Last year’s winners of the MLS Cup and US Open Cup, the Columbus Crew have rebranded themselves as the Columbus Soccer Club, rolling out a new visual identity. With this, the “Crew” will be used as the team’s nickname. As the club’s official statement says, the new branding is intended to pay tribute to the City of Columbus as well as the worldwide level of soccer.
The crest of the Columbus SC features a big white letter “C”, symbolizing its original name and home city. Formed like a shield, it is distinguished with swallowtail bottom, referring to the flag of Ohio. The burgee logo is also accompanied by the letterings “Columbus” on top and “SC” between the lower ends. It retains the team’s traditional colors through the black background and yellow bordering.
Apart from the main emblem, the Columbus SC also presented alternate symbols for the team including a checker flag formed like the State of Ohio, which reminds the Crew’s previous logo patterns, wordmarks “The Crew” and “Columbus Soccer Club”, with letterforms inspired by the iconic arcs of Columbus’ neighborhood Short North and the geometry of the Ohio Stadium, the team’s home arena, and other visual elements.
At the same time, the Columbus Crew rebranding met a disapproval from fans and the club’s former players. In their opinion, the management showed disrespect to the team’s roots, removing the iconic “Crew” from the official name and emblem, and not seeking advice form supporters. The Crew’s main fan group called the club for reconsidering the changes and launching a new rebranding process with a greater involvement of the Columbus Crew’s fan community.
