It's been a while since this topic was brought up, so I need someone to refresh my memory. Why is it that only in soccer that a team in the New York/New Jersey area can not use the city or state name when referring to it? This happened with the Cosmos and now the Metrostars. Has the league officially said that they should only be referred to as the Metrostars? There is no reference to NY/NJ on MLS's website. Does the media in other MLS cities and around the world refer to them this way? Don't you think the casual fan would need to know where the team is from? Wouldn't it serve the league better if they identified them as a NY team, especially in the standings and promotional material? Don't you think I've asked enough questions? Rochester paper didn't get the message: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/sports/columns/0318story1_columns.shtml
They need to ID themselves no more then Boca or River need to mention Buenos Aires, or the Mexico City clubs need to mention that in their names. What's the big deal? The U.S. probably has a tendency to do that in its sports because we almost always just have one team for one city. (I also have no doubt that if the MetroStars moved into New York proper, they would become the New York MetroStars without any hesitation.)
1. Where is Juventus from? Or Flamengo? 2. There is a theory in the US Congress that 'a dollar for the arts means a dollar for New York City.' Claiming to be from New York isn't always an advantage. 3. Being the only team in MLS with a single name -- Metrostars -- conveys a certain mystique. (It works for me. I'm thoroughly mystiqued.) The official line is that we are the team for the Tri-State area, but that sounds like so much PC bovine scatology that I just don't want to go there. I hope this helps.
You know, the definitive answer to this question really ought to be stickied at the top. Not that I'm going to tell BS's First Moderator how to do his job, since I still need to do the same with the "Why can't the Burn play at SMU's stadium" question