Not So Greatest Logo on Turf

With the Rams’ departure from St. Louis to Los Angeles, there were plenty of pissed off Midwesterners who donned the dark blue and gold, with fond memories of Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce and the rest of “greatest show on turf.” The owner decided to abandon the city for greener pastures and a brand-new stadium in Los Angeles. Whether you agree with the move or not, it made a ton of sense. The Rams actually went back to a place they called home for almost 50 years, from 1946 to 1994. The Rams began using their “throwback” jerseys that featured a lighter dark blue and maize-colored yellow, reminiscent of the 1980s when Eric Dickerson torched defenses at Anaheim Stadium.

You're Still Tuning in Sunday

This offseason, the Rams wanted to put an “LA” spin on their logo as they move into a new billion-dollar stadium. When the logo was released, most people (most being the feedback unofficially recorded from the twitter brigade) found it to be completely underwhelming. As much as internet commenters will complain about the logo, the Rams aren’t an expansion franchise starting off an inaugural season. The people who had their deposit down for season tickets aren’t going to demand a refund because they don’t like the logo. It’s not that important.

The Reality of Your Team's Logo

A logo is to identify the brand, this new logo was a safe play. The Rams didn’t need to throw the Hail Mary equivalent of a slick new logo in order to draw in more fans. They took the knee out of field goal range in order to head into overtime. The Rams franchise will use the logo in a multitude of ways. You’ll see it on hats, clothing, business stationery, billboards, jumbotrons, websites, and social media. The truth is with all these applications, it’s hard to push the limits because if it doesn’t work out, they’ll be out millions of dollars due to loss of sales or absence of revenue options.

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What makes money for the Rams is the product on the field. It doesn’t matter what the logo looks like, if the Rams are in the playoffs come January, they’ll make plenty of money selling that new logo all over merchandise no matter what the public’s opinion was back in the offseason.

Your Teams Logo Won't Change Your Record or Attendance

In 2009, the Detroit Lions changed their logo to make it more sleek and modern, with lines on the mane, an eye, and a more ferocious jaw. The logo may look more intimidating, but the product on the field never changed. The Lions have had that logo for 10 seasons and it’s resulted in exactly 0 playoff wins. The Lions are still the Lions no matter how fierce their logo appears.

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 Now think about the historically successful franchises, such as the Packers, Cowboys, Steelers, and 49ers. Those logos don’t change much because the Super Bowl rings speak for themselves. Their logos are actually a bit plain and boring. Those teams all established a brand through historical records of winning. There are Packer, Cowboy, Steeler, and 49er fans spread nationwide. It’s difficult to find a Lions fan very far from Detroit.

Winning is All That Matters

Plenty of money is at stake when creating a logo for an NFL franchise due to the number of ways the logo will be applied. However, none of that matters when the decisions being made on the playing field lead to wins for a franchise. No matter the logo, you will still rep your team because of their brand. In sports and business, win for your customers and nothing else matters.