Thursday, January 16, 2014

Charleston Battery

The USL side continue to be a consistent example of a small club that captivates a community. Orlando jumped to the MLS in 2015, taking out one of the biggest competition in the league. This was a golden era for the small USL sides. Charleston and Harrisburg alternated championships from 2015 to 2018. The Battery were led by a young group of guys from South Carolina to championships, players passed over by MLS sides in the draft with a chip on their shoulder. The Carolina Cup captivated the fans, trying to beat the 3 teams from North Carolina in a yearly tournament, giving the fans state pride. The number of Battery fans in the stands doubled, putting Blackbaud Stadium at capacity. They expanded to 10,000 seats, and soccer games became a great summer activity. The group stayed together until 2019, before NASL and MLS sides picked them up. Charleston was joined in the USL by many teams at once. In expansion drafts, the core of Charleston's team was decimated, and they had to start over. The owners built a soccer complex nearby the stadium for the Battery youth team. The team rebranded symbolizing a new Battery, keeping the yellow and black stripes. With teams like Dayton and Connecticut running away from the USL sides, Charleston hasn't won a trophy since 2017. The team is starting to be built for promotion, but that may be a few years away. I wanted to update the cannons in the logo. I simplified the logo and only put Charleston at the top. I wanted thinner stripes like Hull, and that was the only thing I wanted to do with the jerseys.

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