Maine’s first pro soccer team might have the best name and logo combo in the country

Maine is set to get its first professional soccer team with Portland announcing the brand and colors for their new USL League One team (the third tier on the U.S. Soccer pyramid).

The new team have one of the most creative names we’ve seen among clubs in the U.S. and has absolutely blown us away. THIS is how you name a professional soccer team.

Ladies and gentlemen, give a warm welcome to the Portland Hearts of Pine.

New Maine soccer team

Maine's first professional soccer club will be known as .

➡️ https://t.co/ChHDjgy47W pic.twitter.com/LpDquf1x13

— USL League One (@USLLeagueOne) April 27, 2024

Hey bub, we have an announcement... ❤️ pic.twitter.com/pde3w5OWGn

— Portland Hearts of Pine (@hearts_sc) April 27, 2024

We are Here on Purpose.

Come as you are… to our soccer city.

One club. One community. One heart.

The Way Soccer Should Be. pic.twitter.com/ZIMgATWYyq

— Portland Hearts of Pine (@hearts_sc) September 8, 2023

The name and badge come from years of collaboration with local supporters, town halls, local businesses and other members of the Maine community.

In a statement released by USL, club founder Gabe Hoffman-Johnson said creating the identity of the club came down to the people of the state.

"Everything we do is community-built and we knew our biggest challenge was to represent the diverse communities and perspectives across Maine," Hoffman-Johnson said in the statement. 

"Across all corners of the state, what we heard from every community was just how proud they are to be a Mainer, and especially how much love they have for our state's natural beauty. That's what links us all, it's our heritage, and those are the symbols we leaned into to represent this club."

We at The18 have become so sick of new Major League Soccer teams just tacking on an “FC” or “SC” to the end of the city name. The past years of expansion teams in MLS have lacked any identity and seemed more like European knockoffs.

Here’s a list of MLS expansion team names from the past five years.

• San Diego FC
• St. Louis City SC
• Charlotte FC
• Austin FC
• Inter Miami CF
• Nashville SC
• FC Cincinnati

BORING!

Maine’s team name being Hearts of Pine is fitting because the name has something that none of these bigger teams have: HEART. 

We tip our hats to the creative folks of Maine who will have their first professional soccer team begin playing in 2025.

Lead with your Heart!