United by CITY: The Tifos
Written by: Michael Haffner
For years, Jimmy Blood had an idea in his head that he loved. He was just waiting for the right time to bring it to life.
As a longtime member of the supporters group the St. Louligans, he’s had many years designing banners, flags, and tifos. However, designing something at the scale needed to make an impression at CITYPARK presents a whole new set of challenges.
Jimmy began to sketch out the idea that had been building in his head for years. He has always loved the supporter chant “Meet Me in St. Louie” and wanted to make sure the lyrics from it were front and center in his massive design.
Meet me in St. Louie, Louie
Meet me at the PARK,
like the boys of 1950
we're sure to leave our mark
It's in our blood it's in our history
As we cheer CITY to victory!
So won't you meet me in St. Louie, Louie,
Meet me at the Park!
This is the story – in his words – of designing the first tifo for the inaugural St. Louis CITY SC match at CITYPARK on March 4, 2023.
“Meet Me in St. Louis / Meet Me at the Park” was a phrase I’ve had in my head for a long time. When we found out we were getting this new team, I started to sketch out things and think about proposing this as an option.”
“I've always enjoyed the “Meet Me in St. Louis” chant. I think it's a fun one. It's also a really unique one. There are so many songs that a lot of clubs use all over the world. No one else can say Meet Me in St. Louis. I always hoped that one day we would be in a beautiful stadium for a tifo like this.”
The Importance of Visual Communication
Visual communication is not just about what you say but how you say it. For Jimmy, he knew what he wanted to communicate, but he needed to figure out the best way to organize the words on the paper. Of the utmost importance was for it to be clear and legible while still providing visual interest. One of the many challenges was the text wrapping up and over and below the central crest. While there’s a simplicity at first glance, it’s the careful consideration and decision-making that went into these elements that make the final piece seem so classic and effortless.
“I've always found tifos that are simple designs to be ones that I've always been attracted to the most. Sometimes just stripes of color and a crest can be really loud. Form follows function.”
“It is only going to be up for maybe two minutes, so it needs to be recognized immediately. “In Our History / In Our Blood” helped communicate that long history of teams that have come from St. Louis before.”
Conveying Feelings Through Words
When you flip through Jimmy’s sketchbook, you immediately notice that the words are just as important if not more so than the doodles. He loves to play with text. In particular, you will see script or historical typefaces. Large, carefully drawn, gothic letters in shiny gold paint pen are laid over pencil sketches. There’s an immediacy to flipping the pages in his book and seeing these striking elements. It’s clear he sees text as an art form and not just words inscribed on paper.
“Design is about communication through visuals. What’s better to communicate with than text? People know immediately what you are communicating. Typography is my favorite element of design.”
“There is a beauty to text. It’s a series of shapes, curves, and lines that are really expressive and immediately render what you're trying to communicate. Text is more than just letters – they are individual pieces of art.”
The Connective Threads Between the Bundesliga and St. Louis
Tifos have a long history in soccer – likewise, they often reflect the history of the club. Jimmy knew for the first one for a new club that he couldn’t look at what the club had achieved in the past or other details. So, he thought about what his other favorite team had done before and how that simplicity could be really powerful. If you are going to take notes from others, you might as well take them from one of the most historical clubs in the entire world. And in time, this will be the first tifo in a long history for St. Louis CITY SC that people will look back on in the years to come.
“I've been really inspired by the tifos in the Bundesliga. Most of my inspiration comes from the simple but impactful designs that other supporter groups are doing in the Bundesliga specifically.”
“They’ve always been a big influence on me specifically those from Borussia Dortmund. So obviously when I heard Bürki is coming here, I was thrilled. The atmosphere at their stadium is always so fantastic, and the goal is to make this place [CITYPARK] rival that.”
