Whatever Happened to the "Secondary Palette"?

Everybody remembers that when the club's branding was first unveiled back in 2014, the colors were announced as "Sky Blue", "Obsidian Blue", and "Flag Orange". Primary, secondary, and tertiary. But does anybody remember that there was originally supposed to be three more colors?

In addition to those three colors of the Primary Palette, supporting documents revealed a Secondary Palette of "NY Gold" (a metallic Old Gold), "NY Orange" (an Athletic Gold just a little darker than that used by the Green Bay Packers), and a royal blue they called "NY Blue".

I'm not sure it's a great idea to label that Athletic Gold as "orange", but it's always tricky when you also have a metallic gold in the color scheme. "Gold" is the official name for that color in heraldry, vexillology and sports design, but the general public keeps thinking the color needs some metallic sheen to qualify.

There's more logic to the choice of the latter two colors, which are remarkably similar to the official colors of New York State. The City has blue and orange, the state blue and gold.

This page from the New York State Branding Overview and Guidelines and Architecture show the blue and gold in context:

But regardless of what you want to call those three secondary colors, or why they were chosen, I'm more interested in why the club changed its mind. So far as I know, they were never used.

The gold almost found its way into the club's branding; it was used as an outline in one of the two badges put up for a fan vote:

On the club's promotional materials, they listed it as the "color of success, elegance and triumph".

My understanding at the time was that the Secondary Palette was never intended to be used on kits or merchandise, featured instead in web design and similar graphic applications. But unless I missed something, that was never the case.

We may never know why the club changed course. It's another interesting chapter in our growing story, a reminder of the false starts and course changes made when you build a club from scratch.

NYCFC House Calendar

We now have more clarity on the events at NYCFC House.

RSVP here.

Seriously, that's the best they can do?

Wait, that's it?

We hand them a golden opportunity, and this is the best they can make of it.

It's not terribly clever, has no real sense of humor, and it's not even particularly well-done. No wonder their fans thought the club was paying for our tifo, if straight lines are beyond their capabilities.

Kate Reilly had the best response:

Weak sauce. No map? No Whalers reference? Gilmore Girls? nothing? pic.twitter.com/yLSbXrHWmH

— Kate Reilly (@kateofthings) August 25, 2017

Weak, indeed. Their tifo game has always been so.

Highlights: Red Bull 1, NYC 1

Our Blues traveled to New Jersey, where they took a point at Red Bull Arena. Almost had the win, but they outplayed us and we ought to be happy with the point.

NYCFC House Unveiled

Well, now we know.

NYCFC House is "the Club’s first-ever pop-up shop and soccer experience space". For three weeks, club members can journey to Manhattan's Meatpacking District to buy stuff and participate in events.

Here's what the club says we have in store at the House:

POP UP SHOP

Support your city. NYCFC House brings you a selection of retail merchandise and exclusive, limited-time offerings so you can represent your team.

UNDERGROUND PITCH

Try out some of the latest technology, then visit the Secret Pitch, where your little ones can test their prowess, finesse and discipline in the Beautiful Game. The player with the best score each day will win a prize!

EVENTS SPACE

Chalk Talks

More than a retail space, visitors to #NYCFCHouse will have a chance to hear from those who’ve shaped the world’s biggest sport during a series of daytime seminar series, “Chalk Talks”, as well as meet players, legends and celebrity fans.

Featured Speakers

Claudio Reyna Sporting Director, NYCFC An accomplished player on the club and international stage, Claudio Reyna currently serves as New York City Football Club's Sporting Director. After a 12-year professional career which saw him become the first American to earn a spot on the 2002 FIFA All World Cup team, Reyna was appointed as the Youth Technical Director of US Soccer Federation and later inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame.		Jon Patricof Club President, NYCFC Jon Patricof has brought innovative solutions to diverse business sectors throughout his career. While serving as President and COO of Tribeca Enterprises, parent company of the Tribeca Film Festival, he helped expand the company from film into digital storytelling and sports, including Tribeca's partnership with ESPN, the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.
Patrick Vieira Head Coach, NYCFC After an illustrious career that included five FA Cups, nine league titles, the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and a UEFA European Championship, Patrick Vieira moved into the coaching realm. Before taking the reins at New York City Football Club, Vieira led Manchester City's Elite Development Squad to a record of 47 wins, 28 losses, and eight draws. He oversaw NYCFC's first playoff berth in 2016.		Libby Geist VP & Executive Producer, ESPN Films & 30 for 30 Geist, a two-time Peabody Award winner, has spent her entire career in documentary film, from production to development and now as an executive producer, and continues to push ESPN Films to new heights as a leader in long-form storytelling.
Rafael Viñoly Architect Ranked among the world’s greatest architects, Rafael Viñoly is known internationally for his multidisciplinary work that merges architecture and engineering in unique solutions free of stylistic constraints.		Howard Webb & Peter Walton Pro Referees Peter Walton is an English former professional football referee who officiated in the Premier League from 2003 to 2012. He is now general manager of the Professional Referee Organization in North America. Howard Webb was a Premier League referee between 2003 and 2014, becoming one of the world's top officials.

TICKETING STATION

Immerse yourself in the virtual venue and hear about all our different offerings straight from NYCFC front office staff.

LOCATION

#NYCFCHouse will be located in the Meatpacking District (446 West 14th St.) from August 31 to September 21. General opening hours are 10 AM to 6 PM.

Looks interesting. I know I'll be checking it out.

CT is Blue?

What. The. Hell.

#NYCFC's Home Game vs @HoustonDynamo Relocated to Pratt & Whitney Stadium

DETAILS ➡️ https://t.co/6MDzAqcio2 pic.twitter.com/Lt2bAhhAcW

— New York City FC (@NYCFC) August 22, 2017

So NYCFC is losing a home game, booted out by the Yankees rescheduling a rain date. And rather than rent the fields at Columbia or Fordham or some other place in the city, they have in their infinite wisdom decided to schedule it at the University of Connecticut in East Hartford.

The Third Rail ran some buses up to that stadium to watch a USMNT match back in 2014, and the traffic was so bad that we ended up pulling over and watching from bars along the way. It's an easy three hours each way, even on a Saturday afternoon.

What a debacle. And what's worse is that the club has obviously been working on this for weeks and decided to spring it on us now. If they had come out and announced that the match would have to be moved, and later that it would be held three hours away from Yankee Stadium, at least we would have been prepared for it.

This smacks of Lampard all over again. Why won't the club work with us? We're more than customers, we're partners. Or at least we ought to be.

So that's one home match I won't be able to attend this season. Which sucks. Not a good look, fellas. Can't wait to see the Red Bull tifo now.

Highlights: NYC 2, New England 1

An amazing match in Yankee Stadium, as NYCFC comes back in the fourth minute of stoppage time to claim the win.



A very unusual gaffe from Sean Johnson there. Shows the mettle of this club that they don't let his blunder cost them the game. New York City never says die.

"NYCFC House"?

Hmm.

Hmm. #NYCFC House "for City Members only"? Curiosity officially piqued. NYCFC House https://t.co/NDuGK1oZyM

— NY is BLUE (@NYisBLUE) August 14, 2017

Wonder what this'll be? A merchandise outlet, space for meet & greets, or some type of community outreach? We'll see.