So what if the new Major League Soccer logo is terrible?

There is a new Major League Soccer logo that was released on Thursday, and naturally it is terrible because — MLS.

The logo is just part of the league’s latest rebrand — I think we’re up to MLS 4.0 by now, but I’ve lost track — which will hopefully lead us to a brave new world that includes that United States Men’s National Team winning the World Cup, soccer outdrawing the NFL in television ratings, and blah blah blah. Diehard MLS fans have heard the spiel before.

Most noteworthy about the new MLS logo, which can be seen here,  is that there is nothing noteworthy about it. A badge sliced in half with the “MLS” letters and three generic stars on one side and a blank canvas on the other? How inspiring.

Somewhere, a 14-year old goofing off during his high school typing class created a replica of the actual league logo using Microsoft Paint in-between learning what the “F7” and “F8” buttons do.

Sep 18, 2014; New York, NY, USA; MLS commissioner Don Garber and CMO Howard Handler sign the new MLS logo during an event at Skylight Modern. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Logos are all about brand recognition. The NFL Shield, as tarnished as it may be these days, is as recognized as is any other North American sports symbol. Jerry West is commonly referred to as “The Logo” because his silhouette is identified as being the official NBA logo.

What MLS was going for with their new badge is lost on many who follow the league.

I don’t know where to even begin with this thing. It has a tail, for starters. perhaps to symbolize how the North American top-flight is BREAKING THROUGH into the mainstream. Nothing about the badge brings the sport of soccer to mind. There is no ball. No net. No anything that lets you know that the “S” in MLS means “soccer.”

Unless you read a league-issued statement regarding the rebrand, you would have no clue what the three stars on the badge are supposed to represent. Are they for the rumored three conferences that MLS will have following the additions of multiple expansion teams? Stars represent championships on soccer logos, and yet every team will soon be sporting three stars on shirts.

One thing I can tell you is that those stars certainly aren’t for the FIFA Club World Cup titles MLS teams have won (0) over the years.

Some see the fact that the badge can be altered per the colors used by MLS teams as a positive. It isn’t. MLS detractors already see the league as being a cookie-cutter organization that does little, if anything at all, to grow the game in the US. That the new league logo is interchangeable per club doesn’t help that perception.

ESPN television analyst and US Soccer hero Taylor Twellman took to Twitter on Thursday morning to express his opinion on the matter:

"“Reading all this ‘critique’ about #MLSNext who would have thought you guys watch other leagues based on crests/logos. #WhoCaresReally”"

In just 136 characters and one slightly odd hashtag, Twellman hit me like a Roy Miller free kick sailing majestically over the crossbar.

As it turns out, I am not a Major League Soccer employee. MLS doesn’t pay me for my opinions or for anything at all. The new crest does not affect my life at all.

The new badge, as ridiculous as it is, won’t keep me from purchasing a Metrostars-colored New York Red Bulls shirt (it’s time to make this happen, RBNY). It won’t prevent me from buying any MLS merchandise. I am going to watch as much MLS programming tomorrow as I would have on Thursday morning before my eyes were nearly blinded by the new logo.

American soccer supporters complain more often and better than any other sports fan base on earth. We complain that games aren’t televised. We complain that games are televised at bad times. We complain about the new MLS television deal that will almost certainly relegate matches to the lost-in-the-wilderness FOX Sports 2 channel. We argue about promotion/relegation, soccer’s importance in society, and about the always-energetic Gus Johnson calling matches because he isn’t soccer-y enough for us.

It’s a logo, everybody. Relax.

Major League Soccer isn’t perfect. Far from it. Below is a brief list of items that should truly upset MLS fans:

1. An expansion franchise with an already questionable background will be playing in a baseball park (Yankee Stadium) for the foreseeable future because it literally cannot buy a home at the moment.

2. The New England Revolution and DC United play home games in American Football stadiums. In 2014.

3. Chivas USA being such a dumpster fire that the club could go on hiatus for at least a year following this season.

4. MLS having such a terrible TV deal that the league is consistently forced to compete against the NFL for television viewers.

5. Designated players such as Rafa Marquez and Jermain Defoe essentially stealing millions of dollars from MLS before heading back to their home countries.

Those are just a start.

Of course MLS could have done better in launching the rebrand. Fans could have been polled on the matter a la how NYCFC selected the club’s badge. That didn’t happen, though, and thus we’re all stuck with the logo as is for now.

MLS games will go on. Fans will soon stop noticing the logo change, and everything will be OK. That said, MLS would be wise in consulting the Internet for the next rebrand.

There are some real gems to be found.

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