40-21 Logo Article
Major League Soccer is about to enter it’s 26th season. Through it all, there’s been some magical moments of wonder, exciting matches that will live forever, and then head scratching branding decisions.
That’s where I come in.
Part of what I do here at MLS Aces is explore the weird side of the league. Today, we take a look at my Top 40 logos in the history of MLS from 1996 to... I guess, 2022.
You’ll get to see 40-21, below.
Go ahead and have fun debating this with me on Twitter: @RileyJamesIAC
40. Nashville SC
2020 -
A wonderful first year in MLS. Nashville shocked the league with a playoff run, excitement, breakout players, and a, seemingly, bright future. With all that said, this crest is God awful.
I appreciate the effort that was made with the unique shape, but the yellow kills it... and is it navy, black, or dark purple... or are my eyes terrible?
The lines of varying sizes on each side with the missing part of the N is, again, a good attempt, but it’s simply just bad. In a state with some cool American sports logos with the Titans, Grizzlies, and Predators, I’m sorry, Nashville, but this isn’t one of them.
39. Sporting Kansas City
2011 -
The rebrand of 2011 killed the creativity of Kansas City soccer when they dropped the Wizards name in favor of a more European feel of Sporting KC. The crest itself is not bad if you separated the elements. The contrasting blues look great on the kit, the SC font style is beautiful, and the white outline is dope.
Now, to the heavy downsides: the grey is out of place and unnecessary. The logo is fine without this random grey element telling you the team is from Kansas City. It feels like the design team was out celebrating their creation and someone realized that they forgot to include Kansas City in the main part of the crest, but the assignment was due the next morning.
The elements that work great individually do NOT work together. What even is the blue stripes on the left side? A rebrand should be top priority... expect for, you know, the soccer.
38.Miami Fusion FC
1997 - 2001
Oh, 1997 was a wonderful time, from what I hear, I wasn’t actually alive.
This is the OG team in South Florida, but unfortunately for the Fusion, this is worst aged logo from the early days of MLS. I’m not sure what’s going on. You can’t tell what city it is without knowing, like, for all we know, it could be Milwaukee Fusion.
It’s not, but it could be.
Personally, I’m not a fan of the big yellow lines and the ‘M’ in the back. There’s a yellow spot near the dot of the ‘i’ in the Fusion, but it’s actually not the dot of the ‘i’ in Fusion. Why wouldn’t they do that? It’s right there! Some old logos stand the test of time and this isn’t one of them, but Miami got it right about 20 years later.
37. Toronto FC
2007 -
Red and white is classic. Red and white is Canadian. Toronto is in Canada. That’s what it gets across. The, relatively, long history of the crest is mostly not pretty, but recently has been in very large games. It’s recognition throughout the region is substantial and a plus for the league.
It’s not flashy, doesn’t shock you, but it’s not repulsive either. It’s plain, but without demanding more.
It’s simple, but this is a list for the best, not the safest.
36. Houston Dynamo (old)
2005 - 2020. RIP.
The first day I showed up in Houston, I Googled what a dynamo and got my answer. It’s a machine that turns energy into power, but you would never know that from the logo.
Let’s start with what is good: the star to represent Texas, the great color choice of orange, and the unique shape. What’s bad? Everything else. The font tries too hard, the lines are all over the place, and the soccer ball is very MLS 1.0. The rebranded Dynamo crest checks some of these boxes for being better without losing the identity.
35. Chivas USA
2005 - 2014
Again, RIP, but for a different reason.
This crest is awesome, but it’s also not original, so massive points off. Copy and pasted from our friends down in Mexico. This team also sucked, that’s not a factor, but I never turn down the chance to tell people.
34. FC Cincinnati
2019 -
This isn’t THAT bad, but by comparison to their pre-MLS logo, it’s bad. I miss it a lot, but the new crest has a lot of good elements. The lion is really cool, and their colors fit the city well, but the new logo is basic compared to their last. A more welcomed move would’ve been modernizing their USL brand.
33. New York Red Bulls
2006 -
Branding!
One of three clubs with the iconic Red Bulls. They grace every aspect of their New Jersey home, including the stadium’s name. The crest is awesome and provides a different but welcomed distance from the other logos around the league.
The problem is that it feels really corporate. It’s also, again, not original. We’ve seen it before with Leipzig and Salzburg, and MLS is a place for a bunch of wild stuff that doesn’t happen anywhere else.
32. Club de Foot Montréal
2021 -
It’s a grey, French nipple. It’s not terrible, but it’s not good.
The fleur-de-lis on each side is a great ode to the French culture and the deeper blue is an improve from the old Impact days, but that’s about it.
You don’t know what you’re looking at and even if they explained it, it’d be in French.
31. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2009 -
This, truthfully, was really high on my list until the very last moment. Vancouver has so much potential for a cool look, but it just needs an update.
As stated earlier, I love the two blues together and the whitecaps on top of the diamond design is extremely clean, but there is nothing to bring your attention to when come back down. The name placement just looks very 2010s, if we can even say that yet.
30. St. Louis City SC
2022 -
The pink and dark navy is beautiful.
However, the arch concept could be done so much better. The team name isn’t even horizontal, you have to make an effort to just read it. Now, to the case of the floating ‘SC’ and why it shouldn’t be there.
Short answer: it shouldn’t be there.
29. San Jose Earthquakes
2014 -
Black and blue stripes with a pop of red. It’s solid. I enjoy teams that put the year of their conception in the logo, but I feel like the soccer ball is played out. It helps out the people who don’t know this a soccer team, so I guess that’s a plus.
Maybe, just a thought, put the whole name of the team on the thing that goes everywhere.
28. Chicago Fire FC
2020 -
Everyone hates this and I understand why people do. It looks like it was made in Microsoft Paint, but it has this certain element of comfort to it.
The font isn’t great, the shape of the crowns(?) are odd, the colors are a big change from the old days, and overall, it’s a staggering overhaul of the previous brand. Chicago made an out of the blue change that wasn’t needed, and I think that is why everyone hates it.
It’s not the old Chicago Fire logo, but it’s not the worst in MLS.
27. Los Angeles Galaxy (old)
1996 - 2006
The days of Cobi Jones and the Rose Bowl.
It looks like a hurricane, and being from south Louisiana, that isn’t my thing.
The design is alright. The LA stands out, the yellow is bold, and art is fine, but when compared to the new crest, it looks dated, but that’s okay. A change was needed, and they did it.
26. Portland Timbers
2017 -
One of the oldest in American soccer and the color scheme is dope.
It’s simple, it’s comforting, and it’s classy.
The reason it’s so low is… you don’t know what it is. I asked 10 people who don’t watch MLS to tell me what they think the team name is. The most common answer I got back was “Axes.”
I know Portland is a staple of MLS, but, like I said earlier, you need to put the name in the logo to be higher on this list.
25. Houston Dynamo FC
2021 -
Brand new. It’s sleek, efficient, and looks good.
I hate the added FC, but this isn’t about the name of the club. The H and D interconnected caused a lot of debate in Houston. I think it’s fine. The bolt at the bottom is cool and the hexagon shape in unique. All in all, it looks really cool and the Dynamo did well with the rebrand. It’s not the best, but no complaints… other than the FC.
24. Orlando City SC
2015 -
Those that know me, know about my deep love for Orlando.
The color purple (not the movie) is owned by the city and the club. The Lion is symbolic of the community. It’s a classy badge, cool font, the lion is prominent, but not overbearing, and the white outline gives a sense of completion and boundary.
It’s not Top 20, because I feel like it’s too simple. There is not enough going on. I can’t put a finger on what to add, but it’s missing a little pop.
23. New York/New Jersey Metrostars
1996 - 2002
This is “so bad, its good” territory.
Geez, it’s so funny to me that this was a real thing in Major League Soccer. The NY/NJ identifier is its own thing, but the buildings are hilarious. New York City is a city full of large structures while New Jersey has the Cake Boss, and all the sports teams New York promises to have.
I’m glad this is dead, but this is so MLS.
22. Dallas Burn
1996 - 1998
This is the true definition of terrible, but it is so awful, it’s incredible.
Let me explain. The Dallas Burn stormed onto the scene in 1996 with this fire breathing horse that looks like a majestic dragon-pegasus love child.
Our four-legged friend graced the club’s crest for the first two years and with that brought a lot of questions to my mind. What made the people of 90’s Dallas think this was a good idea? What are the colors? Red, black, and baby poop gold? Why doesn’t the fire match the red in Burn?
It’s so high on the list due to originality, because where else in the world of soccer are you going to find something like this?
21. Los Angeles Galaxy
2007 -
An improvement from earlier, but not Top 20.
The colors represent LA well, blue Pacific waters and golden dreams. The people who have worn this crest is astounding. The likes of David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, and Zlatan Ibrahimović. Huge games that brought huge rings to Carson.
The concept is great. The star to represent the galaxy is a good touch and, truthfully, it’s a solid logo, but there isn’t the IT factor that makes this a truly great crest.
