And again, who says that he didn't ask? I think St. Louis Soccer United and OnGoal LLC came to an agreement not to move the Wizards to St. Louis just to pi$$ you off.
I REALLY doubt the league would allow 2 teams with the same team name, United. That's never been done in any other pro sport in America and it would be awkward when referring to the teams when St.Louis and D.C. play each other.
If this is true, then congrats St. Louis fans! And thank you for choosing a club color (green) that's not already in use! But for the love of god, please at least consider a more interesting team name than "St. Louis United."
"United" is not necessarily a nickname. There's a whole bunch of Uniteds in England, but they all have different nicknames.
I'm sure that whenever Manchester United played West Ham United, or West Ham United played Newcastle United, or when Sheffield United played Scunthorpe United, or whenever Leeds United, Boston United, Cambridge United, Oxford United, Colchester United, Hartlepool United, Peterborough United, Rotherham United or Southend United ever met one another on the pitch, it has always created a great amount of awkwardness and confusion and angst, because they couldn't each have their own identity, you know, what with them all having the same "nicknames". Why not choose unique nicknames instead, like the Hammers, or the Red Devils, or the Magpies, or the Blades, I mean, sheesh, that would be a lot better, wouldn't it?
Many from Illinois have a pretty good handle on this as they have been doing the same thing in the other direction for decades. These locations are a mere 10-20 minutes from the stadium. I live on the eastside and I am no closer than this myself. You're stereotyping here. The man spearheading this effort is from Granite City and he's far from being a blue-collar guy. There are many white-collar professionals who live in Illinois. Many of them work in Missouri, which means they pay Missouri taxes. You're welcome, by the way. Yes. Here lies the heart of the matter. Unfamiliarity. Many in Missouri look down on Illinois because they aren't familiar with the Illinois side. Yes we have strip clubs, but the vast majority of us just drive by them and ignore them. Yes there are rednecks, as there are on both sides of the river. And East St. Louis is just one municipality. It is not the entire eastside. And it is no more unsafe than many parts of St. Louis. This "it'll never work because it's in Illinois" mentality is what keeps the St. Louis REGION from being what it could and should be. We currently have a land-locked airport because back in the '70s, Missouri politicians would not allow the "St. Louis" airport to be built in Illinois around Columbia-Waterloo. Companies are moving from St. Louis, partly because the airport is no longer a hub and the flights they could depend on aren't here anymore. I would think if the Columbia-Waterloo plan would have succeeded, we would be a major hub like Atlanta, DFW, and O'Hare. Back around 1900, St. Louis lost being a major rail hub because they couldn't agree on a new rail bridge. The railroads moved to Chicago. And today we're in the midst of yet another bridge fiasco for I-70. Mr. Jeff Cooper is the only person that has anything viable on the table to get an MLS team here. It's his decision to build where he wants. If this city really wants a soccer team as bad as it claims, it should support these efforts. If we're willing to let it fail because we have to travel an extra 10-15 minutes, shame on us. But for grins, throw the family in the car some Saturday afternoon and come on over to the East Side and take a look around. You just might like what you see.
The biggest issue is that the first 4-5 miles right across the river from StL is basically one big traffic interchange with: -Flood plain -industrial wasteland -East St. Louis (one of the poorest cities in Illinois) -Strip Club's and a Casino Once you drive 5 minutes down the interstate, all of the other towns are pretty nice (O'Fallon, Fairview Heights, Edwardsville, and Collinsville are all pretty nice towns with good growth)... its just the stigma of that initial entrance. As mentioned, this stadium is closer to downtown that pretty much anything else would be... whether people take 5 seconds to realise that is another question.
Re: Latest on St. Louis' soccer hopes: Why? The only reason Houston had to change their name was because the largest audience they were targeting was Hispanic and those are the people who raised a stink about the name, so naturally they folded. The St. Louis team will be marketed to the entire region, since there isn't a dominating ethnic minority that is soccer crazy. And as already mentioned, St. Louis is predominately Catholic, and I really don't think most people will have a problem with minor Christian symbolism in the crest.
Right, but I said "team name." For example, the Wizards aren't "Kansas City FC, a.k.a. the Wizards," they're the "Kansas City Wizards." I'm all for having some foreign-style names for MLS teams but we should have some American-style names too. Their names are still boring. Plus, that's England and this is America. It's okay if our style doesn't 100% match theirs.
Honestly, I quite like the name St. Louis United, especially if the stadium is built in Metro-East. The team/stadium can help bridge some of the silly stereotypes and divisions that some people feel about the two sides of the Metro Area. The St. Louis team, with it's headquarters in Illinois, can "unite" the area. And that would be good for everyone. St. Louis United isn't only a great name, it's a political statement.
lol there is such a division between those two metro areas?? is it racial? is it political? is it a sports rivalry? why do they not like eachother?
But I was referring to pro sports in America. Sure you could do it but it's just never been done in an American pro sport at least not in the past 40-50 years if ever. Just because England uses that system doesn't mean we should copy so many things the Europeans do. What's most important is to have a team that does well regardless of the name.
Wow ..Thats a great Badge...Nice colors...It seems all the Football markets are rushing to get their team before the expansion ends....I think St Louis look like a great market..... Hope that all the cities help build these stadiums....Short of Las Vegas. St Luois looks to have the best stadium(RENDERING THAT IS.)....I think that by the time the league ends all its expansion all the fcd,chi, col, colombus,Lag,TFC.....Will be danzed by the beautiful stadias around the league and either looking at expanding or building new ones like I hear the Crew are considering...
HOW would having an airport in Columbia-Waterloo help St.Louis retain it's hub status??? Most of the major companies are closer to Lambert airport than Columbia-Waterloo. Plus Lambert has plenty of room and runway space they haven't even used yet with the expanded runway that barely gets used!! LOL! If you had our major international airport in Columbia-Waterloo that would be a much worse situation for the majority in the region who live on the Missouri side since it would be a longer drive for most just to get the airport especially considering all the westward expansion.
But that's not a unique nickname. It's just saying they are Football Clubs which ALL the teams are. You could put an FC before or after every team's name since FC applies to all of them.
Re: Latest on St. Louis' soccer hopes: Nothing gives a post the awesomeness quite like using a term like "PC police."
Is it just me or does this seem like it would be more of an attraction to soccer fans than one that would put them off the location? Must be midwestern prudishness.