at a time when chicago red stars Wanting fans motivated before a postseason run, they’ve instead taken a polarizing alternative move.
When the Red Stars made the 2024 NWSL Playoffs on October 13, their season proved to be a comeback from last year’s failure to make the postseason. In his first season, head coach Lorne Donaldson has led a talented team – including Olympic gold medalists mallory swanson And Alyssa Naher And international bowlers like julia grosso And ludmila – Back from sadness. It can’t be denied that Chicago has stars.
However, the team’s rally behind just before the playoffs hit a self-inflicted momentum bump. On Wednesday, Chicago announced it is rebranding ahead of the 2025 season. Goodbye, Chicago Red Stars; Hello, Chicago Stars.
As for the name, it was a simple change: removing an adjective. But removing “red” goes deeper than semantics.
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Chicago Red Stars unveil new name and crest as they begin next chapter
Chicago’s chief marketing officer, Kay Bradley, said athletic The idea to rebrand began when Laura Ricketts purchased the club in August 2023. Then came some marketing jargon: “It felt like the right time to point to the future and we believe it’s ahead of us from a progress perspective.”
Giving a hint about the future by abandoning the name initially chosen by fans?
In 2008, a “Team Name” campaign (run by Peter Wilt, one of the team’s founders) Self-Proclaimed Compulsive Football Team Starter) asked local fans to give the new club an identity. The Red Stars were not just one of several nominees; It won the popular vote.
“If the Red Stars had finished seventh or fifth, there’s a good chance we would have gone with something else,” Wilt told the Chicago Tribune“What really impressed us was that Red Stars was popular with a wide range of audiences, including children, young adults and parents.”
A lot of the fans who come for support are fleeting. Every player and coach moves on or retires. If green spaces are available, teams can leave their stadiums to do something new. Owners sell their stake and cash out (sometimes, as in the case of this team, Due to cultural reasonsThe crests are bound to change, and it’s not entirely an American tradition these days – look at the recent badge changes of Juventus, Napoli and AS Roma to focus on Italy.
The new Stars logo is far more boring than the old Red Stars badge, having been replaced with a badge that you’ll find above the usual soccer crest templates on the website. But this is a minor modification.
Changing the name has more impact. in situations devoid of righteous indignation Regarding old, insensitive names, it’s better to have a good reason to break continuity from your team’s history. Fans chose this name because red stars are synonymous with Chicago. As the Tribune wrote in 2008, “The team’s name is in honor of the four red stars on Chicago’s flag.”
Do you know what describes Chicago football better than its fans? Are you sure? The mixed reactions on social media suggest otherwise.
When another professional football team comes Chicago rebranded – and rebranded again – in 2019Red stars were revered for their design and meaning. five years ago, of MLS The franchise abandoned a uniform color scheme to adopt what was considered Flame Crown. Shortly thereafter the fire changed direction and returned to the city’s pale blue, red and white colors.
Courtesy of Chicago Fire FC.
Time will tell if it’s from Chicago or not nwsl The franchise – no, I wouldn’t call it a new one while the Red Stars are still competing this season – will need to do the same. This seems unlikely.
“Oftentimes, people shorten our name to ‘Red Stars’ and then ‘Chicago’ goes away,” Bradley said. “So by removing the ‘Red’ from the name, the shortened version will be ‘Chicago Stars’ so we keep that connection with our city.”
Rationality defies logic. When people don’t say a team’s city out loud, they don’t become a geography-ignorant entity. It is a symbol of familiarity, earned cash. If I talk about “The Bulls” to my seat neighbor on the Blue Line, they’ll understand the team is from Chicago, like they were on the L train in New York City.
Next season, fans and media members will refer to them as Stars – no different from nhlThe Dallas Stars, the old NASL Minnesota Stars or the Dominican University Stars who play 13 miles from the NWSL team’s stadium in Bridgeview. What’s more, aren’t Caleb Williams and Angel Reese their own kind of Chicago stars?
For the next month, supporters will support the Red Stars, knowing full well that the next season will be played under a different name, as the change will not take effect until 2025. Barring a change of heart, these would be the final games of the Red Stars era – the last chance to shout their tried-and-true slogan “Let’s Go, Red Stars!” Chanting.
Changing the name is not some magical spell that will suddenly garner fans in numbers that were previously unimaginable. Such an attempt has been made before also. This is not clever. There was no stopping the “Red” club.
The reasons your club isn’t a big deal in your market and beyond have little to do with brand – and this is a common address for any team rebranding.
This is because you have not been involved in your community to the extent that makes you essential. That’s because your games aren’t accessible enough to bring in more people than the car-parking crowd. That’s because your team hasn’t accumulated a backlog of iconic moments that put you in City Highlight Reels. That’s because your roster pales in comparison to peers in the same league operating in the same financial range. That’s because thousands of clubs in countless leagues also want to be important to fans of the game.
Mallory Swanson talks to fans after defeating the Houston Dash. (Daniel Bartel/Imagen Images)
Your fans should now emphasize the fact that the name they have spent hundreds of dollars on merchandise to support, that they have tattooed on their bodies, has been the main character in some of their favorite memories, that they named themselves. Given, it has been taken away from them.
Brands may be just pictures and names, but they play an important role in a fan’s relationship with the team. “(Team Name) ‘Til I Die” is a staple of modern supporter culture. Changing that name retroactively makes the relationship between fans and the team much less consistent.
The memories and emotions associated with that name are what keep fans from switching to other teams. Don’t take romanticism lightly.
(Top photo of Mackenzie Wood signing autographs: Daniel Bartel/Imagen Images)
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