Sounders FC’s 50th Anniversary celebration is all about honoring tradition and embracing an exciting future.
That ethos was captured during Scarves Up ahead of Saturday's match against the Colorado Rapids, which was led by Angelina Villalobos, the designer of the 2024 Season Member scarves. It was a full-circle moment for Villalobos, who also goes by her artist name, onesevennine, as she looked around Lumen Field and saw a sea of scarves displaying her work.
“Being the Scarves Up guest was so incredibly special,” Villalobos said. “Turning around and seeing all the scarves with my design brought tears to my eyes thinking how many people are now going to use my art to show their adoration and support for Seattle.”
Given that this season represents a significant milestone for the club, Villalobos recognized that each scarf design for the Member Welcome Gift had to reflect that importance. With the Sounders FC Brand Evolution launching in September 2023, key themes of Seattle emerged from the new brand that Villalobos was able to tie into her designs.
The first theme she incorporated into the scarves was Duality — Seattle is complex and home to a wide range of creative expression.
The second theme she utilized was the Sound — water is core to the city and the Sounders identity.
She found a way to encompass the things that encapsulate Seattle, effortlessly bridging the connection between the Brand Evolution’s duality and the distinctiveness of Seattle’s characteristics in each design.
“There are so many elements of the Pacific Northwest culture that I pulled from to create vibrancy,” said Villalobos.
The first and most popular scarf selection was the Tahoma, which embodies the city’s mountain-to-sound relationship. The scarf’s name is an homage to Mount Tahoma, paying respect to the First Peoples who have stewarded the land since time immemorial.
The second scarf design, the Pollinators, celebrates the fertility of the earth and the PNW landscape, exemplified through wildflowers.
The third, the Seaweed Forest, reflects the dark, murky, and mysterious waters of the Pacific Ocean.
“I’m excited about the three designs selected,” said Villalobos. “I’m glad for the ones that the fans did pick out because I think those are the strongest.”
For the first time in club history, Alliance Members were able to select from three scarf designs, instead of just one. This provided an opportunity to commit further to Democracy in Sports and granted Villalobos more creative freedom.
The Member scarf selection began a few weeks prior to the club unveiling its refreshed visual identity. This selection period showed fans graphics of the scarves, which was the first time they were seeing the new Rave Green colors and served as a teaser to get supporters excited for the 50th Anniversary.
Villalobos was delighted to witness the overwhelming support of fans and how much they were enjoying her artwork.
“They were seeing things in [the designs] that I didn’t even anticipate,” she said. “They were seeing their own self reflected in them.”
She was also pleased to hear so many fans were feeling personally connected to the designs, which made them even stronger.
“That makes me feel like my goal was achieved,” she added.
Villalobos has worked with local organizations across Seattle over the years, including other Seattle sports teams such as the Seattle Kraken and Seattle Seahawks, museums like the Frye Art Museum and The Museum of Flight, and businesses Microsoft and Meta.
Villalobos said she has found inspiration in spaces that have allowed her artwork to flourish.
“Don’t go where you’re tolerated, go where you’re celebrated,” she said.
Her mural pieces and artwork around the city follow a quote from local KEXP VJ Gabe Teodros: "If a tree can't grow there, I can't grow there.”
Growing up in Seattle, she looked up to the artists in the city’s art scene and had mentors look out for her to help her when needed. Now as a prominent artist in the community herself, she is a mentor to young artists, giving back to the same community that gave so much to her.
“The investment is in the now for the future,” she said. “It just ties back to the organizations and the people that invested [in] me.”
With the Sounders organization looking to the next 50 years, Villalobos is doing the same.
“I want people to come to my page and not just see art, but also see artmaking accessible for them,” she said. “I just hope that I have an army of young artists that come out and do art and work with organizations and nonprofits and businesses and express their hearts with visual tangible, like beautiful things.”
