Put down the meth and slowly back away...

Nessie is the typical form. Recently when people ask why there is a Nessie on the shirt/sidelines/shoulders I just look at them as if they're weird and ask why there WOULDN'T be a Nessie there.

I love how tenuous the Nessie link is. (Miss you, SR!)

Very generally, you are correct, Bruce. But the rules on this very widely. Let me elaborate and clarify.

First, most club teams do not put stars on their jerseys for league championships won. This is more of a tradition for national teams when it comes to World Cups won. Uruguay is an exception in that they have 4 stars; two for their WC victories in 1930 and 1950, and two for their Olympic gold medal wins in soccer in 1924 and 1928, when the Olympic soccer tourneys were the highest level of international competition.

The Uruguayans embody another exception in that the stars are actually incorporated into the design of the crest.

http://tooextremesports.com/products/uruguay-away-jersey-10-12

As for club teams, the use of stars varies widely in both frequency and symbolism.

In some countries, generally ones where league soccer has existed for a very long time, a star represents 10 league titles won. Some examples would include France, Italy, Egypt, Honduras, Romania, and Malta.

Other countries, many in South America, use a star for every league championship won. This would include such countries as Mexico, Bolivia, Korea and Ecuador.

Most countries do not display championship stars for league titles. These countries include England, Spain, Japan, Russia, The Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Belgium, and Norway.

In Turkey, a star can be worn for every 5 championships, but some teams don't display them on every year's jersey.

In still other countries, some teams display their championship stars while other don't. In Argentina, for instance (where teams can feature a star for every league championship won), River Plate and Racing don't while Boca Juniors, San Lorenzo and Newell's Old Boys do.

Which brings us to where the stars go. Boca Juniors and San Lorenzo do incorporate their stars into the clubs badge, Newell's Old Boys display them over the badge. Cruz Azul of Mexico incorporates them into the border of the badge, while Chivas Guad has them arranged in a semi-circle under the badge. Bolivar encircles their badge with their championship stars. Penarol doesn't even have their name on their club crest, just their black and yellow stripes and their championship stars.

Sorry to be a downer here, but there is only one true constistancy on the use of championship stars in professional club football. Nowhere in the world do they wear stars for 2nd Division championships.

Well, except Brazil, where the league system and championships have been structured, destructured, restructured and de-restructured so often that teams can put stars on their unies for being "Campeao de Sua Rua" (Champion of their street).

So far, in this country, it's like Argentina. A star per MLS championship, team's option to display.

Seems to me that the pitch is wide open for starting our own tradition on this. Special league championship patch? A small, stylized version of the League Cup? A little black and gold bucky ball? [Poster's note: Tossed that last one in for bq.]

"Let's see some creative suggestions here" encourages

That little old jersey collector

Me

I like the idea of league champions patch, then the year after getting a _____ colored star.

Maybe the 5th star would change color to _____ and consolidate into a single star, or something similar.

As someone who believes soccer is about where you're from, I've always felt that the name "the stars" is at such a disconnect from the state. However, in light of our championship I agree - we are the stars. We should stay the stars. We've got too much a history now to hit reset.

But I do feel there are two ways to use the name "the stars" to our distinct advantage as Minnesotans. By creating a cultural connection we can bridge our team identity with the identity of Minnesotans at large. I believe ways to build this connection are:


1. Develop a crest which incorporates Minnesota's motto. This is, of course: "L'Étoile du Nord" This means "the star of the north."

and/or

2. Incorporate the constellation of the Big Dipper into our logo, with the North Star. It is a symbol that we can celebrate uniquely as "The North Star State"


Doing something like this allows us to take this team to our non-football crazy friends and family and make the argument that supporting it is more than supporting soccer—It's supporting who we are as Minnesotans.

That's what sports are, and more than any other sport, that's what soccer is.

I think no one would make any debate about why recent additions to MLS are so successful. It's because they realized that the culture of the game is the greatest way to build a commitment from a community.

That culture is why we care more about NASL than EPL. Because this team, and no other, is who we are.

I think if we can continue to build that connection between club and community, we can take our team to a new level of support. That's something I want to see happen.

Freaky. My cat was playing with the supporters scarf that has the State motto on it last night and I was thinking how it would be fitting to somehow incorporate it in with the Stars. If the motto was incorporated into a new crest I wouldn't want a Fleur-de-lis used but I do love our State motto... That being said I love the corniess of, "we are all made of stars too." So I'm flexible. Just as long as everything in the Badge is made out of flaming Bucky balls I will be happy.

Reason for my tattoo not having the NSC on it has nothing to do with the team name changing or the badge changing or anything like that. It was a personal preference that I didnt want anything that has to do with the NSC on me or with the tattoo. I personally hate that the "NSC" is even apart of the badge and team name.

I love that we paraphrase the great Carl Sagan on our scarves. That's just awesome.

Hey everyone.

Weeks ago I was hit up by the Stars FO to show some potential designs for a new crest. I worked with designer and fellow fan Stephan Peters to craft something we thought better spoke to the history of both the team and the state of Minnesota. We landed on a design we were both incredibly incredibly stoked about.

Although the Stars decided to go a different direction (not surprisingly, considering the great designs we faced off against) I'm really proud of the work we did. Though it may never be used, I wanted to make sure the crest saw the light of day, so here it is:





larger size here: http://i.imgur.com/606Pl.png

I'm confident that if a change is made, the crest they go with will be a great improvement. Never the less, we appreciated the opportunity to throw our hat into the ring!

I LOVE IT, and you all know what a harsh critic I can be. It might be the mid-life crisis thing finally catching up with me, but I LOVE IT!

I preference is the one with the championship Star above it.