Grading The Potential Leaked Revs Rebrand

Jake: D-

Is it better than the ill-fated Chicago Fire rebrand? Yes, so it doesn’t get an F. My stance and love of the Crayon Flag is well known, and I know a rebrand should and will come eventually, hopefully in my lifetime with a new stadium.

This isn’t it. It’s generic, uninspired, and has no references or ties to anything currently used by the New England Revolution. No pine tree, no flag of New England, and a font style that seems out of place. The red sash through the “R” is awkward and aside from it being ANOTHER circle badge in a league that doesn’t need more of them, that’s my biggest issue here. It’s not awful but the Revs can do much, much better than this cobbled together Queen’s Park/Rangers hybrid.

Overall I will say this, after a much needed Twitter Spaces therapy session - there’s a lot to build on from this concept. A lot of other recent MLS rebrands (looking at you Chicago Fire in particular) faced backlash for being objectively terrible while others (looking at you Columbus Crew) flat out ignored fan feedback. This impromptu focus group on Twitter was far more positive than any of those leaks and rebrands seemed, which were mostly panned and negative for whatever reason. This Revs concept is far more mixed to even perhaps a majority of positive (or non-negative) reviews, which makes it better than most for MLS rebrands. A low bar I know, but my bar for a Revs rebrand is significantly high. This is not a complete and total failure, a lot of thought was put into this concept and it shows. But it needs a different direction, EXILE THE R!

Sam: C-

Like Jake, I am not a big fan of this logo. I can admit that one day the crayon flag will say goodbye but if it is, it has to be for something better than this.

Compared to MLS rebrands this is actually quite good. It would be hard for the Revs to fail with the bar set basically at the earth’s core with how bad Montreal and Chicago’s rebrand went.

This logo has some redeeming qualities. It possibly introduces a sash to the jersey and it looks clean. That’s really about it though.

I’m not a fan of becoming a QPR knockoff. I’m not a fan of having a logo that looks like it belongs on a firetruck. The swirl bordering the R makes zero sense to me.

In order to have a successful rebrand, New England will have to do better than this. While this logo doesn’t make you want to claw your eyes out, it doesn't exactly inspire you. It’s a decent logo and that’s about it. If you are going to replace the crayon flag you need to do better than average.

It will be interesting to see what happens now that this has come out. Hopefully, the Revolution end up adding some elements from the current branding. There is some room to add the New England flag or an updated crayon flag to make this distinctively New England as Jake mentioned above.

So while it’s not a complete failure, this logo sure isn’t the best either.

Seth: C+

As you’d expect, reactions to the rumored new crest have been mixed. Naturally, there are people who place themselves at the extremes but many seem to settle in the middle, which I view as a rebrand win.

Consider the Chicago Fire and Columbus Crew, both of which had to backtrack after introducing a new look. Their redesigned crests featured odd shapes that didn’t connect with fans.

This potential Revs crest seems to fairing better. The “R” in the center is distinct while the swirls that surround it harken back to colonial times. The sash through the R is a bit cumbersome, but it does connect to the Revolutionary War. I think I’ll like it better if the Revs adopt Jake’s idea of pairing it with a sash jersey.

Most importantly, I think this crest will look good on merchandise. We all love the Crayon Flag, but it didn’t necessarily look cool on shirts and hats. This new crest is more stylish, which could draw in new fans. I wouldn’t be surprised if more people get on board if/when they see real gear.

Bonus points for not changing the name or adding “SC” or “FC.” This team should always be called the New England Revolution.

Josh: C-

I will give the organization props for keeping “Revolution” a part of the team’s identity. I also thank them for not succumbing to the “SC” of “FC” frenzy taking over the league. I could not imagine the PR nightmare the club would have dealt with if this were to happen. The logo, on the other hand, is a different story.

Now is this the worst logo the Revs could have designed? No, but I feel they could have created something a lot better that better represented the organization and New England. Looking back on the Crew’s rebrand and how the flag of Ohio is incorporated, I think it would have been cool to see the Revs incorporate something that represented New England.

Although I dig the font, that is the only aspect I liked about this logo. First, I find the red stripe darting in-between the “R” to be an eyesore. I would have just kept the “R” as is. I also found the design surrounding the “R” to be lackluster. It just seems like a random assortment of shapes and lines if you ask me.

I have no problem with a new logo. However, it needs to be a lot better than that. If you’re going to replace 26 years of history, you have to go above and beyond on the next one.