Dressed in a fresh twist on familiar colors and wearing a name it believes it can use to help create positive change, our Major League Soccer team on Thursday revealed an identity that had been wondered about for nearly a year.
Ever since MLS commissioner Don Garber walked onto the Palladium stage last August to award this soccer-rich region the expansion team it had chased in stops and starts since the invention of the league, we have waited to find out which direction the MLS4TheLou ownership group would take in naming expansion team No. 28.
Its leaders listened, factoring feedback from fans into conversations that trimmed a list of more than 6,000 suggestions to one. And then, when it was finally time to reveal the news, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, scrambling plans to the point the league rescheduled the expansion team’s inaugural season in its in-progress downtown stadium from 2022 to 2023.
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But fans are no longer waiting to watch a mystery team. Their MLS club has a name, colors and a crest its leaders hope will inspire.
The name is ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC, with the letters standing for both soccer club and the city’s role as a soccer capital.
The colors are new interpretations on the ones found on the ºüÀêÊÓƵ City flag, an almost pinkish “City Red†and deep, dark “River Blue†that will at times be presented with an “Arch Steel Grey†and a bright “Energy Yellow.â€
The crest, a creation of a small army of local designers, includes an abstract nod to the Gateway Arch.
A theme is clear.
“An identity that stands for more than just soccer, but for our entire region,†ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC CEO Carolyn Kindle Betz said during a virtual reveal hosted at Harris-Stowe State University, a close neighbor to the soccer stadium site. “There is a resurgence happening right now in ºüÀêÊÓƵ. And this club will be at the heart of it, celebrating ºüÀêÊÓƵ’ past, but more importantly, always looking forward. Our club’s goal is to unite the entire region — North, South, East and West through soccer as one city.â€
Make sure that last line sinks in.
It says a lot about the fragmentation that can be found across our region that a soccer team selecting the word “City†could be viewed as a polarizing decision. And still the MLS4TheLou ownership group picked it. One reason was because it was the name the group heard most often from fans. Another reason was because the group, as Betz and chief brand architect Lee Broughton explained in an interview, wants to “expand the definition†of the word. That sentiment was powerfully expressed by ºüÀêÊÓƵ native and award-winning actor Sterling K. Brown during a video incorporated in the reveal.
“There has always been something running through this city,†Brown read. “A tenacity. A conviction. A swagger. A spirit that defined us years ago and propels us forward today. Rooted in our traditions. Unrelenting in our vision for tomorrow. It’s time to welcome back the world’s game to America’s first soccer capital. It’s time to brush off boundaries and defy our limits. It’s time to build something for today, for the future, for all of us. From Old North to South Grand, from the Metro East to west of 270, come together ºüÀêÊÓƵ. Rise like the Gateway Arch and let the world know. This is our home. This is our city.â€
Since Betz and the Taylor family joined forces with World Wide Technology CEO Jim Kavanaugh’s dogged persistence of an expansion franchise in October 2018, this ownership group has insisted on setting a tone of inclusion. It represents the first majority female-led ownership group in MLS history. It has partnered with the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ and Girls’ Club and ºüÀêÊÓƵ public school soccer programs in fundraising efforts. It picked Harris-Stowe to host Thursday’s announcement.
“We are happy to be part of such a big moment for our ºüÀêÊÓƵ region,†Harris-Stowe president Corey Bradford said. “This team will bring more than just Major League Soccer to our city. It will help bring the community together, and be a driving force in uniting and celebrating the diverse cultures that make up ºüÀêÊÓƵ.â€
Hosting his first event in front of a packed crowd of cardboard cutouts — 750 photos of fans and ºüÀêÊÓƵ sports stars like Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Taylor Twellman and Bradley Beal filled the room — Cardinals broadcaster Dan McLaughlin was the master of ceremonies for a celebration that would have happened in person, perhaps beneath the Arch, if not for the pandemic. Broughton joked that he felt like the delayed announcement had felt like a shaken champagne bottle that was waiting to be popped, though some of the surprise leaked out a bit early, due to an unfortunate YouTube glitch.
But an optimistic energy persisted still, resonating even from afar, like when Garber appeared in video form, congratulating ºüÀêÊÓƵ on its latest milestone. After the announcement, a fleet of cars wrapped in the team’s colors canvassed the region giving away team gear.
“Today is the beginning of looking forward,†Kindle Betz said. “That gets people very excited. It also means that this is really happening. I think there was some concern. ‘Are they really going to do this? Are they going to pull the plug?’ Nope. We’re building a stadium. We have a club name. More exciting announcements to come. But, it’s real.â€
A brand has been delivered.
It arrived with an invitation for all.