Last week, my proposal for rebranding the US Virgin Islands national soccer team won the “Best of Category (Identity)” award at CSCA’s 2011 Creative Best. The competition was judged by three respected creative directors from across the United States, so naturally I was both surprised and honored.

The win gave the initiative some momentum. I’ve been contacted by two USVI players in support of the project and I finally sent a hard copy of the proposal to USVI fed president Hillaren Frederick (discovery: it is staggeringly expensive to FedEx a book to St. Croix from Ohio).

In other news, I believe I now have a reliable email address for the USVI Soccer Federation. Please send your support for the proposal to this address: usvisoccer@gmail.com

Thank you!

This year, the United States Virgin Islands men’s national soccer team achieved a momentous goal: advancement to the group stage of FIFA World Cup qualifying. Now is the perfect time (according to me) to invest in a new branding strategy for the team. See the complete proposal (PDF).

Nevermind that The Dashing Eagle (as the team is nicknamed) is getting routinely decimated in qualifying (they have a -30 goal differential in four games)—a sports identity hardly requires on-field success to be effective (see: New York Cosmos). This proposed USVI Soccer positioning is fueled by two sister industries: fashion and tourism. Specifically, the aim is to channel Islander culture into a sexy, contemporary sports-fashion brand that will attract tourism dollars (many millions annually in the USVI) that would otherwise be blown on palm tree tank tops and souvenir shot glasses.

The beauty is that it’s all for a real-life, up-and-coming soccer organization. The apparel revenue will feed player development, improve infrastructure, and increase local awareness, starting a cycle of growth for the USVI Federation.

Sound good? Email USVI Soccer President Hillaren Frederick a link to this page and let him know.

• Liverpool make up for the super lame game last week with a 3-1 hammering of Manchester United at Anfield. Kuyt had a hat trick in one of the best games of his club career
• West Ham has jumped out of the relegation zone after a 3-0 win against Stoke
• Everton has continued playing well with a 1-2 win against Newcastle
• Manchester City struggled with a 1-0 win against bottom of the table wigan
• Fulham won a 5 goal see-saw match with Blackburn 3-2. Jones got a yellow card…. as expected
• Bolton needed an 86th minute goal to beat Aston Villa 3-2. Holden received a yellow car
• West Brom beat Birmingham 1-3 to stay out of relegation and leave Birmingham in the bottom
• Sunderland tied Arsenal 0-0 in a game that would have put Arsenal in a neck and neck race with Man U at the top
• Tottenham continues to leave points on the table…err field, after a 3-3 tie with Wolves
• Chelsea easily won 1-3 over Blackpool to hold onto the 4th spot on the table
• Everton and Birmingham played to a 1-1 draw in midweek play

• Tottenham got hammered in midweek play by a gunning Blackpool 3-1. When does Bale get back?
• Blackpool then got hammered over the weekend by Wolves 4-0
• Arsenal had a midweek game before their Carling Cup Final over the weekend and handled business with a 1-0 win against stoke
• League leaders Manchester United breezed by Wigan 4-0 to retain a 4 point lead at the top
• Newcastle and Bolton played to a 1-1 tie as Bolton loaner Sturridge continues to impress
• Two goal Beckford led Everton to a 2-0 win against Sunderland
• Aston Villa worked Blackburn to a 4-1 beating. Jones got another card for Blackburn
• Fulham held Manchester City to 1-1 draw as Man City fall further United in the title race
• Bottom of the table West Ham beat Liverpool 3-1. Liverpool is so unpredictably bad

• Rooney scored what he called the best goal of his career, a strong bicycle kick in the 78th minute to beat Manchester City and take a solid 4 point lead at the top of the table
• West Ham and West Brom played to a 3-3 draw in a fight at the bottom of the table
• Tottenham grabbed 3 points to jump to 4th with a 1-2 win against Sunderland
• Liverpools good form hit a speed bump with a 1-1 draw against Wigan
• Aston Villa and Blackpool played to a 1-1 draw
• Newcastle and Blackburn played in a boooring 0-0 draw
• Birmingham scored in the 93rd minute in a smash and grab of 3 points in a 1-0 win versus Stroke
• Arsenal had an easy 2-0 win when they hosted Wolves
• Everton’s average season gets less….good, after a 2-0 lost to Bolton
• Chelsea and Fulham both blew great chances (Dempsey missed a PK) to end in a 0-0 draw

• Newcastle and Birmingham played an extra game on Tuesday with Newcastle grabbing a 2-0 win

• League leaders Manchester United were stunned by Wolves 2-1 on Saturday. Manchester came out quick with a goal in the 3rd minute but couldn’t find a goal after that while Wolves put the game away
• Wigan and Blackburn played a 7 goal thriller with Wigan coming out on top 4-3
• Tottenham needed a 92nd minute goal to grab 3 points from Bolton. Tottenham is now tied with Chelsea at 44 points in a fight for 4th place
• Stoke used an 83rd and 93rd minute goals to steal the win from Sunderland 3-2
• Manchester City was the one team in the top 4 that won this week. An easy 3-0 win against West Brom with Tevez getting the hat trick
• Everton and Blackpool scored a combined 8 goals in a 5-3 win for Everton. Saha had 4 goals on the day
• Dempsey scored his 10th goal of the season (most ever) to help Fulham pull level and eventually tie Villa 2-2
• Arsenal and Newcastle played in a record setting game. Arsenal went up 4-0 in the first 30 minutes. After a red card to Diaby for being in idiot, Newcastle scored 4 goals in the last 30 minutes to achieve the largest comeback in Premier League history
• Chelsea and Liverpool played in a highly anticipated game after star striker Torres made the jump from Liverpool to Chelsea. Torres only played 65 minutes and had to watch Liverpool score from the bench as the Reds beat the Blues 1-0 at the Bridge

• Chelsea continues it’s new (old?) form with a 2-4 win over Sunderland
• Manchester United continues their reign at the top with a 3-1 win against Aston Villa. Rooney is starting to find his form again with 2 goals including one in the first minute
• Arsenal went down early but scored twice in 5 minutes to beat Everton 2-1. Arsenal now has a 3 point lead for 2nd place and is 5 point behind Man U
• Fulham grabbed 3 points with a 1-0 win over Newcastle
• West Brom and Wigan played to a 2-2 draw
• Liverpool new boy Suarez scored on his debut as they beat Stroke 2-0
• Bolton’s new transfer Sturridge scored in the 92nd minute to grab 3 points, 1-0 against Wolves
• West Ham continue their hard march out of relegation with another win, 1-3, against Blackpool. West Ham is now 18th and just one point from escaping the fall
• A quick goal in the 3rd minute by Peter Crouch gave Tottenham a needed 3 points versus Blackburn
• Manchester City tied Birmingham 2-2 to continue to lose ground on the table and allow Chelsea within 2 points

Michael Bradley

@GrantWahl said it well, ” Michael Bradley’s progression up the ladder is impressive. MLS at 16, Eredivisie at 18, Bundesliga at 21, Premier League at 23. #avfc #usmnt”

Jozy Altidore has signed a six month loan deal with Turkish club Bursaspor. Altidore was getting limited playing time at Villarreal this season and needed a move to give his career a jump start.

Freddy Adu is now going to Turkey as he has joined Rizespor of the Turkish 2nd division. This is a good move if Adu plays. hardy har har

Reading signs American youngster Erik Opsahl. The 18 year old has trained with DC United, Bordeaux and Chelsea USA.

Still Rumors:

Eddie Johnson is going out on loan to Championship side Preston North End until the end of the season. Currently at Fulham, Johnson is not seeing much playing time and needs to see regular action to stay on coach Bradley’s radar.

Charlie Davies is in talks for a last minute loan deal.

picture source: http://www.avfc.co.uk/

• Liverpool’s first game this week was a 3-0 smashing of Wolves
• Tottenham needed a 91st minute goal by Lennon to tie Newcastle and try to stay in the race of a Champions League slot
• Manchester United slammed Birmingham 5-0 as Berbatov got another hat trick this season
• Dempsey scored twice to help Fulham beat Stoke 2-0
• Everton needed a 91st minute goal to tie bottom of the table West Ham
• Aston Villa picked up English striker Darren Bent (a great addition). He showed his worth instantly as a goal in the 18th minute lifted Villa past Manchester City
• Van Persie’s hat trick helped Arsenal beat Wigan 3-0
• Chelsea got back to form as they beat Bolton 4-0

Make up games:

• Manchester United and Blackpool made up a games that was lost to weather earlier in the season. Backpool jumped to a 2-0 lead but then gave up 3 goals in 16 minutes as Manchester United won 2-3
• Liverpool and Fulham played a booooooring game as an own goal led to a 1-0 Liverpool victory