I liked the Olympic SC as well. The olympic scandal will be forgotten by most people in a couple of years, yet the fact that SLC hosted the Olympics will be always remembered internationally. How many of you would have heard of Nagano, Lake Placid, or Grenoble if they didn't host the Olympics? It's an honor, SLC should be proud of it, so they might as well mark the occasion by naming a sports team after it (and it's a pretty cool sounding name). Speaking of the more well known "Olympic", does anyone know the history behind Olympique de Marseille and why it was named that way? IIRC, Marseille never hosted the Olympics. Quick google search turned up nothing.
I think Salt Lake City is better known than any of those cities were prior to the Olympics. Far fewer countries compete in the Winter Olympics than the Summer Olympics. I attended Montreal's Expo '67, and it was a great event, but I think "Montreal Expos" is one of the worst names in professional sports. It's only helped slightly by the fact that other cities don't continue to hold the event every four years. The Olympics are held twice as often. If Atlanta were to be awarded a team, should they be called Olympic SC as well? Naming your team for a one time two week event sounds silly to me. BTW, soccer is a summer, not winter, Olympic sport. If Salt Lake City were holding the Summer Olympics in the same summer as the MLS franchise was created, I might vote for it as well, but otherwise, it seems pretty lame.
You might have a point if they name was Winter Olympic SC. At this point in time, in the history of Salt Lake sporting events, is there anything bigger they've held then the Olympic games? Atlanta has various sporting teams and has held various events. SLC has not, and does not. Olympic SC is no worse than Burn, Clash (past yes, but it still happened), Wiz (ditto). I say this in complete confidence that this will not be the name, no matter how often I vote for it.
I couldn't agree more. It sounds desperate to hold onto the Olympics and stretch out it's fame. For heaven's sakes, lots of cities have hosted the Olympics and lots more will in the future. It's not like the Olympics are the only good thing to have happened in Utah. The best things about Utah are the things that never change--the scenery, canyons, rock formations, national park areas. That being said, I'm sure Dave Checketts et al would never seriously consider naming the team Olympic anything.
That's a good point - I guess I am taking the broader view that a fan of MLS has a vested interest in a team's name as that name reflects on the entire league. Names like the Burn, Clash, Wiz have done no one any favors. My opinion is that as MLS grows it wants identifiable teams in known markets - names like Wasatch Front or Rocky Mountain Broncos do not give a sponsor or investor or fan any idea what or where that team is. SLC and Utah do. And one of the best things I have read that Checketts has said is that the team name will not have a "Z" in it.
We have the right because MLS is single entity. When I buy a ticket or a replica jersey, your team gets some of the money. So even though Wasatch Front sounds cool, Dave Checketts as an MLS investor might not think it's a great idea, or an okay thing that people out of state won't recognize it. "We're going to have to give them some reason to come. The first reason is it's major league. This community is used to, 'Tonight, Helena. Tomorrow, Billings.' This is going to be New York, L.A., Dallas, Washington." -Checketts
You've got a good point there. If this is true, then we can rule out Olympic SC and Olympus etc.. It would definitely be Salt Lake ---- or Utah ----. Checketts has said it won't have zz's in it, it won't be "pioneers, or seagulls, or anything like that," and I believe he ruled out the bee connection (believe me people, it's been done to death here.) He said it would have an "international flavor." Many posters have heard this before, I'm just repeating it for the benefit of newcomers to the SLC thread.
Not that you'll be back here soon, but the movie actually does an incredibly good job of describing the various competing groups that youths form in the western United States from a sociological perspective. Plus, it's kind of funny. Seriously, growing up in that time and in that area, I was amazed that it's a work of fiction. Heavy lifting it ain't, but still well worth catching.
