COLUMBUS, Ohio — Conjure some of the dumbest sports marketing money grabs you can recall in your lifetime. Now, get ready to add a new one to your leaderboard.
In a story which sounds like it was written by the staff at The Onion, the MLS franchise in my hometown is changing its name from the “Columbus Crew” to “Columbus SC” to have a more global appeal. Yeah, I’m sure some teenage soccer fan in Copenhagen, Denmark is saving up to buy a Columbus SC jersey.
“Tone deaf” has been taken to a different level with this bit of corporate rebranding. Three years ago, a well-organized grassroots movement led by fans helped prevent the MLS franchise from relocating to Austin, Texas. The “Save The Crew” crusade made headlines around the world for being the catalyst in fighting to keep the club in Columbus. New owners were found. A new stadium was promised. The team won the 2020 MLS Cup.
What could possibly derail such momentum? Only one of the most absurd ideas since the Big Ten tried calling its two divisions “Legends and Leaders.” That decision was widely mocked. This one has sparked outrage in part because supporters’ groups, representing one of the founding MLS clubs, weren’t consulted before news leaked.
This is not just a Columbus story. It could happen in any sports market, where owners desperate to create new revenue streams start tinkering with a franchise’s history and look. Hockey fans will recall how Howard Baldwin removed the beloved skating Penguin logo for the one that became known as the “Pittsburgh pigeon." That redesign just invited bad karma coming off back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991-92.
Forget for a moment how unoriginal the “Columbus SC” name is and how it smacks of wanting to assimilate into a soccer world full of FCs, SCs and Uniteds. Focus on the part of how fans here worked so hard to Save . . . The . . . Crew. Now, it’s being dropped from the team’s official name.
The club’s original logo was three construction workers in hardhats. What’s more fitting for a franchise opening a beautiful downtown stadium in July? That should have been the announcement this week, a team going back to its industrious roots.
The Columbus Dispatch reported a year ago that some in the front office were mulling changes to the team colors, name and logo. It appears that will become reality. The club has released a statement saying “Crew” will be retained as a nickname, but won’t be used as part of its official logo.
Short of switching its brand to include a Native American tribe in its name, it’s hard to imagine anything more insulting to hardcore fans who have supported the club for 26 years. Two of the new owners, Jimmy and Dee Haslam, who had been Steelers’ minority partners, should know better. They purchased the Browns in 2012 and angered fans in Cleveland with a dreadful redesign of the team’s uniforms, which mercifully were returned to a more traditional look last season.
You want to tweak the jersey to sell more merchandise, that’s fine. Sports franchises do it all the time. But when you start messing with the name and heritage, you’re asking for a free kick to the nether regions.
The club is getting destroyed — or, shall we say Crew-sified — for its decision. Hopefully, it’s not too late to walk it back. Own the mistake, ask for forgiveness and open your new playpen.
Fans here should not be asked to save the Crew for a second time in three years.
YOUR TURN: What is the dumbest sports marketing decision you can recall?