Nobody Beats the Wiz, Except Sporting Kansas City

So say goodbye to one of the worst names in Major League Soccer and hello to Sporting Kansas City SC, ain't that a mouthful?  Yes the Wizards are now Sporting KC, or KC Sporting SC, or Sporting SC, or well we aren't to sure what to call them yet.  Anyways the name and crest were officially revealed last night in Kansas City. The wizar.. er Sporting have will have a brand new stadium opening up June 9, 2011 and have gone through a re-branding process to coincide with that.

Many things were mentioned by club president Robb Heineman but the things that caught our attention was the mentioning of free tickets for supporters for away games and the hinting at truly wanting to become a sports club when talking about the SC in the crest. Among the sports mentioned that we may see the crest on jerseys for were rugby and lacrosse.   Could Sporting be taking a page out of some of the Euro clubs (i.e. Barcelona) and casting a broader net?

Here from the Sporting press release is a more in depth look at the crest:

"The club crest, which will be used as the team’s primary logo effective immediately, is a combination of symbolic elements to reflect the distinct history, culture and geography of Sporting Kansas City, as well as the vision for the organization. The crest pays tribute to the original Wiz shield and its upside-down teardrop shape that introduced the team to Kansas City and serves as a permanent tribute to the tradition of the club. The words “Kansas City” arch across the top of the crest, with their position at the crest’s highest point symbolizing the local ownership group’s commitment to their hometown.

The name Sporting, prominently written inside the shield beneath Kansas City, represents the vision of Sporting Club to integrate additional sports and entertainment properties into the organization, with Sporting Kansas City as the foundation for future enterprises, and transform the way a professional sports team connects with supporters.

“Our goal is to revolutionize the way a professional sports team connects with fans through premier experiences and spaces,” Heineman said. “We believe a change in identify for the club was necessary to effectively live and breathe this vision. The name ‘Sporting’ represents our desire to become a dynamic organization focused on creating opportunities for social, cultural and athletic connections.”

The left side of the crest features 11 diagonal lines, a nod to the starting 11 players of past, present and future that have played for Kansas City, and are comprised of six Sporting Blue lines separated by five Dark Indigo Blue lines between them. The Sporting Blue color will be the primary color for the team and their uniform, previewed at Wednesday’s announcement, and is similar in shade to the original Wiz blue that club founder Lamar Hunt selected as the team’s identifying color for the inaugural season in 1996.

The right edge of the lines forms a shape familiar to all Kansas Citians, signifying the state line between Missouri and Kansas. Sporting Kansas City has roots on both sides of the state line, with the new stadium being built in Kansas City, Kansas and their current offices and training facilities located in Kansas City, Missouri.

Finally, a stylized SC ligature fills the right side of the crest as an iconic image linking the team to its parent organization, Sporting Club, while also drawing inspiration from individual elements: the rod of the Greek god Ascelpius (health and fitness), the Hellenistic statue of Winged Victory (strength and movement) and the Spanish architecture of Kansas City’s renowned Country Club Plaza."


You can find out more information about the new Sporting KC/SC whatever they want to be called at the new site www.sportingkc.com while there take a virtual tour of their new stadium as well... If you view the video of the announcement you can also get a look at the new kits towards the end... they actually look pretty nice, we'll post photos when we can get them.