And it would be one thing, IMO, if this were some accidental connotation (ie if it were a half-yellow Chicago six-pointed star). But it is VERY EXPLICITLY being referred to as a crown. That is what they are attempting to get across, that this is a yellow crown, that is the symbol you are meant to see.
Excellent article explaining why, from a marketing perspective, The Chicago Fire rebrand has become such an epic failure. https://medium.com/@marklavis/chicago-fire-fc-and-the-uncanny-valley-of-rebrands-74b94b2c60ef A quick summary: "One of the unspoken truths that any company or designer has to tackle when handling a major rebranding effort is when that practice charges headfirst against the cliched philosophy nearly every business must follow to survive: the customer is always right." I would assume that those of us on these boards would qualify as important customers. "With 20 years of fan support and history to contend with, this was the challenge facing the Chicago Fire soccer club and, as recent history has shown time and time again, it appears the team failed to win over their customer base." Much of this falls on N-Rod! "The rebrand has to either be similar enough to the old one that it doesn’t alienate any of the existing clientele" us again "or it has to be such a departure from the prior branding effort that the clientele can collectively recognize that this is an entirely fresh start and new endeavor." "The rebrand that Chicago Fire FC unveiled today accomplished neither of those two conditions." "What fans are left with is a team that appears stuck between two forking paths and is unwilling to commit to either one long-term." "When other teams who understand the same difficulties that come with developing and marketing a profitable brand start piling on the Internet outrage and mocking your new brand (i.e. Vancouver Whitecaps), you’ve lost." The article then highlights the rebranding failures of Leeds United and Everton. I love the last sentence! "What Chicago Fire choose to do going forward won't be an easy decision but if they got themselves into this uncanny valley, they can just as easily get themselves out if they're willing to swallow a tough pill or two in the process" I am not very hopeful of this happening unfortunately.
I've had a lot to drink after putting up my Christmas lights tonight, so when I read this, I actually thought it said: The new badge including the Fire Clown represents that spirit.” It sort of looks like Bozo, no? Especially after a few... what is this I'm drinking?.........
The logo is lopsided, the font too narrow, the color combination abysmal, and the symbol is WTF. Will never, ever buy merchandise with that crap on it.
I got to know some ticket sales guys when I was playing in a FireDome league a few years back. These guys weren't exactly high up in the organization and had a tough enough job without fielding complaints about things they have no control over.
Any quality organization knows to go to the people in the streets to get an honest assessment about the business. The ticket rep guys should definitely know the word on the street. They should know how frustrated the fan base is. Any quality organization would look to these folks to get an unbiased point of view on the state of the business. They are the ears on the street. Let them know how you feel. If the powers that be ignore their feedback, then they are ignoring their most valuable assets to the organization. Any layer above those that have direct customer contact don't have a clue. Let your ticket reps know how you feel. They should be empowered to be the voice of the customer! Please, call your ticket representatives and politely state your point of view. Don't take this crap out on them. Just let them know your thoughts on this rebrand. My feelings is that their personal points of view may very much be in alignment with ours!
Based on the article I read online from the Tribune, looks like the front office is waving a giant middle finger to the negative feedback.
I am indifferent to sc vs. fc. i never liked “Men in Red”. Reminded me too much of the song Lady in Red which annoys me incredibly. The crest was unique, but I always felt we borrowed it from the fire department and didn’t give me any unique connection to the club. I don’t mind a color change, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be Chicago flag colors. I don’t mind yellow if done correctly. I kind of like the LA chargers color scheme, where you can use all yellow or all pale blue for home and away like Ukraine’s national team has. Pretty sharp. Too many teams in the league use red, but if you want the brand to stay close to “Fire” colors, why not try Burgundy and Gold (without the blue) like Roma? The crest could incorporate a phoenix, symbolizing rebirth, both for the city and the club. Maybe hide a six pointed Chicago star as the eye. CF97 should be included somewhere as well. Just some random thoughts...
Yeah, they know the response from fans. So don't take your frustration out on low level employees. You're not going to change anything, you're just venting to them. If you want a therapist, get a f-cking therapist.
“I don’t introduce myself with my nickname anymore because those Crowns they hold a grudge.” -The gentleman I’m chatting with at the bar
Did they try and incorporate Barcelona colors? Cause it sure seems like some focus group said Barca is their favorite and some jamoke said lets do a close resemblance .
Also, despite reports to the contrary, Sparky has NOT been sent to a farm downstate. My wife found Sparky and I’m happy to report he survived the logo change. #cf97 pic.twitter.com/M3L5iwbjSU— Patrick McCraney (@patrickmccraney) November 22, 2019
Good god, that looks like a cartoon on the jersey. It looks like child's version of the "bat signal" It does not get better with repeated viewing.
It was intended for whomever was rude to the bloke who made the funny pun. Anyway, those who think gangsters won't care about this gear since they don't follow footy, are mistaken. They care fck all what the product is, if it will trigger their rivals, they will wear it. Indiana University gear was popular among D's because the interlocking U and I looked like a pitchfork. People would wear Starter gear because of the 5 pt star, which was People. Or wear it with a crack drawn on the star if they're Folks. I grew up on 28th, deep in King hood (chitown was people turf, k-town was Folks), hung out with them and everything, so me and my friends were loyal to them. Even tho I never initiated, I would shake up the Crown everytime, and always false flagged for them if there was beef. This was all in grade school, so when high schools came to advertise in school, we were all drawn to St. Lawrence's black and gold gear, it was a big thing to us, we tried to snatch up as many Viking folders as we could because of the colors, we didn't care about the school itself. So expect to see a rise in merch sales similar to the Sox in the early 90s, we remember how that went. Dre and Eric Wright cared f-all about Rockin Robin or Big Frank. Weird thing is, as an adult who knows that gangs are abhorrent organisations that exploit lost kids, I still have a Pavlovian reaction to a gold crown. So that part of the rebrand looks good to me simply because of childhood programming. The FC is good too, I wouldn't be surprised if the league itself renamed itself to something like Association Football America. The Euro influence is just too strong, and calling it football is just too logical. I saw the cbs channel 2 tweet that asked the Mexican kid for info on how this rebrand may affect gang activity, so that should be an interesting piece. I always hated that they'd wear sports gear but not know a single thing about the team it represented. Ambrose used to wear Oakland A's gear for the A. A lot of different college gear was worn for the gang similarities by people who didn't even finish high school. Or maybe the Fire is playing 4D chess to solve the city's crime problem, and rebranded in order to draw gangsters to games, where yall will befriend them and lead them to the good path. Imagine them jumping and singing "fire, fire, fire fire fire!!! lo lo lo lo, lo lo lo lo, oh my darlin clementine!"
I talked to my ticket rep. I let him know my thoughts and asked him to relay my thoughts up the chain of command. He seemed receptive. Not agreeing with me, just saying that he would pass it along.