Enter the T.O.
MLS announced today the name and logo of its 13th team, Toronto FC. The team will be operated by the Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment Group (MLSE), the same group that runs NHL's Maple Leafs.
Don't have much comment here, other than to say that i like the logo. Classy. Someone with actual graphic design knowledge should do a post about team logos. Logos both wonderful and cringe-inducing exist in plentiful supply even in just the MLS or USL.
As for the name, Toronto FC, my first reaction was "cop out." But then I remembered that the online rumors had it pegged to be the vomit-worthy "Inter Toronto FC." In light of that, I'll just sigh and go with the flow, because when the day is done, at least we still have a (top flight) league.
I probably don't qualify as someone with "actual graphic design knowledge," but I really like how the top of the logo evokes the maple leaf of Canada's flag and the polygon pattern of a soccer ball.
Hey Truefan --
I am one of the knuckleheads involved with 'Ax to the Head,' the unofficial Fanzine of the Timbers Army, and I reckon you'd love a copy. I can bring one for you to the next homestand if we can mutually figure out how to meet.
E-me.
Bickle
An address would help, yeah?
boxofpinups@yahoo.com
bickle
Toronto FC seems like an okay name to me, but I think MLS is also over-compensating for its ultra-crappy original round of names. (I.e., the "Wiz," the "Burn," the "Clash," etc.) Soccer tradition is one thing, but a total aversion to North American sports naming heritage is another. It leads to debacles like the uproar over "Houston 1836," which in turn led to the sort of questionable "Houston Dynamo," a name evoking the many Eastern Euro teams controlled by the secret police under communism.
All that said, I guess the world should be grateful, not only that they spurned "Inter Toronto," but that they didn't name the thing the Toronto FreeeeeeeZx!