As always (it seems) I was spending a fair amount of time looking at a thread on BigSoccer.com regarding changing the name of the Wizards. somebody mentioned iconic Crests in England. And it got me thinking as always about Arsenal .. the frame for all things football in my world. I started writing and after 15 minutes and a slew of text had passed I found myself more on the fence about name change than I have been at anytime. I abandoned my post and converted the text into this … it is a bit of a ramble, but that is my way…
Iconography and graphics have changed frequently in England and across Europe. Even Arsenal and Manchester United’s. Manchester United’s crest only evolved in the 1970s from its original and highly different logo. Arsenal’s seems to have changed frequently throughout the years, most recently in the early 2000s as they simplified the graphics, changed the colors as well as the orientation of the cannon.



Arsenal, Wizards and Manchester United
logos throughout the ages.
Of course names changed as well. Dial Square became Royal Arsenal became Woolwich Arsenal (as they turned pro) and finally Arsenal (as they moved into the new stadium).
Much of this evolution happened back when the the English football leagues where new, which is in reality where we are now. Maybe it’d be better to get the naming and branding right now, Newton Heath, Thames Ironworks FC, Hotspur FC, and Ardwick Association Football Club just would not have worked so well in 2010 … in the UK the moves were often made to tie the club to broader geographic areas, or to neutralize them from specific locals that no longer where accurate.
In the USA its more about identity, no team doesn’t cover a broad geographic area, but the motivation to link your team to its supporter base via name change is the same. Wizards just doesn’t do KC justice in this light, but then neither does Real Salt Lake, or Red Bull New York. Our name is certainly no less silly than DC United just picking United because it is a traditional English naming convention.
I have been opposed to a name change, but maybe its just the natural course of things as teams develop, improve and evolve into the teams they will be for the next 100 years, rather than who they were for the first 15 or 20. I’m sure fans a hundred years ago were distraught that Arsenal not only moved from South East London to North London (a long old journey even today but made worse then via the lack of river crossings) but also changed their name distancing themselves from their original community.
Those that didn’t change much (or at all) seem odd sounding … Sheffield Wednesday (formally The Wednesday Football Club), Aston Villa, Crewe Alexandra seem oddly out of place in 2010, especially Villa playing in the Premier League with Villa Park a real relic of the past (but a fine stadium regardless). I love those teams for sticking with their names an roots, the likes of Preston North End and West Bromich Albion are not names that would be chosen today. There is no derision for them though, I guess people got used to them after a while — hell they have always been there. Much like the (Wiz)ards have been in MLS. Maybe without a change one day people will quit bitching about ‘Wizards’ and just accept them the way they do Hamilton Academical Football Club. Or maybe Wizards is so epically bad that they never will. If I live to 135 years old I’ll let you know …
If the name changed tomorrow I am not sure I’d care in twenty years, in fact I know I won’t. It is just the here and now where it stings a bit. Those of us that object in some respects are like old men scornful of change, yet its an undeniable thing and it need not always be bad. I am glad the Wizards are no longer called the Kansas City Wiz that much is certain. With all the kits, logos, venues the Wizards have played in over the 15 years you figure we’d be used to it but I guess in a way because of all that we understand what an unwelcome pain in the ass it can also be.
I guess this is me saying I am not going to fret about it either way, what happens will happen. It won’t stop me going to games and hell I buy new merchandise every year or two anyway, I don’t buy a shirt or a scarf for life. I get the feeling those old Wizards shirts would become a real statement if we did change and they were around in 10 years or so … a kind of ‘fuck you, I was here when..’ badge of honor that distinguishes the old fans from the new.
In terms of name change, none of it detracts from past glories in my mind. If ‘The Wiz’ had won it all in the MLS inaugural year we’d still claim that honor today as the Wizards. Its all the same team, right here in Kansas City and I doubt people will forget anytime soon that our ‘<insert euro-centric prefix>’ Kansas City ‘<insert hated new name>’ were once called the Wizards or the Wiz. If it is done well enough, there might be the same wry smile I see from today’s fans when they talk about the old Rainbow logos and Charlie Brown shirts. Change isn’t always bad … and sometimes it is wonderful.

I guess we will see what happens.









