Soccer pundit Ian Plenderleith, in a column for the U.S. National Soccer Team Player’s Association Web site, takes a closer look at the new deal between Colorado and English Premier League giant Arsenal, and concludes that there’s not all that much to it, really. For starters, Colorado owner Stan Kroenke takes no equity interest in Arsenal as a result of this deal.
Plenderleith says the management exchange is interesting because it gives Colorado youngsters exposure to Arsenal coaches. The marketing deal is more gimmick than substance, however. He says the most likely result will be a few friendlies; it should be noted that Manchester United’s has a cross-marketing partnership with the New York Yankees that never amounted to much.
At least the Rapids won’t be renamed “Colorado Arsenal” or any such thing, as was initially feared, Plenderleith says, but you can’t just go out and steal the name from a team with such a storied tradition and expect that to do much (like say, Real Salt Lake). He concedes that it’s hard to establish a tradition where there is none; after all, way of the world’s great clubs owe their continued success to exactly that. Either way, taking the name of a European power smacks of desperation, so it’s better that the Rapids didn’t do that. Instead, the team exchanged its Inter Milan colors for those of West Ham and Aston Villa, adding a “smart” new logo.