Fire rebrand goes beyond new logo

The Fire’s rebrand is the most dramatic in Chicago professional sports since the White Sox switched to silver and black in 1990. Reaction to the Fire’s new logo was swift and negative and perhaps overshadowed other parts of the unveiling that will completely change the franchise’s visual signature.

One of those is the official name, which changed from Chicago Fire Soccer Club to Chicago Fire Football Club. Chicago Fire FC is what the team will use on first reference and appears on the logo in gold.

“The change from ‘soccer’ to ‘football’ reflects a long-term vision for the club as Chicago’s global ambassador to the world’s game,” the Fire said in a news release.

The Uniforms
The Fire released their new logos, but there was little detail about the colors they’ll wear on the field in 2020 other than a tidbit that uniform designs will be released later.

For the bulk of their history, the Fire’s primary look has been red shorts and red shirts with a broad white stripe across the chest. They strayed from that look from 2012 to 2013, when the broad white stripe turned blue, and again from 2014 to 2015, when the upper chest and shoulders went blue. The latter change was largely unpopular, though it coincided with an era in which the team had 18 ties (2014) and finished last in the league (2015).

Perhaps one hint came from recent public appearances by team mascot Sparky. At the Giants-Bears game, Sparky wore a blue shirt and blue shorts.

The Fire also announced the addition of “flag blue,” which will be used on uniforms and other parts of their branding.

The Slogan
At Fire games, it has been hard to miss the team motto, “Tradition. Honor. Passion.” Fans have taken to the slogan, and it was on display in the SeatGeek Stadium tunnel for players to see right before they took the field.

But in the release announcing the changes, the Fire used a new phrase.

“The club’s pillars — Be Chicago. Be Football. Be a Club. — are fused into the new badge,” Fire president/general manager Nelson Rodriguez said in a statement. “We appreciate all the fans, partners and staff who contributed to helping us evolve the identity of the club.”

“Tradition. Honor. Passion.” will continue as well.

The Continued Reaction
As of Tuesday, a petition on Change.org to “Save our Fire identity!” had more than 4,100 signatures. A tweet by Nicholas Casas (@futbolnico) explaining the resemblance to Latin Kings imagery was retweeted more than 400 times.

“I grew up in the South Side of Chicago,” Casas tweeted last week on the #cf97 hashtag. “A few of my neighbors and schoolmates were Latin Kings. We were taught not to wear crown logos and black/gold to avoid getting shot, and it’s still like this. I’m sorry, but this is tone-deaf to children of color in the city of Chicago.”

Last weekend, an MLS spokesman deferred all comment about the logo to the Fire.

Doubleday & Cartwright, which designed the Fire’s new look, has declined multiple requests for comment on the logo and the subsequent reaction. The company, which has offices in New York and Los Angeles, was featured by ESPN.com after producing the Milwaukee Bucks’ acclaimed rebrand in 2015 and Inter Miami’s well-received black-and-pink logos last year.