Exclusive: Potential San Diego Footy McFooty Face logo revealed
The people have spoken and made their preference clear, but they followed the rules and can’t be faulted. This vote was conceived by the investors hoping to lure Major League Soccer to San Diego, and they’re the ones who are going to have to deal with the outcome.
SI.com understands that “Footy McFooty Face,” one of several obvious jokes placed among the 50 possibilities that comprised San Diego’s name-the-team vote, has finished first. And it’s done so by a lot.
Voting ended Friday, and the end result actually shouldn’t come as much of a surprise considering the lead “Footy” enjoyed. At the beginning of last week, it had received three times the number of votes earned by second-place “San Diego Surf”. That apparently was enough of a margin for the SoccerCity SD group, who promised to submit the top 10 vote-getters to MLS for review and had time to ensure there was a logo to go with the winner. The group includes former U.S. national team and LA Galaxy star Landon Donovan.
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Thanks to a source with a connection to the expansion hopefuls, SI.com has been furnished with a copy of that crest. Yes, we know it’s April 1. But this is real. This snarling, muscled, fanged, foot-with-arms-in-a-shield thing actually was commissioned by the San Diego investor group because “Footy McFooty Face” was so clearly going to finish first. It’s horrifying, but we assume those who voted for it expected their potential club to have a logo and knew what they were doing. The public knows best.
The San Diego vote has received plenty of coverage—probably more than several existing MLS teams. The rise of “FootyMcFooty Case” has been chronicled by NPR, USA Today, The Washington Post and multiple outlets in the UK, which is the birthplace of the NounyMcNounFace phenomenon. The San Diego group must love the attention, which may have helped them quickly gather the 72,000 signatures they needed to present their stadium plan to the city council. But there’s also a harsh reality attached. And now, there’s an unforgettable logo as well. We can’t wait to see the jerseys.
