Back in October of last year, news rippled through the soccer world of the NWSL’s newest expansion team coming out of Boston, BOS Nation FC. You likely remember their brand rollout campaign, but for all of the wrong reasons. I still haven’t recovered from TooManyBalls.com, and I don’t think I ever will. Feel free to refresh your memory by watching their deeply misguided, offensive, and transphobic rollout campaign video here.
After the uproarious public backlash the new franchise received upon this egregious launch, they immediately rolled back the brand and issued an apology statement as they went back to the drawing board.
While we had hoped to create a bold and buzzworthy brand launch campaign, we missed the mark.
They scrubbed all traces of their initial brand rollout from their socials (save for their Instagram handle which inexplicably holds strong), and after a few months of retooling, posted this in mid-March.
Of course, the comments section is rife with playful jabs, including:
But there is also quite a bit of praise in the comments for an NWSL team actually listening to its fan base and admitting when it misstepped. Many also shared their ideas for what the new team name should be, with the indisputable fan favorite being the Boston Coven.
According to the blog on BOS Nation’s website, the club “launched a deliberate process through which we will seek out, listen to, and reflect on input about our team name from fans, supporters, and a group of advisors assembled to reflect a diverse range of voices and perspectives. ” As part of this process, the franchise hosted forums to engage with fans, women’s sports advocates, former players, and Boston leaders. They assembled brand advisors and even offered a Fan Feedback Survey which received over 1,500 responses and amassing 500 different name suggestions.
One of the many despicable aspects of BOS Nation’s original rollout campaign was its appalling erasure of the existing women’s professional sports teams in Boston. To right this wrong, they explained on their blog how this time around, they’ve connected with the leaders of these other Boston and New England women’s teams for support and insights. Sure, it begs the question, why the hell didn’t they do this the first time around? (It feels like a pretty obvious move to me!) But hey, better late than never.
Finally, at long last, after skulking away with their tails between their legs post-TooManyBalls.com, BOS Nation unveiled their new team name at the end of March: Boston Legacy FC.
And you know what? It’s fine. With the bar for improvement at subterranean levels, pretty much anything would have been a step up. It’s nothing to write home about, but it does the job. As always, fans have expressed their displeasure in the comments section of the post, with the general sentiment being that Boston Legacy FC feels soulless and generic:
After their atrocious first attempt, it’s clear that Boston Legacy is committed to providing the utmost transparency in regard to what went into their rebranding process in an attempt to regain fan trust and establish credibility. Their periodic blog posts over the last five months outlining the selection of the new name were part of that, along with sharing videos like this:
Whether you like Boston Legacy FC or not, this name is surely here to stay this time around, with the team slated to kick off in the 2026 NWSL season. Now that the new name has been finalized, the club is in the midst of reworking its visual branding as well, most notably releasing a new crest in the coming months. Watch this space for whatever those Dunkin’ lovers unleash upon us next!
The post NWSL’s BOS Nation FC Had to Rebrand Before Playing a Single Game appeared first on PRINT Magazine.