[Deputy Editor’s Note: Maine’s first professional soccer club will be known as the Portland Hearts of Pine. Our own Anthony Emerson takes an up-close and personal look at how the new team came to be. Enjoy! — PH]
The long wait is over. It's been 18 months since the United Soccer League chartered the first fully professional soccer club in Portland, Maine, and since Maine soccer legend Gabe Hoffman-Johnson began drumming up connections and support for the team. Five years later, we finally have our own club.
There were many directions they could go. Will the team name include the state motto “Dirigo” that is all over the place? Will it be a soccer-inspired name like FC or United? Or will it be an American-style name like Sounders or Revolution? Is it “Portland” or “Maine”?
For a while, I thought that Hoffman Johnson's group, USL to Portland, was soft-launching the name “Forest City” to coincide with the USL to Portland sale. large quantity of products It says “Forest City”. However, when USL officially announced its expansion to Portland, the ownership group made it clear that no decisions had yet been made regarding the name, logo, and colors, and that they would seek input from community members before announcing anything. I made it.
So it's Portland Hearts of Pine. And I have some thoughts.
name
“We already know the name,” Councilwoman April Fournier told me at Saturday’s announcement event. “You'd be surprised, but I like it.”
Portland Hearts of Pine. Even if you gave me her 1,000 guesses, I would never have guessed. By my count, he has two other professional soccer teams with similar names. One is Heart of Midlothian in Edinburgh, Scotland, who compete in the Scottish Premiership. The other is Accra Hearts of Oak SC, based in Accra, Ghana, who play in the Ghana Premier League.
This is a totally outlandish choice, and that's why I love it. Apart from a club in Ghana and a club in Scotland, there is no other football team with a name like ours. And this name is perfect for two reasons. One is that this name is known nationally (the old-growth eastern white pine forest), and the other is that the people who live here have something about our city that outsiders don't necessarily know (my name). What we love about our city. “Valentine's Day Thief” tradition).
logo
“This is a great job,” City Council candidate Joey Brunell texted me after I sent the heart emblem. Ms. Brunel, a graphic designer by trade, actually responded to my text in all caps. “This design shows a deep understanding and respect for its cultural and geographic context, especially the close-knit, quirky, caring and proud city of Portland, Maine.”
typeface
This typeface is based on the sign on the Portland Corporation building on the Portland waterfront. A custom typeface of his design called “Pine Bandit” is used on everything, and its inspiration is instantly recognizable to anyone from Portland.
“Dirigo Heart”
If it's a team called Hearts, of course a heart will be drawn on the emblem. Bright red hearts adorn buildings across the city in mid-February, surrounded by the state's coat of arms, the American flag.
other elements
Of course, there are pine trees. After all, the team is called Hearts of Pine. And of course, there are waves. After all, this city is called Portland. The bottom scroll first reminded me of the bottom scroll of state coats of arms. The club acknowledges its inspiration, but also claims it is “a tribute to Maine's literary contributions, from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to today's Stephen King.” ” Listen, I rolled my eyes a little when I saw that too. But everything feels organic and purposeful here. Nothing feels superfluous, nothing feels outdated, nothing feels too corporate, sophisticated or distant. This emblem looks like the emblem of a club that was founded 95 years ago, so it doesn't feel old.
final thoughts
At the launch event, I overheard two different people talking about their plans to get family crest tattoos. I am planning to do the same myself.
“The use of the Portland Company typeface and the integration of the late Valentine's Day Bandit's nickname into Maine's iconography, as all Portlanders are familiar with, can only be described as brilliant. There is no,” Brunel told me. “This branding alone will inspire pride in the team, even in people with no previous interest or experience in soccer.”
And isn't that exactly what identity, especially the identity of minor league expansion teams in second- or third-tier sports in the United States, should strive for? Does it inspire pride and community? The reaction on social media has been almost unanimously positive.It was amazing to see people not only from Maine but from all over the world. praise of our club name and identity.
The people who live here love living here. I can't imagine living anywhere else. It may sound silly, but seeing this logo and team name reinforces the sense of pride I've always felt in Portland. That's why, quite ironically, I call it the greatest city in the world.
I'm proud to be from here, and I'm proud of Hearts.
