MLS In Minnesota Is Great, But They Have To Change The Name Of The Team

As a Fresno State fan, I agree with this post.

 

It's not about whether or not it matters in the general sense, it's that it shouldn't matter to you. If it's not your team and you're not part of the intended fanbase, then worry something else. If the fans of the team in question have either embraced the name or, in the case of Minn Utd, actively defended it and berated the league's intention to change it, then why is some third party trying to dictate to them what's best for them?

It's different in the case of the Sounders who had a working name that had been used by that franchise and fanbase regularly before MLS, in which case to change to an FC or United would have been a travesty. This is as opposed to a KC Wiz franchise that had very little cache in it's community and often posed as an idea franchise to move away from it's market by many MLS fans including myself. Perfect example of outsiders imposing their ideas on a market that they did not understand.

Wiz probably needed a clean break from it's history since the market had long written the league and the sport off, but the fans were still there. KC fans kept saying that fans could be had there, so I've eaten my crow and learned from that situation. Let the fans of a particular market sort out what they will and will not accept. If the brand is working in the market, keep it. If it doesn't, then it will go the way of Chivas USA and all of the rest of us can rest and relax and do other things.

In other words, branding is important, but it's also relative to it's intended target. It's not a microcosm of interrelated brands but an absolute relation of a brand within it's market and ignoring the forces and opinions of those outside of it. Because if that were the case the Redskins would have changed their logo and/or name a long time ago.

 

The Redskins brand was created for the Boston market and was an alien import to D.C. Kind of like the Jazz in Utah or that MLS team in Utah. Or those other Euro-pretentious brands in MLS, like United.

 

Okay, so branding is meaningless... moving on...

Either way, it's all about whether or not the fans of that particular team accept it. Everyone else can just worry about their own team. It's different when a club has illustrious history and you come in wanting to change things like what happened to RB Salzburg and to some extent RBNY. But outside of a history that a fanbase cares about being displaced all else is nonsense.

Look at RB Leipzig. Now, granted, the money pumped into the club has affected other German clubs to an extent, but it's the branding and the loophole of the ownership clause that has gained the ire of the league's fans more than just the money. But they have followed the stated rules if not the spirit. If the Bundesliga had written it's rules along more stringent lines, then they could have prevented this. It's not Leipzig's fault that this was not the case, they're doing what's best for themselves. And it's silly considering that the Bundesliga is basically the West German Bundesliga. For the first time in a long time, East German football has a club with serious intent and those fans have an owner with the means to give them something to cheer for. What business is it to West German fans if they had to sell their club's soul to get it? In the end it's up to Leipzig fans to determine if this is acceptable, not West German fans who've had it much easier since reunification. Just my two cents...

 

On the other hand, the Lakers brand seems to have worked out pretty well for Los Angeles.

 

Same for the Trolley Dodgers brand.

 

The SEC is 5/14 of the way there: Mississippi State Bulldogs, Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers, Auburn Tigers, Missouri Tigers. Listening to Mississippi State vs. Georgia on the radio was always fun.

 

And the Jazz brand is iconic in Utah. Give it time, and dumb names can often build equity.

 

Is that an argument for also naming the next several expansion NBA franchises the Jazz?

 

Rename New Orleans, Brooklyn, and Golden State. If Kansas City ever gets a team again, them too!

 

It wouldn't have worked If the Lakers didn't win many of their championships in Mpls before they moved to LA.

 

How soon before we see United United FC?

 

Minnesota Flakers

 

West Ham are named after West Ham in East London, not Hammersmith in West London, even though I don't think they ever played in West Ham itself.


Ask any West Ham fan and they'll tell you that "The Irons" is their nickname but "Hammers" is used more often in the media and indeed their owners but you'll here the chant of "come of you Irons" going around London Stadium.

 

why cant MLS have more then one team called United...do you know how many in the UK are called United or City
many. minnesota kicks was a lame poor excuse for a name...football fans like tradition,,not silly jazzed up names
like in north american sports.

 

I like the standard north American naming conventions.
Clubs/Teams/Franchises are generally named for something about the area in particular or what the people do. Packers, Vikings, Oakland Raiders, Marlins, Yankees and so on. There is a regional quality to the names beyond just the name of the town and the mascots are not usually arbitary. I like that MLS has a mix of this. LA Galaxy makes sense because LA Stars is too obvious but Galaxy is a collection of star systems so there is a relationship that isn't lost. Atlanta United is ok on a few levels. For one it is part of the European naming convention with the Utd. FC part but it also reflects the fanbase who come from all socioeconomic and ethnic groups in the area to form one support. I see no problem with any of it to be honest. Are some of the names derivative? Sure but how many Michaels and Sarahs are members of this forum? Derivative naming conventions have never been an issue for us before so why now? There is nothing unique about the world's most popular sport where we can't have some copycat names.

I was against the Uniteds and FCs and SCs for a while but I have moved quite a bit on this subject.

Just a little somewhat-buzzed rambling on the subject.