Major League Soccer/Tiffany
Major League Soccer unveiled its new MLS Cup trophy at a ceremony in New York City on Wednesday morning. The Tiffany-designed trophy has been named in honor of Los Angeles Galaxy owner Phil Anschutz and will be presented to the winner of MLS Cup on Nov. 23.
Here’s a more detailed description of the trophy provided by MLS:
The Philip F. Anschutz championship trophy is 24″ tall with an additional seamless base of 4 5/8″. The trophy features fluid and dynamic handles that include 11 facets on the front and back, symbolizing the 22 players that participate in a soccer match. The gold star represents the championship club, which often incorporates a star into its team crest for each MLS Cup title it wins. The new trophy inherits select design elements from the previous two trophies, thereby honoring the League’s history while moving forward. The bottom of the Philip F. Anschutz trophy features a map of North America, with a star identifying the location of each MLS market.
What do you think of the new design? Love it it? Like it? Hate it? Share your thoughts below.
Old:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HoustonDynamoMLSCups.JPG
Older:
http://web.mlsnet.com/t103/imgs/rothenberg.gif
I like the new physical trophy, it’s a big upgrade. But the renaming is a travesty. Alan Rothenberg is the reason MLS exists today. Uncle Phil on the other hand has been an underhanded money grubber who has bent the rules to serve his superclub, moved San Jose’s team for no reason, and basically turned MLS into his own toy. MLS has survived despite him, not because of him.
Wow. That’s almost as hideous as the level of play in the MLS.
Someday they will name a trophy after me. Kind of like Dr. Hook getting on the cover of Rolling Stone.
***pffffffpt***
How do you put out a new trophy without decorating it with golden balls
For all those looking for comparisons of the cups, have a look at DC’s trophy case:
http://web.mlsnet.com/t103/load.jsp?section=about&content=trophy
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have always hated the mls cup trophy… it looks like something you’d receive at an MTV awards show. This looks much better and dignified.
I’m pretty sure that Lamar Hunt already has a tournament and trophy named after him… Regardless of which team his company owns now, Phil Anschutz has kept MLS afoot even through bad years. Cheers to him and the new MLS Cup trophy.
So, are they going to add a star to the map next year for Seattle and then a year later for Philly? Or or they already on there?
it shoulda been the lamarr hunt cup, not named for some0one who ripped a franchise away from a great market like san jose and owns the worst soccer team in history, the LA fallacy
Here is a link to the old one…I would say the new one is definitely better but hopefully this one is in place for more than 5 years…
http://web.mlsnet.com/mls/events/mls_cup/2007/
FINALLY A CUP!!! but the handles are weird!! Maybe it will take time for me to adjust but its better than the previous one!!!!
Terrible. How many other sports/leagues (NFL, NBA, EPL, UEFA, FIFA, etc) have a two toned (colored) trophy?
Well, it’s a cup, so that’s cool. It is a little strange that they keep redesigning it, but then again, even the World Cup trophy has been redesigned several times, and it’s not even a cup, so maybe MLS is on the right track.
It’s about time! The cup finally matches it’s name.
Philip F. Anschutz Trophy!? WTF!?
First Maradonna, now this. Suddenly Halloween doesn’t seem so scary anymore.
On that note, does anyone else find it ironic that it’s namesake is the most likely NEVER to hold this trophy?
Why does MLS feel compelled to change the trophy every 5 years or less? What’s the point in that? Not much tradition in it if it keeps changing…
What, ANOTHER design? Third in 13 years?? Way to promote some tradition, guys.
Anybody contact Alan Rothenberg for a comment on the record?
typical MLS blather: a star representing each MLS *market*
not city, not town, but market. That’s all the league ever thinks about. they might as well be selling widgets.
I like it on its own, but I don’t like that they’ve changed it *again*. That and naming it after Anschutz.
The photo here doesn’t show it, but the cup is a good size. Definitely an improvement.
That thing isn’t even fit for a recycling bin.
Needs more cowbell.
Wow – this trophy is really nice. How did Garber and the suits miss their chance to screw this one up?
Does it come in a giant baby blue box?
sweet. finally MLS’s trophy doesn’t like like the NFL/NBA trophy.
It’s an improvement, but it’s too busy. IMHO, trophies should only have 1 hue of medal, and I don’t like the odd rainbow handles.
Eric K is right, without vision and support of guys like Phil Anschutz and Lamar Hunt we wouldn’t have MLS in 2008.
Remember the First MLS Trophy, that bronze soccer ball with handles
I’m curious why the change…original mls cup then alan i rothenburg NFL-oblisque..now this (which you’re right..a bit like UEFA stylings).
Seems unnecessary to change it every few years – or is that normal?
Well, Rich Uncle Phil did foot the bill for half the league in its formative years. He had, and has, the deep pockets to be patient and let all this grow. I can’t think of anyone else who’s been a bigger contributor to MLS so far.
Aside from the fact that it looks MUCH better than the previous two versions of the MLS Cup, I love the fact that it honors Phil Anscutz over Alan Rothenburg.
No disrespect to Rothenburg, who did a lot for American soccer, but St. Phil did more and deserves to have the trophy for being MLS Champion named in his honor.
(And with the way LA has been lately, if he sells off Houston it’ll be the closest he gets to MLS Cup! Buh-dum-bump. Thank you, I’ll be here all week. Please remember to tip your waitresses and bartenders.)
I didn’t realize there have been two previous cups. Can someone post some pics so we can do a side by side comparison?
-Tom
PS: Of course nothing can touch the Stanley Cup…the greatest trophy in all of sports.
That’s going to look great in the Crew’s Front Office.
No mention that they changed the name from the Rothenberg trophy?
They named it the “Philip Anschutz trophy” becasue they planned on giving it to him and the LA galxy this year. Because the galaxy did not make the playoffs, MLS is trying to fudge some rules so that LA can still win the title. They will be presenting a “double or nothing” game Nov 24th pittting the play-off winner against an LA Galaxy consisting of the World’s best XI.
Adam-
I agree. Those handles look like they were an after thought. Minus the handles, I think it looks pretty sweet.
-Mike
haha nice played ed
that’s a sexy trophy/cup. a side by side comparison would be nice. had to look up the old one to remember what it looked like.
name of it is absolute shite. how do you pronounce it ?
Its an actual cup!
I dont know what it is, but the handles are PISSING ME OFF!!!!
Now that we have a new trophy … MLS needs to change the stupid Logo…Its a very cheap logo and they need to update the Logo ….
I would have been bright of MLS not only to unveil the Trophy – maybe reveal a New Logo at the same time … it would have been bright of them to do it at the same time .. but this is MLS … One Step at a time
The trophy is definitely beautiful, I don’t think anyone can argue against that. The star at the top also looks pretty cool. I think it would be good marketing for the league that any time there is talk about the MLS Cup or the playoffs, that this trophy is shown.
But I would like to know why they named it after Anschutz though.
Ives, do you know if its going to be “Stanley Cup” like and they write the champs on each year and its only 1 that continuously changes hands?
Then I said,
“What about the trophy from Tiffany’s?”
She said, “I think, it’s a decent idea,
And as I recall, I think, we both kinda liked it,”
And I said, “well it doesn’t completely suck.”
Love it.
Nice and Classy! Beautiful indeed
“maybe Beckham can offer up some money to help pay for it”
Given the team in LA, that’s about the only way he’d be involved with this cup.
It’s a gorgeous trophy, but why’d they name it the Philip Anschutz trophy?
I mean, unless he’s the one who footed the bill, which is quite possible.
it’s actually a cup now, so that’s a plus
it’s extremely well designed. Of course coming from Tiffany’s it probably cost someone a DP slot; maybe Beckham can offer up some money to help pay for it.
it’s a nice cup. i like it. maybe they could change the name though.