Apparently We Do Need Stinkin’ Badges
They haven’t played a game yet, but the new Tampa Bay Rowdies FC Tampa Bay are already on their second logo. The one above left was revealed September 25, 2008. Yesterday, when they revealed they’d be playing at a baseball stadium for a year or two, they quietly replaced that one (which had lasted 16 months and was never put on a t-shirt or a jersey, though does apparently appear on the nifty new NASL scarves you can see in this photo as well as on the front page of the NASL’s website) with the one you see at right, above.
Why the change? They didn’t say. They’re still calling themselves the Rowdies (though FC Tampa Bay Rowdies is, again, beyond stupid), but perhaps it had something to do with the (apparently ongoing) litigation with a Texas company1 about who owns the trademark to the name “Tampa Bay Rowdies.”
As for the badge itself, the green and gold colors and stripes remain, as does the star (for some reason - it’s supposed to symbolize the original Rowdies’ 1975 Soccer Bowl championship), but the “1975″ notation is gone (good move). The old-school soccer ball (more obvious in the older badge than the new one) remains, but now “FC Tampa Bay” is emphasized. The badge appears slightly thinner and the top edges are straight rather than beveled in the new rendering.
The bottom line? Meh. This one, designed by a fan in Miami, was miles ahead of either of the two above2.
EDIT: Inside Minnesota Soccer has an interview with Rowdies (yes, they’re still the Rowdies, you just can’t buy anything with that name on it if you’re a fan) CEO Andrew Nestor, in which he addresses the badge/lawsuit issue.
1 - The company in question once used section219.com as its website, but now the URL is classicsportslogos.com and you don’t appear to be able to order online anymore. I have a Rowdies t-shirt I bought from them, it’s nice.
2 - And this one is still the best wordmark.
January 29th, 2010 at 6:32 am
Why can’t MLS teams use “SC” instead of “FC”? It still has the club soccer ring - “SC Tampa Bay” - and it’s not a ridiculous attempt to sound authentic. Americans call it soccer (Major League SOCCER), so we shouldn’t use “football”. The badge is ok, though. I’m interested to see what they do with the unis. Green and gold stripes could be cool…but I can only assume that they’ll blow it.
January 29th, 2010 at 8:47 am
I’m sure they CAN use SC. But that’s perhaps even more confusing.
Here’s my deal: In a country where the far-and-away #1 sport is called “football,” calling yourself a “football club” is just ridiculous. It’s clutter, it’s confusing, and it’s pandering to that small subsection of soccer fans who insist that everything American soccer does has to be like English soccer or it’s no good.
January 29th, 2010 at 9:08 am
Kenn, I really liked that other badge as well, the one with the bridge peaks. I thought that was pretty cool as well as the Rowdies copy.
January 29th, 2010 at 9:18 am
The “original” one was kind of uninspired and had design elements (namely the “1975″) that didn’t sit well with me.
Glad you got Nestor and he was able to shed a little light. Apparently they haven’t actually changed their name, they’re just de-emphasizing the Rowdies bit in things that they merchandise.
Which is going to hurt - because you can’t do nostalgia if people can’t buy something that says Rowdies on it. Well, they can, but they’ll have to buy it from Classic Ink for now.
My fear now is that the same people who are sure that the Mutiny would have been a rousing success if they’d only been called the Rowdies will look at this team in September after it averages maybe 2,500 a game and say “if only they’d been able to be the Rowdies in a complete way, they’d have averaged 10,000 a game.”
No, no, they wouldn’t.
January 29th, 2010 at 9:20 am
So is this logo sponsored by Adidas? Old wins.
January 29th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
both are pretty uninspiring. if anything, the “old” version’s shield shape was better.
might have taken a shot at a revamp idea if i cared that much.