I agree with all these points but to say the Sockers had no history outdoors is insane. From 1978-1984, they made quite a few conference finals and the playoffs 6 out of 7 years and were one of the best teams during that era. The youngsters may not remember or were not born yet but they also had great players in that period. Along with Ron Newman as coach who was a master at both the indoor and outdoor games and with players like Kaz Deyna , Kevin Crow, Julie Vee , Volkmar Gross and Alan Mayer. They were the reason the indoor team existed. They were also a lot more successful than the Earthquakes were during that time and the Timbers folded in 82 and the Sounders in 83 but SDS had a great team. They were the precursor to Steve Zungul and Branko Segota. If it was not for the original San Diego Sockers , there most likely would have never been soccer of any sort played in that town. Also, if it weren't for the original NASL , we probably wouldn't have had a new league , an MLS, nor would we be discussing the game now , for that matter.
And we can appreciate all of that without having to dredge up a terrible name that's already owned and long used by another team and sport anyway. Time to look to the future and a new identity as Sockers is not being used nor is it even available to use if they wanted to.
No one knows that for sure. Don Garber deliberately did not include the Seattle Sounders in order to start anew. The other possibilities were Seattle FC, Seattle Republic and Seattle Alliance but the Sounders name prevailed. because the fans voted it in. By that time, most the NASL team hadn't existed in 25 years and the USL team didn't have a huge following. Its not like their USL fans voted that name in over the others. I still think it was a cool name and logo and a lot better that the current one.Anyway, it can't be any worse than the initial MLS names in Clash, Wiz, Burn or the Chicago Rhythm which Nike proposed.
NASL nostalgia only gets you so far. And like its been said, Demba Ba probably has no idea what the Sockers are. Maybe he would entertain Chaussettes.
You should have stopped here. Bottom line is....if you are under the age of 42 you likely have no recollection or memories of the "Old NASL." Outside of NY Cosmos nostalgia references, today's target demographic that sports teams are looking to capture...........fall under the age of 42. That's the only answer and reason ANYONE needs to know about why the "Old NASL" monikers need to stay in the past. The Sounders, Timbers, & Whitecaps names lived on for years after the NASL vanished in 1984 as actual playing teams in other soccer leagues. THAT'S why those names were and still are relevant.
Those old NASL names were brought back well after the original league folded. The Timbers came back as a USL team along with the Whitecaps in 2001.Vancouver was known as the 86ers I believe until they brought back the Caps. The Sounders were revived in 1994 by Alan Hinton I think it was as he played and coached for the original team. None of those USL teams drew all that many fans. Unless you consider 3,000 fans a lot of people. The same goes for the Earthquakes who were brought back in 2000. The Roughnecks, Rowdies , Cosmos and Strikers were all brought back in the last 5-6 years and they never played in any other league. Whether you like these names and logos or not, they were all brought back for a purpose and once again, those teams will not have existed if it weren't for the original franchises.
They are also pretty good names, same with the Cosmos and a couple others. Most of them were rather stupid names. Sockers is near the top of stupid names.
I agree about some of the names. The Stompers name and logo especially, made no sense. The Sockers at least was much better than the Jaws or the Nomads though. Here is another stupid and ugly one as well but you know looking back, its also kind of cool! As far as a new name , I hope they won't come up with another United!
Actually we do. Sockers is owned by the indoor team, and they've been quoted as having no interest in sharing or selling the name. And the NASL owners have stated they've no interest in it anyway. Sockers is indoor only for the foreseeable future. Besides, there's no guarantee the NASL team will even be San Diego branded. They're not playing in San Diego after all.
Therefore forgetting about the Sockers, once again I'll ask, what are the other potential names and/or leagues that are being proposed?
Is there a chance the USL will get a team as opposed to the NASL or is all just speculation at this point?
Nope, they're in NASL and have been announced as such and any talk of that changing is just wishful thinking. They reported they approached USL (and MLS) before NASL, but MLS rights were tied up with John Moores (and are now tied up with FS Investors) and USL doesn't want to put a team in SD as long as MLS is seriously considering the market. So for the foreseeable future we have to settle for NASL. It's not MLS or USL, but it'll do given the alternative is more nothing.
As opposed to NASL? No. In additional to NASL? Probably depends on what happens with the San Diego MLS bid. If there isn't a MLS team in San Diego, USL could look at the market again. A second team in the South County region could be viable. Personally I think Albion SC should fill that gap by joining NISA in 2019.
A lot of people with breathless questions... if you want to listen to the president of the new NASL franchise answer almost all of them and you have 30 minutes to invest: http://www.wralsportsfan.com/soccer/audio/16795407/
More than just involved, he's part owner. As to whether he'll play he's thus far been coy about it so who knows.
Demba Ba will be 33 this time next year and his time with the national team of Senegal was over 2 years ago so he could very well play.
I gave it a shot. But it looks like they used some sort of anon filler company from Ontario to cover their tracks on the current domain.
I'm not expecting any big announcements until Chandara is back from France where he's currently renewing his visa. but super-sleuthing is much appreciated!
Here's an idea for the "San Diego Sharks", which I believe would an awesome name and logo for our new club.
Here's another idea which truly fits San Diego: I like the combination of the colors of Red, Gold and Orange.