FC Dallas center back Nkosi Tafari had a simple, positive tweet following what remains one of the statement results for the squad this season: A 2-1 win at Sporting Kansas City on July 31.
The :) he sent out has become an FC Dallas calling card since then, with the smile used by the club's social media team and fans to celebrate victories.
Now, Tafari has partnered with the FC Dallas Foundation and Soccer90 to launch :) t-shirts. According to an FC Dallas press release, "Proceeds from the sale of the shirts will benefit the FC Dallas Foundation which supports programs that promote education, health and wellness to empower youth across North Texas."
The navy blue shirt features a :) on the front and an FC Dallas logo on the back, reflecting the defender's default disposition.
"I’m always smiling. I always try to get people to smile every day regardless of what I do," said Tafari of the tweet that launched the emoticon trend. "We had won against Sporting Kansas City, our first win on the road this season. I tweeted the smiley emoticon when I got back to the locker room after the match. Then, Bressan replied. The next thing you know, here we are."
The club's social media team responded that night by dubbing Tafari the "clearance king," as he recorded a season-high 16 clearances to help stave off SKC's relentless attack. That win, coupled with the Ricardo Pepi hat-trick win over the Galaxy the week prior, kicked off a 4-2-2 run over the last eight matches that has delivered FCD from the bottom tier of the Western Conference to the edge of the playoff line.
The t-shirts are available for order via Soccer90.com.
