From an article in today's Salt Lake Tribune: Q: What do you think of the name possibilities (Alliance, Highlanders, Glory and Real) that have been proposed? Pastorino: Personally, I'm not a fan of Glory. And I don't think that we're going to go the route of a team name comprised of the city (or state) followed by a "mascot/nickname" i.e., Kansas City Wizards or Utah Jazz. I like names like Alliance and/or Real that acknowledge or reference some of the history and traditions of soccer. The name hasn't been finalized in part because we know how important it is to have a name that will come to be synonymous with the team for generations. If this is true, then you can count out Salt Lake Highlanders as the name - it has that "(City) (Mascot/Nickname)" form that they appear to be leaning against. Unfortunately, it appears Real Salt Lake is (sadly) still in the running. However, it also appears that Alliance SLC hasn't been defeated yet. The possibility of Alliance SLC has grown on me quite a bit since first suggested, and at any rate, is an infinately superior name to Real Salt Lake. Do we now, as fans, finally come together in a consensus and push hard for Alliance SLC over Real? Here's the rest of the article from the Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_2417351
Alliance sounds like the typical name of a WUSA team. Granted, if they become an actual club, it could make sense. For example, if they establish a working relationship with The Blitzz (Think SLA Blitzz) and have their hands in youth development and leagues then the Alliance name would work. Maybe they could use the name until a permanent nickname developes. It's too bad about Highlanders being out. It would have been the first MLS team name that sounds intimidating. They could have been the Raiders of soccer and it would have been easy to sell merchandise. They could have put a claymore on their crest and crazy fans would have shown up in kilts. I may be the only one here who is down with the Real Salt Lake thing. As long as there is an actual business relationship with Real Madrid not just Dave Checkettes jacking their name, I think it will work.
ditto. i hate to say it, but i think that the guys in charge of naming your team are retards. here's to hoping your new gm reels them in and slaps them around a bit al a peter wilt circa 1998 with the nike folks.
Pastorino said in the interview that our players will be "Hard-working, well conditioned players who are solid citizens off the field." Who does that leave out?
It's down to two: Real Salt Lake and Salt Lake Alliance Soccer Club (SC). Both allow the fans to come up with their own nickname, so if you all like "the highlanders," start saying it and telling people. Or maybe if the organization chooses "Real Salt Lake," they will start refering to the team as "the galacticos" (just like Real Madrid). Who knows.
Is Salt Lake confirmed to be included in the team name (as opposed to Utah)? I recall seeing a BS post that said that the use of Salt Lake might be required for public funding but I do not recall seeing that item mentioned in any team press release or local newspaper. We'll see who really runs the team when the name is announced - Checkeets seems to be the Real Salt Lake fan while Pastorino seems to be making the case for Alliance in the name.
That's a dumb reason, since they'll probably sell the naming rights anyway. Let the Supporters Club be the Highlanders if the team isn't. As for Galacticos, I'd agree if we didn't already have the Galaxy in this league. That would be way too confusing to the casual fan.
The recent weeks of the Real Salt Lake scare... has made Alliance SC sound pretty good to me. See, that's what happens when you think you're getting stuck with the ugly girl at the dance - the mediocre ones looker better by the minute. Long live the: Salt Lake City SC Olympic SC Saints SC Sparta SC (for the old club) ... I don't even care anymore - just announce and move on. I'm almost certain the name will suck... No offense to anyone but IMHO, Highlanders SC is better than Salt Lake Highlanders. Why do we have to have a city/state in the name? just in case someone forgets where they are from? Cheers!
I remember this monument they used to erect for Metro games and other players would play around it (and sometimes it made them worship it). Sound familliar to anyone else?
For newbies. The original argument I made for a name of Alliance SLC at the time of the announcement of the four finalists. I can respect Checketts for sticking with a club team that he really likes, but the fact that it's so obviously an import and knock-off should eliminate it.And if you can't pronounce it, you probably shouldn't use it. To me, Alliance SLC is obviously a soccer name, it has resonance and a selling point in the community, it provides an easy nickname (unless you guys are dead-set on Highlanders) and it sounds nice. I later said that if the team is going to play outside of the city, you could call it Alliance Salt Lake Valley (Alliance SLV). Still think this is the best reasoning that I've seen.
i have always like the name alliance its different and its bold. like said above the supporters could be called the allies and i think that colors should be orange and white. i like orange because its bold and this is a bold name and the color hasnt been used in the league yet. ALLIANCE SLC!!!
Look, at this point, I highly doubt that it's going to be Highlanders. Though I wasn't wild about it, I thought that Highlanders was the best of a mediocre/bad lot. But Pastorino's comments on Sunday strongly suggest that Highlanders will not be selected because they are likely not going to go with the "(City) (Mascot/Nickname)" form familiar to American Sports fans. The candidates, like it or not, seem to have been narrowed down to Alliance, Real and/or possibly something we haven't yet heard. Now, I think there are about a thousand names that are better than Alliance, but about a million names that are worse (Real being one of them). That's not the point. The point is, if it is indeed a choice between Alliance and Real, what would you prefer? Personally, I prefer Alliance SLC. It's unique. It grows on you - and will even more over time. Honestly, if the name United hadn't already already become entrenched in the soccer landscape, and someone was suggesting it as the name for the Salt Lake team, people would react in the same way they do to Alliance. We like United because it's familiar. Were it not so familiar, it qualifies for of all the same "It sounds like a WUSA name" disparaging Alliance is getting. And the truth is, Alliance is already a name famaliar to the soccer landscape (see South America: Peru). Most of us just aren't accustomed to it yet. And, Ghost has provided us with a long list of other strengths for the name Alliance (this, of course, assumes you read Ghost's post; the longer I'm on bigsoccer, the more I'm convinced this is too much to expect). Hell, the supporters group is already perfectly named: The Loyalists! So my original question remains: If it is truly a choice between Alliance SLC and Real Salt Lake, what do you prefer? And (assuming Alliance is the choice; maybe a poll is in order), is it time to develop a concensus among fans to press for Alliance over Real? It's a lesser of two evils delima that should be familiar to anyone who votes in this country. No independant candidates allowed. If you think it would be too hard getting people to properly use Alliance as a name (i.e., it's not The Alliance, just Alliance; as in United, not The United), well, just try getting them to pronounce Real correctly. So lets come together and settle on a name already so that we can dedicate our energy to the thing we all really care the most about: orange uniforms.