I agree. This is how I'd categorize the old names, just based on the quality of the name for a current first division team. 100% YES: Boston Beacons Minnesota / Ft. Lauderdale Strikers Los Angeles Aztecs Portland Timbers San Jose Earthquakes Seattle Sounders Vancouver Whitecaps Decent: Baltimore Bays Boston Minutemen Detroit Express Not terrible: Atlanta Chiefs Edmonton Drillers Las Vegas Quicksilvers Miami / San Diego / Los Angeles Toros Memphis Rogues Philadelphia Fury Rochester Lancers San Diego Sockers Skipping the middle boring stuff like names that wouldn't work as well now (Manic, Gales, Apollos, Rowdies, Dips) or would be too NBA (Spurs, Thunder, Clippers)... Among the worst names in the history of sports: Caribous of Colorado Jacksonville Tea Men Minnesota Kicks (schoolhouse rock logo) San Diego Jaws (clip art logo) I'd really love to know what some of the people making these decisions were thinking. The only good logos were the Cosmos and Timbers. Whitecaps and TeaMen were acceptable. Maybe the Chiefs, Beacons, or even Olympique would have grown on people through decades of use... heck maybe that even applies to the full Rowdies logo, maybe over time it would have achieved so-bad-it's-good status like the Crew logo. How does a team whose logo has a bridge and two Gs end up named "San Francisco Gales" instead of something like "San Francisco Golden Gate FC"?
I, as an American, don't give two shits what Mexicans think of American team names. You're not the ones being marketed to, among other reasons. Mexicans, as distinguished from Mexican-Americans. Here's my take on your list (nice categories, by the way): 100% YES: Tulsa Roughnecks* Los Angeles Aztecs Portland Timbers San Jose Earthquakes Seattle Sounders Vancouver Whitecaps Memphis Rogues* Tampa Bay Rowdies New York Cosmos Decent: Baltimore Bays* Boston Minutemen Detroit Express Ft. Lauderdale Strikers** Boston Beacons Philadelphia Atoms Not terrible: Atlanta Chiefs Edmonton Drillers* Las Vegas Quicksilvers Miami / San Diego* / Los Angeles Toros Rochester Lancers* Dallas Tornado Among the worst names in the history of sports: Caribous of Colorado Jacksonville Tea Men Minnesota Kicks (schoolhouse rock logo) San Diego Jaws (clip art logo)* Philadelphia Fury San Diego Sockers* Oakland Stompers Chicago Sting Washington Darts Toronto Blizzard Calgary Boomers* California Surf (sorry...) *Acknowledging that there is no way that these markets get MLS teams. **Good for Ft. Lauderdale, not so much for Minnesota. Don't ask me why.
Considering the affinity most Mexican-Americans have for their native/ancestral country and the likelihood that LA2 would be marketing to that community, I'm sure their opinion of any name will have an impact on the chosen name.
some names i like from all the former leagues of the past (oldest to newest): American League of Professional Football- Brooklyn Bridegrooms, Washington Senators American Soccer League 1 Bethlehem Steel F.C., Brooklyn Wanderers, Fall River Marksmen, New York Field Club, Queens Bohemians ASL2 Allentown, Baltimore Bays, Kearny Scots, Los Angeles Skyhawks, Pennsylvania Stoners, Rochester Lancers, Sacramento Gold, Santa Barbara Condors, Syracuse Suns National Professional Soccer League Pittsburgh Phantoms, St. Louis Stars, San Diego Toros United Soccer Association San Francisco Golden Gate Gales (SFGGG (SC or FC)) North American Soccer League Atlanta Apollos, Boston Beacons, Connecticut Bicentennials, Las Vegas Quicksilvers, Los Angeles Aztecs, Philadelphia Atoms, Rochester Lancers, San Diego Sockers, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Tulsa Roughnecks, Washington Diplomats, Western Soccer Alliance Victoria Riptides (1985) some are strange or weird like the bridegrooms some just have nice flow and but most fit the city.
That makes sense, not sure how I missed it. But Gales is still seems awkward there... three Gs in a row? Too bad they weren't sticking FC at the end of every team name back then, because San Francisco Golden Gate FC would have been a decent name.
Roughnecks? Only if this is the crest: And by that I mean it needs to be in tattoo form on a bicep. Would you like to know more?
In Minnesota the Kicks where far more popular then the Strikers (multiple reason colors, name & stadium). In early soccer Americana it worked and I would argue smart in how we approached the sport in general, same with the Rowdies. At the time getting participation of kids/adults was critical. It's part of why we have so many people playing the game today. We just need to culturally grow up and mature as a soccer nation. In many cases I love the fact the Rowdies etc. are still around its part of our history. When Minnesota made the recent changes it was done intelligently especially the logo. The United name shouldn't bother anyone its universally used.
Can't believe 32 years have passed since the Kicks folded. Man I'm getting old. I'll never forget them beating the Cosmos 9-2.
Apparently many have. A few years back I was cleaning out the garage and found a newsprint issue of SoccerMagic whose front-page story was San José having just landed one of the inaugural MLS teams, with a black & white photo of Dan Van Voorhis and Laurie Calloway (who wasn't yet named the head coach but was still somehow involved with the bid, having previously been the head coach of Van Voorhis' San Francisco Bay Blackhawks) celebrating with raised champagne glasses. It was a pretty good article, though I wish I knew where that newsprint issue currently is. I've wondered how different things would've been had Dan Van Voorhis been able to stay on and remain as San José's investor/operator (someone close to the operation told me back then that he certainly would've been willing to spend more money on the franchise than Peter Bridgwater ended up spending, though to be fair, resources were a bit more limited for Bridgwater as the franchise had already become league-owned by the time he was hired). Still, a few years later (around the turn of the century or so), I'd heard that Van Voorhis was interested in buying in again and becoming San José's investor/operator, only to be turned down as the league by that point was only looking to add multi-billionaires rather than multi-millionaires (likely shaken with being burned by multi-millionaire Ken Horowitz with Miami Fusion F.C. a few years earlier). Also, would Dan Van Voorhis have been a better or a worse I/O than Alan Rothenberg and Japanese advertising agency Dentsu would've been, who together came that close to becoming San José's I/O in 1998 before that year's Asian Stock Market crash forced Dentsu to pull its bid, forcing Rothenberg to then follow suit? -G
Nothing to do with the thread but former NASL LA Aztecs & Quakes coach Terry Fisher coaxed Dan Van Voorhis into buying a a pro team back in 1989 and they played at many Bay Area HS stadiums. He was pretty committed to putting forth a pro soccer team although I don't think many in the San Jose soccer community (Peter Bridgwater for example) liked him too much. He made enemies with Andy Hewitt owner of the Britania Arms Pub in Alamden and soccer team the San Jose Oaks as the SF Bay Blackhawks tried to block a Concacaf Cup match played against Mexican team Morelia at Spartan Stadium , I believe it was. I remember attending the game and the Oaks lost 4-1 but the reason they were upset I think was because they felt because they were the pro team and the Oaks were amateurs and they should have been competing in that tournament instead of a pub team. I think Andy sued Dan but didn't get too much out of it. Fisher told me Dan got a lifetime free seat/booth at Spartan Stadium for his efforts in soccer and he used it for the initial MLS Clash/Quakes seasons from 1996- 2005. After his death, I’m not sure if his family gets a free seat at Buck Shaw or if they will at the new park under Lew Wolff but I doubt it.
Serious question: Do Mexicans really consider California part of a foreign country or just an occupied part of their own country?
Mexicans (aka, born and raised in Mexico)? It's just part of a foreign country. The "Aztlán" stuff is mostly a Chicano stuff we Mexicans are not that familiar with.
The more I look at that old Caribous of Colorado logo, the creepier it becomes. In a way though, its kind of cool too! http://www.google.com/search?q=Cari...pBqal4gSx4oHQDA&ved=0CDYQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=920
Even though it was the name of an ABA team for a year or two, I'd love to see the Riverhounds rebrand as the Pittsburgh Pipers. It evokes a traditional vibe without sounding too Eurosnoby, and I think it helps that the foremost soccer bar in Pittsburgh is called Pipers Pub (right down the street from their new stadium). Kit 'em up in black and gold hoops (or at least some old BVB style hooped socks) and you're good to go.
Yeah I wouldn't count on that. They've got 14 years of brand equity (such as it is) in their current identity.
Oh I'm not counting on it, this is just my pet daydream scenario. I think if they were going to rebrand, they would've done so in conjunction with the opening of the new stadium, but the ownership seems content to stick with the minor league branding, even though they claim their ultimate aspiration is to join MLS. I lived in Pittsburgh for 15 years, and in addition to the name "Riverhounds" not having any semantic meaning, the only thing hearing the name evokes is images of suburban high school astroturf fields. Their brand equity is a derisive snicker. But they've likely crossed the rubicon with it. The best I can reasonably hope for is a change to the Wile E. Coyote crest. But the new stadium looks great, it's in a great location, and Pittsburgh has great sports fans, so I think they have a real chance to succeed now.