March 23, 2007 Toronto FC unveils new jersey for inaugural season (from Toronto Star)
FC banks on jersey logo
Sponsor BMO emblazoned on uniforms
Mar 23, 2007 12:36 PM
RICK MATSUMOTO
SPORTS REPORTER
Toronto FC soccer club unveiled its jersey this morning and it might take Toronto sports fans awhile to get used to it.
What immediately struck observers at an outdoor unveiling at Bay and King Sts. this morning was not the bright red colour of the home jersey (grey for away), but rather the logo of the team’s sponsor - BMO - emblazoned smack-dab on the front of the shirt.
That’s where North American sports fans are used to seeing the cherished emblem of their team, be it the Maple Leaf or the double C and H of the Montreal Canadiens.
Richard Peddie, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the Major Leaque Soccer team’s owner, said the company originally came up with a traditional logo for the jersey. He pointed to the team’s official crest, which resembles something one might find on the breast pocket of a private school in England.
“It was so un-North American-like," he said. “It wasn’t a raptor or a timber wolf. Our guys really wanted to go to that.
“But then Major League Soccer gave us a study that showed how much (the commercial logo) was generating in Europe (where jerseys are adorned with sponsors' names) and it was just a natural.”
The team’s No. 1 draft pick Maurice Edu, an American who modelled the jersey, agreed it wasn’t what North Americans are used to, but feels soccer fans will quickly take to it as they’ve seen commercial logos on all the teams' jerseys in Europe.
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