Many Crew fans were outraged at the idea of ownership changing the team's name or colorscolumbus business first
Any potential rebrand the Crew will undertake ahead of their new stadium opening in '21 "would not take 'Crew' out of the team's name or get rid of the primary colors of black and gold," according to Jacob Myers of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. Sources earlier in the week indicated that the club's front office "had discussed possibly changing" the name and colors. However, Crew President & GM Tim Bezbatchenko confirmed that neither the name nor colors "would change in any potential rebrand." Crew co-Owner Dr. Pete Edwards tweeted that both the Edwards and Haslam families "understand that Columbus bleeds black and gold." Myers notes many Crew fans displayed "outrage over the possibility that the front office would make such a major change ... signaling that such a move would alienate diehard supporters" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 1/30).
CHANGE FOR CHANGE'S SAKE? SI's Grant Wahl acknowledged that the club's new ownership group "might want to change everything at a club to show it's a completely new team that plans to open a new downtown stadium in the coming years." However, he added, "None of the hardcore Crew fans have been asking for those changes. Those fans are the ones who have supported the team through its 25-year history." He called the Crew's yellow-and-black color scheme "perfect," as it creates the "kind of instant recognition you want" ("SI Now," SI.com, 1/29). The Columbus Dispatch's Michael Arace said the fans that could be alienated with any rebranding efforts "are the people that saved this team, care about its history, its traditions and its colors." A major rebranding would not "sit well with the people who have been here for a long time and put their blood, sweat and tears into saving the franchise" ("Soccer Speakeasy," DISPATCH.com, 1/29).
