St. Louis Soccer League was the only fully professional league in the US from 1907 -1938. Additionally, at the potato famine (1945) and revolution in Germany (1848) caused a lot of emigration to St. Louis. By 1850, St. Louis was nearly 45% Irish and German natives. I wouldn't mind seeing a strong ethnic name like St. Louis Shamrocks -- they were in 6 straight National Finals and won 3 of them. Or Some of the other great names White Banner Tablers Town Criers Thistle Athletics
The USISL used to have a team in the Greenville/Spartanburg area called South Carolina Shamrocks. I liked them. I like that name.
The danger with an overtly "ethnic" name is the possibility of alienating other groups. While I would gladly buy season tickets to the St Louis Shamrocks, St Louis Teuton, Bosna St Louis, or whatever, others may not share my opinions. I know it sounds petty and stupid, but I knew Croats who did come to AC games because there were no Croats on the team. Not to pick on Croats, I'm sure there were others who felt similarly, but that is one I personally know of. I hope I'm wrong and people would come out and support the team no matter the name, unless of course they name it the Klan or something. Now that I think of it, damn you KKK! The Clan could be a decent name for a team or supporters group, but thanks to you that name is forever sullied in the US no matter how it's spelled.
That's just a risk a team runs. "Bullets" is controversial, so we'll change to the "Wizards" (that one still makes me laugh). Or the Houston 1836 (awesome name) debacle (Dynamo? Like the Soviets!?). Teams like the Brooklyn Italians will certainly get non-Italians to their games (same with Bosna or Teuton, etc.) but I think such names are probably stuck in the semi-pro/amateur world with their niche founders... I can't think of any D1 teams in any leagues with names like that, although maybe they're just out there and I don't know the translation.
The Bullets/Wizards swap was one of the stupidest things I've ever seen. But I'm assuming since the name change there has been no more violent crime in DC. I love the name Dynamo (as in electric motor or an energetic person). If that's too europoserish how is naming a team a year not, not like there's any tradition of this in the US. Personally I have no problem with a little europosering as long as it still makes sense. Real Salt Lake? I'm not sure but I don't recall Utah ever having a king, then again pretty sure they've never had Jazz music either. I do kinda like the idea of Olympic St Louis, sure it's a bit euro but it does make sense.
And they were started by Italian immigrants. Too me that's pretty different than saying "A long time ago a bunch of Irish played a lot of soccer here, lets name a team after them". Or you could be like Boca and model your team after Sweden because you like the colors.
It's too bad. I understand that leagues like MLS or NASL would probably be hesitant to allow a team called the Shamrocks or the Italians or the Bohemians for risk of alienating potential fans and decreasing potential revenue... But sometimes, they're just cool names! (Brooklyn Italians? It fits)
The problem with names like these will always be brand identification. If we had a team called the St Louis Italians, sure I would buy season tickets, but there would be a part of me that would not be able to identify with that brand. I'm not Italian, I have no Italian heritage, no connection to Italy at all. So there would not be that connection to team name for me. This is why most teams either go with a name that does not try to establish any connection with the community but you hope sounds cool and may lead to decent merchandising (Washington Wizards, Brooklyn/LA Dodgers, Jacksonville Jaguars, LA Galaxy). Or you go with one that is intricately tied to your community in a way that everyone who counts themselves a part of that community can connect with (Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Twins, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Fire). Those names are so intertwined with the identity of the cities that they are relate-able for anyone in the community. Of course the glaring example to the contrary is the Boston Celtics. They chose their name precisely to identify with and attract Boston's large Irish population. For Walter Brown and the Celtics this worked and the team has become such a part of American culture (in large part due to their on the court success) the team name is barely identifiable as "ethnic" any more than one would label the Chiefs, Indians, or Braves as "ethnic". These names have become almost characatures and certainly are not intended to identify the team with a specific group of people. There are questions of this approach's moral and ethical attributes but the same standards do not seem to apply when talking about the Celtics or Notre Dame's Fighting Irish; but really are there anymore stereotyped mascots in all of sports? But perhaps this falls under the "it's ok because we're making fun of ourselves" rule. But to get back on track; With the almost infinite number of other names possible I would think that a name that all St Louisans can identify with would not be too hard to find.
But why ? There are more Puerto Ricans in Brooklyn than Italians. Does Italians fit because you envision stereotypical mob bosses as opposed to low level Puerto Ricans steel hub caps ? Pisanos as opposed to Italians I can kind of see but when Italians represent ~6% of the population (link), why does that "just fit"? Boston works because it was pretty much a split city, between Irish and Italians. How does that work for Brooklyn ? Especially for a sport like soccer, I'd think Puerto Ricans would be more likely to support a local team (possibly better than the Islanders) whereas I most 'Italians' I've met are likely to root for Italian teams even past the second generation born here. It's not controverery holding these names back, it's demographics and money nowadays.
Of course I don't envision stereotypical mob bosses as opposed to 'low level' Puerto Ricans. It's the historical value of the name. Second of all, I'm not saying it should be an MLS team, I'm saying it sounds cool. And it's "paisano," which would be the same in Spanish and Italian, but the plural would be different (I think "paisanos" and "paisani").
FWIW, there's also Club Deportivo Palestino, a professional football club based in the city of Santiago, Chile. The club was founded in 1920 and plays in the Primera División de Chile. They play their home games at the Estadio Municipal de La Cisterna stadium, which has a capacity of approximately 12,000 seats. The club was founded on August 20, 1920, when they participated in a colonial competition in Osorno. It was founded by a group of Palestinian immigrants, the name of the club reflects the origin in Chile's Palestinian community.
Also Syrianska FC in Sweden. Formed by Syrian/Armenian immigrants in 1977. And these are the team names that make sense to me, started by immigrants as a point of unity while outsiders in a new culture.
The team has been around since 1949. I'm betting the ethnic make up of Brooklyn back in 1949 had a pretty large Italian base, not so many Puerto Ricans. Just like 60 years from now it will be totally different once again. The Brooklyn Dodgers name is related to the area. The story goes the fans were always 'Dodging trolleys' to get to the games. When they relocated to LA they kept the name. I hate when teams move and keep the name.
I'm sure it does, I hear they have some big choir group they must be talking about them. Another one of my fav not renames is the Calgary Flames of the NHL. In the city that hosts one of the largest rodeos in the world they could see fit to give them a cowboy themed name. My thoughts on a St Louis name, I hope they come up with something local, but not to cartoonish.
I'm sure they do, in the same sense that Dallas has a brilliant symphony and San Diego has an amazing local theater scene... (not sarcasm, but kind of...). Calgary Stampeders is kind of a cool name (that's Canadian Football)