Yep, you are correct sir! In fact, Ill add here, that I absolutely HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE the Capital dome logo. I personally liked thier first identity, red white and blue, with thier old stylized letters saying CAPITALS across the jersey, with the T being a hockey stick. But since I had no choice in matter of a new "brand" same name deal, I was forced to like what was offered up, and the eagle logo is actually a pretty nice one. As for the "salty dogs" I know who they are, and I hate thier name and logo. You would think that a city with a team named "salty dogs" would at least be a city right on the ocean, no?
Uh, Syracuse was one of the largest producers of salt in the country. There is still salt production in the fingerlakes to this day. It makes sense if you know a little bit about local history and geography. What I think the Salty Dogs need to do is ditch the gender confused pirate who swishes around as their mascot. That would help the teams image tremendously.
Curiously Rovers, City, Utd etc.... are purely football. There are no rugby clubs, for example, named in any of those ways, with the exception of Hull Kingston Rovers rugby league team, but they had to set themselves apart from another rugby league team in Hull. All rugby league teams now have American style names after Rupert Murdoch's SKY TV pumped money in providing it lost it's "flat cap & whippet" image. I think it's be pointless copying any non-American style for MLS teams. Perhaps if the world soccer teams were famous in America, or if people in general knew that soccer teams were named in a different way (and had a rough idea what that way was) then they'd find it reasonable that their country's soccer teams were named that way too - but until then most people will just look at a suffix like United and wonder what "The DC United" etc means. Raging Rhinos didn't bother me. In fact I found it kind of cool to have the longest named ticket I've ever bought when I saw Rochester Raging Rhinos v Long Island Rough Riders three years ago. I used to find the east european names kind of exotic and mysterious. TVMK Tallinn sounded like some kind of army or government team, all dark and brooding, but I found that it actually stood for Tallinn Plywood & Furniture Factory FC. Africa has some fantastic names. Hearts of Oak are quite well known, as are Eleven Men in Flight, but my favourite name is "Mysterious Dwarfs".
But, the more successful European hockey leagues don't go that route. The only Russian team that ever had an NHL-ish influence was the Central Red Army team when they were sponsored for a short while by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
That is very healthy and very pleasing to hear that a rivalry is brewing, but Rochester are ready to join the MLS where Syracuse are not ready at the moment. But as the MLS expands beyond 20 teams in the future then these A leagues and such will have to make way for an MLS division 1 etc. Yes Salty Dogs is too cartoonish, just has no X factor in it as a name.
^I'm sure Rochester wouldn't like that.....Syracuse in the MLS that is Major League Lacrosse in Syracuse I can see happening someday. But MLS in Syracuse, only in my dreams.....
Keep The Rhinos name why mes with a good thing in the rochester area the fans there love the name and have BEEN SUPPORTIVE OF THE RHINOS... Change the logo... Make the current rhinos logo fit into a nice soccer crest or rework the current logo... Bring up the rhinos to MLS their kits their name and their History.....