"It has to reflect the city, the people and the club all at once, and it has to earn its place on a uniform." Russell Westbrook said that about OKC United's new crest — and it's a better mission statement for a football club than most ownership groups manage to produce.
Oklahoma City's new United Soccer League side unveiled their identity this week, and the origin story is more considered than the typical rebrand-by-committee you see with expansion clubs. The name, the badge, the colors — each one traces back to something specific about the city and the state.
How "United" beat out the bison, the lightning and the flying cows
After OKC Energy FC folded in 2022, a community campaign called OKC For Soccer kept the pressure on for a professional return. When the naming process kicked off in 2025, the shortlist included OKC Bison FC, OKC Lightning FC, OKC Thunderbird FC and OKC Wind FC. Some wilder suggestions — "OKC Onion Burgers FC," "Flying Cows SC" and "Flaming Lips Football Club" — didn't make the cut, though you have to respect the Oklahoma specificity there.
"United" won. It's one of the most common names in world football, yes, but Mayor David Holt's framing is worth taking seriously: "OKC is a community that works together to find common ground. Our unity is how we have built ourselves into America's most dynamic city."
That's not empty civic boosterism if the naming process itself bore it out — this was a genuinely community-driven campaign, not a branding agency working in a boardroom.
A crest built around 39 tribes and a Jim Thorpe reference
Designer Matthew Wolff — whose credits include Los Angeles FC, FC Tulsa and the Minnesota Twins — built the shield into an arrowhead shape, a nod to Oklahoma's Native American heritage. The OKC logo sits at the center of a sun whose rays each represent one of the 39 tribes with headquarters in the state. The crest's inner lining references Jim Thorpe's Sac and Fox name, Wa-Tho-Huk, meaning "Bright Path."
That's a lot of meaning packed into a single badge. Whether it translates on a replica shirt at 50 yards is a different question, but the intention is clear.
The colors — midnight blue, pink sunset and ivory cloud — were not what the fanbase asked for. The OKC For Soccer campaign saw supporters push for Oklahoma flag blue, red dirt red and landscape green. Majority owner Christian Kanady went a different direction entirely, anchoring the palette in the sky: "Those pink Oklahoma sunsets are unlike anywhere else on earth. The sky became the foundation of our color palette."
- Midnight blue — primary color, anchoring the kit
- Pink sunset — secondary, the most distinctive call in the palette
- Ivory cloud — accent, completing the sky theme
Pink as a primary club color is still a risk in American sports culture, but LAFC's black-and-gold proved that going bold on identity pays off when the football backs it up. OKC United won't know if it works until 2028 — when their 10,000-seat stadium opens in lower Bricktown and they make their USL Championship debut. The stadium is city-funded through the MAPS 4 program; Kanady donated the land.
That's three years away. Plenty of time to sell shirts, build a fanbase and figure out whether the football can match the branding.
