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Month: July 2020

Our Common Cause

By July 27, 2020 0

It was October 2019. Lansing Ignite, building on the success of Lansing United’s 4 years in NPSL and USL-PDL, was coming off of a successful debut season on and off the field in USL League One. Supporters were talking about ideas to build the club following for the next season. And then it was gone. Lansing Ignite folded after only one season of existence. The passionate, devoted fans of Ignite were left with nothing after pouring their hearts and souls into this team. Meanwhile, the fans of Lansing United, who had been there since 2014, were left to wonder why their team and its history had been so easily discarded to create a team with an owner who did not particularly care about soccer.

A couple weeks later, a group of Lansing soccer fans gathered at Ozone’s Brewhouse and vowed to bring soccer back to town. This time, however, they would do it their way. This time, it would be community-owned and operated. This time, no one person would dictate the club’s future. Lansing Common Football Club brings that dream to life. 

Over the following months, a board was established, and a lot of hard work went in to big picture things like figuring out who we want to be as an organization and determining our brand and identity. The next steps were to establish ourselves as a 501(c)3 non-profit and applying for league membership.

After putting in that hard work, we are ready to announce our team to the world. We are eager to keep building something special in Lansing. We are already working hard to make sure we’re ready to put a team on the field in May of 2021, and we can’t wait for you to join us. 

What is LCFC?

Lansing Common FC is a community team. It’s in our name. It’s the core of our identity. Our club is run by a volunteer board that is elected by the members of the club. Anyone can be a member. You can be a member. If our club isn’t meeting the expectations of its members, their voices will be heard. 

From the beginning, it was important to us that those involved with this club (the members) have a role in building it and in the important decisions along the way. That means that members get to vote on popular things like scarf design and jerseys. It also means that they can vote on important business decisions. Things like changing the team’s name, moving the team to a different league, or anything else significant, the membership would get to vote on that too. Membership also votes on the composition of the board every year and is encouraged to run and serve on the board if they are willing. 

We want Lansing to have a soccer team the community can be proud of, but we also want to be part of something bigger. Yes, we want to put a good team on the field and win trophies, but it’s just as important that we be an active part of the community off the field. Wherever we can help support this community, we want to do that. We’ve tried to do that during each step of our journey and we look forward to building on that going forward. We will always welcome your ideas about how we can positively influence the Lansing community.

Our Goals and Your Role

Short Term Goals

  • Identify how we can have the greatest impact in the community – We have some ideas about how we can contribute, but we also want to work with our community to identify what needs we may be well-placed to meet. That’s going to take work on our part to build and strengthen relationships across the Lansing community, and we’d love your help with that. If you have ideas or connections to Lansing-area organizations you think we should partner with, anything like that, please let us know
  • Partner with Lansing Schools – We hope to host home games at Lansing Eastern High School’s stadium. We don’t want to be a team that only uses it for a few hours on game days and then goes home. We want to be active partners and collaborators. We are in conversation with the Lansing School District and look forward to continuing to build a relationship with them.
  • Prepare for the 2021 Season – We’re getting ready to kick things off in the spring of 2021. 

How You Can Help

While the board is working hard, this is a community-owned team. That means we are counting on you, on members of this community, to be involved in making it the best that it can be. 

If your friends, family, and neighbors don’t know about us, we need you.

If you have connections to a business we can partner with, we need you.

If you have connections in the media, we need you.

If you have connections or knowledge about local charities and organizations we can partner with, we need you.

If you have connections with Lansing-area schools, we need you.

If you have time, money, skills, knowledge, or other resources to contribute, we need you.

Categories: Uncategorized

WHO WE ARE

By July 27, 2020 0

“Sports logos are avatars of self-identification” – Graphic Designer Matt Wolff

When the task of developing the brand for our new Lansing soccer club was presented to me, I set out to answer a single question:

“Who are we?”

I knew Lansing was the state capital of Michigan. I knew which buildings made up the skyline. I knew the rivers that flowed through town. I knew the handful of teams that had previously represented the city on the pitch. All of this is great surface information, but none of it gets to the heart of what I believe a club should be.

What do we want this club to mean to Lansing? In what ways will this team serve the greater Lansing community?

An important step to finding the answers was setting up branding workshops, held throughout the Lansing community. We invited the public to show up and give their thoughts and share their experiences. Our first goal was to establish our values and characteristics. This would guide how we communicate about ourselves, and mold the more visually tangible elements of our brand.

Through these conversations it became clear that community is the bedrock of what we are trying to accomplish. People don’t just want a soccer team, they want a place where they can express themselves. They want a place where their voice matters. They want a place where they belong.

The next thing to figure out was how to communicate that sense of belonging to those not yet a part of our community. We need to be approachable by not taking ourselves too seriously. It is important that we don’t get too hung up on the soccer side of things. As a reaction to what has previously existed, it became clear that we needed to avoid being overly complicated in our messaging. We needed, and will need to continue to be, relatable.

And without further ado…here is how the final brand reflects our goals and values:

Lansing Common FC

The word “Common” has several definitions. One definition is “belonging equally to, or shared alike by, two or more or all.” Another is “pertaining or belonging equally to an entire community.” Finally, common can be defined simply as “ordinary”. In fact, common is a root of the word community, the greatest of our values.

There is no more perfect name for who we are and what we are trying to build. We are ordinary people coming together to build a community-based club that doesn’t belong to any single individual. Our name reflects our dedication to our mission.

The Robin

The conversation about imagery was predictably the most engaging. People see themselves in their sports teams, and I’ve found that people had very personal reasons for rationalizing their preferences throughout our process. Finding common ground, while focusing on the club as a whole, was the challenge. 

After much discussion, and some suggestions that just didn’t feel quite right, we returned to our story and our values. As a club formed to change the way that soccer is approached in this area, could there be a message to send? We soon found a solution: the robin. 

The robin, being the state bird, could simply reflect that we are the capital city of Michigan. For most people, that connection would probably be enough. There is, however, a deeper meaning to consider. The first sight of a robin is a sign that winter is coming to an end and that spring is approaching. A robin is a new beginning.

A robin is a new start. 

The Stacks

The stacks were a source of debate for many of the people we talked to. Some people think they reflect Lansing’s hardworking people. Some people think they are polluters and give off a dirty feeling. It did not feel like there was going to be a consensus on arguably the most iconic aspect of the Lansing skyline.

Then AJ Badge spoke up and said, “The stacks are all of those things, but to me they mean ‘home’. When I’m driving back to town and I see the stacks, I know I’m close to home.”

Home is the reason why we included the stacks on the crest. Lansing is the home of our club, but it is more than that. We want the club to be a safe and comfortable place for our community. We want this club to be a home for the people of Lansing and beyond.

The Colors

Getting everyone to all agree on a color scheme was going to be nearly impossible, so we had to take a more scientific approach to determining our colors. I compiled every color on the spectrum and did a thorough review of what values they can represent. I then presented these values, without disclosing the colors themselves, to everyone who attended our meetings. This was done so that people would judge the colors solely on their values and their connection to our project. Only after two different color schemes emerged did I reveal the actual colors to the group. In the end, one color scheme rose to the top.

Lansing Common FC are Brown, Red-Orange, and Turquoise. 

To my knowledge, we are the only team to wear this color scheme anywhere, let alone in the United States. The brown is a dark, cooling color, yet is warm and inviting. Brown represents community, history, and dependability, which were strong values for our group. The red-orange is intense and eye-catching. It represents the passion of Lansing’s soccer community, the energy of the players, and the joy we get from playing and supporting soccer. The turquoise ties the look together in a refreshing way. It reminds us of a robin’s egg, but it also represents the building of friendships and good fortune.

We are a passionate community built on friendship and belonging. 

We are the robin bringing a fresh start.

We are ordinary people trying to do something extraordinary.

We are Lansing Common FC. 

Categories: Uncategorized

Lansing Common FC to Begin Play in 2021

By July 27, 2020 0

Lansing, MI – Lansing has a new men’s soccer club that will begin play in the spring of 2021. Lansing Common FC, the club that was formed by a group of fans and community members organized following the folding of Lansing Ignite, will compete as a member of the Midwest Premier League (MWPL). 

When Lansing Ignite folded in the fall of 2019, a group of Lansing soccer fans came together to keep elite men’s soccer in Lansing alive. The group spent several months earlier this year hosting meetings across the Lansing area to gather input from the community about which characteristics they identify with in order to build a club they can connect with. What they heard in those meetings led them to the name Lansing Common Football Club.

“Lansing Common FC is the perfect name for who we are and what we are trying to build. We are ordinary people coming together to build a community-based club that doesn’t belong to one individual. Our name reflects our dedication to our mission,” said Geoff Sykes, the board’s vice president.

Lansing Common FC operates as a 501(c)3 non-profit and is led by a volunteer board of directors. Anyone can become a member. Each member gets a vote on major club decisions and is eligible to be elected to the board. 

“It was important to us, from day one, to be community-based, to ensure accountability to our supporters. We obviously want to put a good soccer team on the field, but more than that, we want to make a difference in our community,” said board member Jay Biggs.

The Midwest Premier League is a regional league with teams in Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan that is run by its member teams. Its season lasts from mid-May through early August.

“The emphasis on community-based clubs and sustainable operations that we see across the Midwest Premier League made it obvious to us that this would be a good fit for what we’re trying to build, both on and off the field,” said board member Steve Beckman.

“We are proud to focus on the growth of sustainable, local soccer, where we can connect with like-minded clubs to better share the sport which we all love. As a new entry to the MWPL, the crew from Lansing exhibit the same core values the league holds dear, specifically sustainability, focus on community, and building a lasting supporter experience for all ages. In talking with them, it is clear that Lansing embodies these values, and will be a terrific fit in the East Division when league play officially launches in 2021. I look forward to working with Lansing Common in the MWPL,” said Andy Hayes, Commissioner of the MWPL.

The club is working to confirm Lansing Eastern High School’s new stadium as its home field.

Categories: Uncategorized
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