Crew front office, Nordecke release joint statement on team branding

One week ago, the Columbus Crew announced its controversial rebrand that consisted of dropping “The Crew” from its official club name and releasing a new primary badge that dubbed the club “Columbus SC.” The announcement was met with severe backlash on social media with the Nordecke, the team’s main supporters group, leading the way for Crew fans who were displeased with the name and logo change.

One week later, the front office and Nordecke met at historic Crew Stadium and released a joint statement on its productive meeting.

This evening, a positive, collaborative discussion took place between Crew investor-operators, front office executives and a diverse group from the Crew community regarding the future of the Club’s brand and the Club’s commitment to its supporter community.

The importance of keeping the Crew as the Club’s primary identifier was clear. The decision that came from the discussion was that Columbus Crew will remain the team’s official name moving forward.

The Crew received Nordecke’s support of the name, which will include Columbus Crew as a part of the new crest. In addition, “96” will be placed inside the outline of the Ohio state flag, recognizing the club’s status as the founding member in Major League Soccer.

The Crew and the Nordecke are excited to move forward together.

In summary, “Columbus SC” will no longer be the official name of the club and they will revert back to “Columbus Crew”. The new crest that was launched on Monday will remain but will include text that says “Columbus Crew” and a “96” text inside the main Ohio state flag shape to replace the triangle that confused so many.

The new Crew logo received an overwhelming amount of backlash with the criticism ranging from poor design to lack of identity or creativity. The name change also was met with negative responses as Columbus, MLS and world soccer fans globally pointed to the fact dropping “The Crew” from the official name not honoring honor the history of the club. The Nordecke, who created the hashtag #SaveTheCrew while attempting and eventually succeeding in saving the team, created the hashtag #WeAreTheCrew as a vocal reminder that the name change was not in the fans best interests.

These concerns were addressed and the ownership group and front office, in the joint statement with the Nordecke, has agreed to set things right, returning the name “The Crew” to the team’s logo and making it officially a part of the team’s name once again. While a new logo was not released along with the statement, an updated and compromised look is expected in the coming days.

The Columbus Crew team has lost its last two matches in MLS play with road losses to Toronto FC and the New England Revolution last week. The Black & Gold will be in New Jersey on Saturday to face New York City FC at Red Bull Arena in an attempt to break this losing streak.