other logos. But yea, most soccer league logos are uninspired; but you got to admit, the US Soccer crest could/should be improved.
Doesn't this idea just copy DC's original logo? (This is the best one I could find quickly. But I also thought there was one with just one soccer ball)
NIKE Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 40 years,the first thing you thought of was a swoosh. A logo is one of the most important things an organization can have to represent itself. Its the first thought that comes to mind when somebody thinks of that group. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? This picture sums up everything an organization stands for, so its probably a good idea to have a good one. And the Bundesliga and Premiership have really badass logos...
Those logos are no better than the MLS logo. It's just that they're European... that's the only thing I see in this whole entire thread.
I disagree. The MLS logo is messy, cartoonish (much like American team names), and barely representative of soccer (really, a kleet? Thats like having a baseball glove in the MLB logo). On the other hand, the Bundesliga logo is tidy, classy, up front, and very professional. It screams passionate soccer (the guy is airborne for christ's sake! If I don't know better, I'd say the karate kid plays in the Bundesliga!).
Know what would be a brilliant idea for a logo? I don't know how well it could be pulled off, but how about taking the athlete in the Bundesliga logo and switching the position of the player from the Karate Kid jump...to a memorable play from a timely win over Mexico? (The only examples I can think of that might work are Benny's Gold Cup Final golazo, and perhaps either of the goals in the World Cup victory?) Talk about an F U...and a great inside joke to the die-hard U.S. supporters of our generation. Not to mention just looking at the logo would provide satisfaction aplenty (yeah yeah U.S. natl team and MLS aren't exactly the same thing, but close enough...)
Or the Paul Caligiuri goal in 1989 which catapulted US into the 1990 WC and changed the American football landscape forever. The Shot heard round the World: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymQ-fIwVnV8
I'd like to see a logo similar to MLB's logo, except instead of a guy at bat, have a soccer player rolling around on the ground holding his leg, while another guy runs away with the ball, and have MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER spelled out underneath.
Personally I think the only thing as lame as the logo is the league name itself. I support the shit out of the league, but still find the name detracts from the league. Hopefully if/when USL and MLS merge somewhere down the road as AFL and NFL did, they'll adopt USL as the name - especially as it would truly be the united soccer leagues - or adopt something else. Major League Soccer makes me ill. MLS sounds fine, but when it's said in full, especially when Bretos says it I dry heave.
When I think of brands, I think of logos. When I think of football associations, I think of players, teams, the quality of play. The logo is never the first thing that comes to mind. Shouldn't you care more about the quality of the football than the quality of the logo? People aren't going to say, "Oh man, look at that badass logo, they are SUCH a force to be reckoned with." It's a logo. In the case of MLS, it's a small square in an inconspicuous spot on the bottom of the sleeve. No one pays attention to it, no one cares about it. Most in this thread want to borrow everything from foreign leagues, when the best thing to do is just let MLS and American soccer form its own identity.
It's a minor complaint, really. Most people are not asking for it to be re-branded as "United States Premier League" or anything.
Come on, really now? So when I say MLS, you think "LA Galaxy!" or "David Beckham!" or "************ refereeing and poor defense!"? Because honestly, thats even worse than thinking of the MLS as a brand. I am talking about the first thing that comes to mind when you think of any organization. Its thought association. Olympics. Bam, 9 out of 10 people thought of the five rings (the rest thought of syringes, but thats a different problem). Its important to associate that image with something positive; for it to reflect the values that the league wants to reflect. Also, you seemed to state that the MLS is not a brand; it is! I think the most important thing for the success of American soccer is that the sport become a viable business venture - a powerful logo is certainly not going to hurt anyone there. And saying, "You should worry about quality of football, not logos" is pretty pointless; what does one have to do with the other? How does making a new logo take away from the development of American soccer?
When you say olympics, I think table tennis and curling on tv. If they played those on tv the rest of the time, MLS would be in trouble no matter what logo they have.
Okay, now every smart alec is going to chime in "actually, when I think of the Olympics..." You got the point.