US Soccer and Volkswagen

toucan said:
You are not wrong on any part of that history. Yes, the war is over. Today, Americans and Germans are connected as part of a global economy. Surf parents own VW stock. FRAM's halftime snack is sauerbraten. Legends' fathers wear lederhosen. Slammers mothers coif their armpits in ancient Teutonic fashion.

But I don't buy the "sins of the father" argument. You wouldn't put the Confederate Flag on the US national uniform, even though nobody alive today fought in the Civil War. That would send the wrong message, and the passage of time since the Civil War doesn't change that. I feel the same way about the VW logo.
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You don't have to look too closely at the Mississippi state flag to see the similarity --

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1. The 2018 VW Atlas SUV we bought is a POS. So my vote is NO.:mad:

2. Zildjian Cymbals is one of the world's oldest family businesses. Over 400 years. Originated in Constantinople..what is now Turkey. Been in the US since 1929. Is that American enough?? Still family owned/run. I'm sure there'd be some haters who don't like the way the logo looks. Probably too middle-eastern looking for some given the current War on Terror etc. etc. (I'm very thankful for the L80 line of noise-reducing cymbals they make. Makes listening to my son smash those things much easier given the reduced noise.;))

But yes it's true..you can't hold current VW accountable for what happened decades ago. I'm sure if my grandfather was alive today he wouldn't have an issue with this. He flew 30 missions in a B-17 in the European Theater of WWII fighting the Nazis. I highly doubt he'd be holding a grudge and be against seeing that logo on the front of any of his great-grandkid's jerseys.

I am curious though to see how much work US Soccer put into trying to secure an American-made company on the front of the jersey.
Anheuser-Busch would've been another cool choice. Born in America over 160yrs ago. Until they sold out to a Euro company. :eek:
 
VW has previously sponsored MLS teams, VW also owns a soccer team in Germany, VW was also a main advertiser with Fox for the last World Cup. When selling "sponsorship" deals, the first step in getting maximum value for the sponsoree is to articulate the value proposition. There are only a handful of companies that understand and/or buy-in to the value proposition for US Soccer (NFL, MLB, NBA are entirely different propositions).

VW is one of a just a few companies that have buy-in when it comes to soccer. Then we have to look at what other companies already have deals or are acceptable to US Soccer. Alcohol producers may/may not fly as the "Presenting Sponsor" on the jersey's of the U15/U17/U20 teams.

The other great thing about VW is they F'ed up big time and were fined billions by the US Government very recently for that whole diesel thing. VW is looking for a win in the US. I believe that VW was probably willing to overpay the true value of the sponsorship given its existing buy-in to the sport AND its desperate need to generate some goodwill with the US public.
 
VW directly employs ~8,000 American workers, plus indirectly everyone at the ~1,000 dealerships nationwide. There are few 'pure' American companies to support our national teams, and if no one is stepping up with the sponsorship the Federation believes we need, do they trim the program? Shut down teams? Reduce staff?
 
Is Ford American enough?

VW and Ford just announced a joint venture to build cars together. Maybe they can put a Ford logo on the sleeve.

Will that mean USMNT will be better now?
 
OrangeCountyDad said:
VW directly employs ~8,000 American workers, plus indirectly everyone at the ~1,000 dealerships nationwide. There are few 'pure' American companies to support our national teams, and if no one is stepping up with the sponsorship the Federation believes we need, do they trim the program? Shut down teams? Reduce staff?
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There are literally thousands of american based companies that employ thousands of people each so instead of sticking to America first let's go with a foreign multi national instead.

Cutting programs? Why? they are sitting on 100mil+ in excess revenue as it is. Expanding program perhaps but that could have been done with any sponsorship.

Selling a larger ulgy spot on the front of jesery's so kids can advertise for them is not something I really support. MLS clubs are going to say no thanks anyway since they have other licensing deals that would conflict but the others and national teams are now branded with that huge fugly logo for the next x number of years. The logo is about 4x the size of the usa one on the jeserys for example.
 
I generally don't agree with much that US Soccer does but I think this is a good move for the most part. A not-for-profit's (yes we can argue about that when you consider the relationship with SUM) primary responsibility is fundraising. I think partnering with an iconic brand (with an iconic logo) committed to soccer is a good thing. While the Nazi objection seems far fetched given VW of 2019, I do understand the sentiment for the preference for an American company. US Soccer's PR is horrendous so they might not thought that one all the way through, but if the price was right I can't fault them.

I have to ask, is there any car more representative of SoCal culture than a 60's VW? Maybe I'm biased because my first car was a '69 Squareback and I have a loosely held belief that everyone's first car should be a VW. I give credit to VW for bringing an affordable car to the masses...the people's car.

My biggest concern is what US Soccer is going to do with the money. They're track record of failing to invest in youth soccer is a big issue as to why we can't develop world class players.
 
jpeter said:
There are literally thousands of american based companies that employ thousands of people each so instead of sticking to America first let's go with a foreign multi national instead.

Cutting programs? Why? they are sitting on 100mil+ in excess revenue as it is. Expanding program perhaps but that could have been done with any sponsorship.

Selling a larger ulgy spot on the front of jesery's so kids can advertise for them is not something I really support. MLS clubs are going to say no thanks anyway since they have other licensing deals that would conflict but the others and national teams are now branded with that huge fugly logo for the next x number of years. The logo is about 4x the size of the usa one on the jeserys for example.
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Like the MLS sponsorship by Audi?
 
Kicker4Life said:
Like the MLS sponsorship by Audi?
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No the MLS "Audi" playoffs and player index is not the USA national team or youth academy and they don't wear a huge Audi logo on the front of there jeserys either with maybe DC United the one expection since they are directly sponsored by VW not indirectly.

One team one nation and oh by they way one German mutlti national company.

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jpeter said:
No the MLS "Audi" playoffs and player index is not the USA national team or youth academy and they don't wear a huge Audi logo on the front of there jeserys either with maybe DC United the one expection since they are directly sponsored by VW not indirectly.

One team one nation and oh by they way one German mutlti national company.

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Them why don’t you complain to Chevy for sponsoring a foreign Soccer team over the US National Team??
 
I heard the guy who did the deal with ManU at Chevy was let go shortly after the deal was signed.
Chevy sells very few cars in the UK (so I’ve heard. No research to back this up) and the higher ups over there were pissed about the deal.
I wonder how it’s worked out for them since?
 
Kicker4Life said:
We are really stretching for something to be offended about....smh. Where does it end?
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Other than the ugliness (size, placement) of it, I don't think many would find it offensive. What's offensive is losing to Trinidad and Tobago when everything was on the line. The design of the jersey is the least of our problems.
 
Kicker4Life said:
Them why don’t you complain to Chevy for sponsoring a foreign Soccer team over the US National Team??
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I could care less about somebody's else's national team or Chevy, this is about the USA national, youth teams, and the SUM sell out agreement done without consulting people here.

Nothing screams America like a big foreign car logo on a national team jesery.

This may well be a commercial win for somebody but when you put $$ over country people will voice there opinions.

Lets see some of VW money be used for something rather than adding to the triple digits xxx $millions$ war chest they have already accumulated and are not spending or investing in soccer.

How about increasing their network of scouts, inevesting in infrastructure, fields, more grassroots programs in urban and rural areas, lessen the financial burden on parents, coaches, quit depending on "clubs" to fund just about everything but a couple hundred (fed poverty level) kids who get a token amt spendt on travel.

If these items listed aren’t being benefitted from the deal, then wearing somebody else's logo and advertising for them for 4 years doesn't seem like a good deal to me.
 
jpeter said:
I could care less about somebody's else's national team or Chevy, this is about the USA national, youth teams, and the SUM sell out agreement done without consulting people here.

Nothing screams America like a big foreign car logo on a national team jesery.

This may well be a commercial win for somebody but when you put $$ over country people will voice there opinions.

Lets see some of VW money be used for something rather than adding to the triple digits xxx $millions$ war chest they have already accumulated and are not spending or investing in soccer.

How about increasing their network of scouts, inevesting in infrastructure, fields, more grassroots programs in urban and rural areas, lessen the financial burden on parents, coaches, quit depending on "clubs" to fund just about everything but a couple hundred (fed poverty level) kids who get a token amt spendt on travel.

If these items listed aren’t being benefitted from the deal, then wearing somebody else's logo and advertising for them for 4 years doesn't seem like a good deal to me.
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Like I said....some people need to find something to be offended by..guess you didn’t have to look to far. Better go check the US Sailing Team too as they are also sponsored by a foreign company.

I guess it’s ok to accept their jobs and tax revenue but unpatriotic to have them in your Nat’l team jersey.
 
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@jpeter
Out of curiosity, what do you believe is an acceptable amount for a non-profit like US Soccer to retain as liquid reserves and investment?
 
timbuck said:
I heard the guy who did the deal with ManU at Chevy was let go shortly after the deal was signed.
Chevy sells very few cars in the UK (so I’ve heard. No research to back this up) and the higher ups over there were pissed about the deal.
I wonder how it’s worked out for them since?
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If you watch a typical EPL game, you will see many Chinese ads flashing through the electronic billboards behind the pitch. For a global brand like ManU, I imagine for any given match there are more people watching it globally than domestically. Therefore, putting a global brand like Chevy on ManU jerseys makes sense even if Chevy sells very few cars in the UK.

However, no one I know in China pays any attention to USMNT :).
 
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