Given that many of the regional breweries continue to grow by leaps and bounds, it’s only a matter of time before they start considering some of the same types of sponsorships that in the past were usually reserved for the really big beer companies. But they certainly couldn’t afford baseball, football or even basketball prices. But what about soccer (football)? Backheel, a website and podcast devoted to American Soccer, wondered what MLS jerseys might look like if they were sponsored by local breweries. More than wondered really, as author Trevor Hayward worked with graphic designer Edward Gaug and Dan Wiersema, of the Free Beer Movement, and they created a mythical league where all the teams are sponsored by breweries, proudly displaying their logos on the jerseys. The entire project can be seen at Major League Soccer x Craft Beer Jerseys. Below are few of my favorites, but check out all of them either on Backheel or in a slideshow at Imgur.
The San Jose Earthquakes, sponsored by Lagunitas.
The Seattle Sounders FC, sponsored by Elysian.
The LA Galaxy, sponsored by the Bruery.
The Portland Timbers, sponsored by Hair of the Dog.
But that’s not quite the end of the story. SB Nation’s Center Line Soccer (part of a group of 307 sports blogs) took it one step father, wondering if Petaluma-based Lagunitas was the best choice for the Quakes, who after all are in San Jose, quite some distance from Sonoma County. While they’re both in the Bay Area, it’s roughly a one-and-a-half to two hour drive between the two, depending on the always unpredictable traffic. So they imagined a few other choices for the Earthquakes. Again, here’s a few of my faves, and you can see all of them at What craft brewery would you like to see on the San Jose Earthquakes jersey?
The San Jose Earthquakes, sponsored by Russian River Brewing.
The San Jose Earthquakes, sponsored by 21st Amendment Restaurant & Brewery.
The San Jose Earthquakes, sponsored by Drake’s Brewing.
The San Jose Earthquakes, sponsored by Bear Republic Brewing.
rita kohn says
hi–please note that Indy Eleven, Indianapolis 1-year-old pro soccer team has Indiana craft beer sponsorships with Indiana’s Flat 12 and People’s breweries
so your ‘fantasies’ are on target– email me at rkohn@nuvo.net if you want specifics. cheers! Rita Kohn