Inter Miami CF logo explained in social media video

Inter Miami CF sparked what was arguably the most passionate ornithological argument in the history of sports iconography. What kind of bird graces the front of the team’s new crest? Well, that question and more has been answered in a video post from the club.

From vision to reality. This is our team crest. Go behind the design with the people that brought it to life.#InterMiamiCF #ThisIsMiami #MLS pic.twitter.com/SRtM3LiNP8 — Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) September 18, 2018

In the video, shared Tuesday afternoon, club co-owners Jorge Mas and David Beckham speak about the design process. Closely involved in the process was Kimou Meyer (sometimes known professionally as Grotesk). His firm, Doubleday & Cartwright, was hired by Inter Miami CF to work on the concept.

“We started to study the different iconography of the city, the architecture — especially the Art Deco movement,” Meyer said in the video. “[Beckham] liked the idea of a monogram-inspired mark with a symbol that would represent the club.

According to Meyer, the process took three years (knowing how long everything has taken for this team, not a surprising development).

“Once I met [Doubleday and Meyer], I knew they were the right people to work with,” Beckham said. “I knew that, creatively, they would come up with something different.

Bird is the word

The color and logo made sense upon release, but the bird question lit up social media.

I’ve now been told Heron, Flamingo, Stork, Crane and Egret. My kingdom for an ornithologist! pic.twitter.com/MB7Y2fPy3d — Alexi Lalas (@AlexiLalas) August 15, 2018

Listen to the Floridians!! It’s not a flamingo because of the bill, and cranes/storks stand more upright. This is the only conversation from MLS Twitter I have enjoyed in about a week. — Arielle Castillo (@ariellec) August 15, 2018

Just in case there was any doubt left, Inter Miami CF called on Miami-Dade County’s foremost expert on all matter Animalia: Ron Magill, communications director of Zoo Miami. It’s a Great White Heron.

“The Great White Heron is here in Miami, and instead of migrating out of Miami, has stayed here,” Magill said from his place at the zoo. “It represents all the cultures, all the people that have come from all around the world to call Miami home.

And then you watch it hunt. When it sees the opportunity, it has the quickest strike of almost any bird you’ll ever see. It’s like a rattlesnake with feathers.”