The last remaining original logo in Major League Soccer and one of the most enduring examples of 1990s graphic design may be on its way out, if rumours circulating on Twitter are true.
Buzz began to grow on Thursday, June 10, after Twitter user @WilliamsBob75 tweeted out an image of a track jacket featuring what may be a new crest for the New England Revolution.
Soon after Williams’s tweet, Twitter user @tedkerwin replied with a clearer, higher-resolution version of the crest he had found online (below).
Bob Williams is a U.S. correspondent for SportBusiness. He was one of the first people on social media to share images of the new Columbus SC name and logo in May 2021 (the name was later changed back to Columbus Crew but the C logo in the shape of the Ohio flag remained largely the same).
The original Revolution logo has been in use since the team started playing in MLS in 1996. It depicts an American flag, with stripes wrapping around a soccer ball made of stars. The logo and the associated wordmark use a brush stroke effect that was very popular in the ’90s.
New England is the last of the original MLS clubs to hold on to its logo from 1996. Other clubs that played in MLS’s inaugural season include:
- Colorado Rapids
- Columbus Crew
- D.C. United
- Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas)
- Kansas City Wiz (now Sporting KC)
- LA Galaxy
- NY/NJ MetroStars (now New York Red Bulls)
- San Jose Clash (now Earthquakes)
- Tampa Bay Mutiny (defunct)
Feature photos courtesy @WilliamsBob75 and @tedkerwin / Twitter