Being an old South Jersey guy, I feel compelled to give the name Alliance one last try/bit of hype/"debate" before everybody starts voting officially on this thing. I know it did not make the leaked "cut", but as a write-in candidate it is a sure fire winner, for fans, sportcasters, the newspapers, etc. Imagine the unveiling of the name as your boy Nick makes the announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct pleasure to unveil the name and colors of the newest member of Major League Soccer. I give you- the Philadelphia Alliance FC." "We recieved many votes from the fans, and found that no one name or concept was an overwhelming choice. The answer was right there for us, the iconic Cmdr. Barry Bridge, the symbol of our team and the great town of Chester. As many of you know, Cmdr. Barry was a true patriot who defended our nation in its earliest days, and his battle ship was the S.S. Alliance. Today, we pay tribute to the fighting spirit that is in the very fabric of this country, and this area in particular, by taking the name Alliance as our team's identity. It symbolically reflects the union of the thriving soccer community of the Delco region, whose fans will come from many states to support their club for years to come. It is, and will be a true Alliance of supporters, all joined together with one goal in mind, to grow the sport we love, and to win championships!" "Go Alliance!" "The Alliance cannot be stopped!" "The Alliance is trong and will never be broken!" (ZOLOS will always be there though!)
Re: Join the Alliance! Good job, Chris 66. You changed my vote. I found this on the Wikipedia website: The USS Alliance (1778)Template:WP Ships USS instances, was a sailing frigate of the Continental Navy, and notable for firing the last shots of the Revolutionary War. It peeked my interest and now I have changed my vote from AC to Alliance. I love the fact that it fired the last shot of the war. Nice. Plus it is better than Union.
Re: Join the Alliance! You might be right that it is a solid name - it never really struck me as better than Union despite the connection to Barry - but it doesn't have a chance of being selected. I have name the team fatigue.
Re: Join the Alliance! The name has been run by team officials before. I took every name that got consideration on here to them. They aren't going to have a wow moment when they see this.
Re: Join the Alliance! i like Alliance from day 1. has a nice ring to it Philadelphia Alliance SC Philadelphia Alliance SC Philadelphia Alliance SC Philadelphia Alliance SC Philadelphia Alliance SC
Re: Join the Alliance! If Alliance were one of the four official choices, I feel pretty secure that it would win. Alas, the team opted for a similar (but not as good IMHO) choice in Union. While I think it's a great sentiment to try to bring attention to the name -- and why it fits in so well historically in addition to representing a meaningful concept -- the reality is that no write-in campaign is going to be successful. There simply is no name that captures the imagination of both the hard cores as well as the casual fans that will be written in.
Re: Join the Alliance! I think Atoms has a chance to have a respectable showing. I don't think any of the other do.
Re: Join the Alliance! I actually agree. I think Atoms will get the highest total of write-ins -- because that's the top name that your casual fan would likely write-in without any sort of prompting. Still, it will pale in comparison to the totals that the official choices get IMHO. Actually, Fury will probably get a decent amount of votes despite how much it is panned here. The only way a write-in choice will get the most votes is by a concerted campaign in the general media -- that means sportswriters in the Inky/Daily News, guys on CSN, even ads in stuff like the City Paper -- all hyping the same name and something that the casual fan can identify (i.e. something more typically American like Atoms or Spartans). Also, it's worth noting again that the owners will name the team whatever they want anyway. Didn't "Highlanders" win the SLC poll and they named the team Real Salt Lake anyway?
Re: Join the Alliance! Bob, you hit the nail on the head by mentioning the PRESS need to weigh in on all this and help sift thru the choices. I may be a voice in the wilderness on this, but one well-written article (or three) pushing the Alliance Revolutionary War historical connection could sway the tide. I would have to think that any self-respecting journo within earshot of Chester would prop the Alliance in a nanosecond over Union, Spartans, 2010, SC, FC, you name it. Atoms, Fury, retro yes, but I don't see the outcry like with Sounders, Earthquakes or Whitecaps, even Cosmos. Writers are after stories, and good stories are what attract people's attention. IMHO the Alliance/Barry war ship dealio is a great story, and one that needs telling. A simple story, one about courage, patriotism, heroism, yada, yada, yada. Perfect imagery to use as a basis for sports articles about competition, battle, winning and losing. Where is the angle for all these other names? Where is the MARKETING opportunity? With Alliance you got any catch phrase imaginable, including stuff straight out of Star Wars for gosh sakes. You got crazy get ups for the fans, cool tshirts with warships on them, Admiral hats if you like for the kids. Sons of Ben would once and for all be placed in a proper context of the Revolutionary War. Bryan, you and your great group will be diminished with anything else that does not capture that early American essence. It's the only natural fit to the colonial vibe you yourself started. Union is OK, not great. 2010 will leave you with the nickname the Teners. Not too bad, fits the Sixers mode, but no great shakes. SC, FC, how often have we heard sportcasters refer to Dallas or Toronto as FC on TV or in print? Bah. City is just plain wrong, call them the Chesters instead. Unlike us fans of other teams with crap names, we had no choice, but Philly can get it done right the first time. Philly Alliance FC. (With Zolos as unofficial nickname).
Re: Join the Alliance! I am not sure if you would want it anyway. It is the name of our membership association. http://www.soundersfc.com/article.aspx?id=1758 I'm stickin' to the Union.
Re: Join the Alliance! The funny thing is that Alliance was pushed in the past for other teams (including Seattle I believe) but in Philly's case it actually makes sense!
Re: Join the Alliance! I agree, like Union, Alliance works much better for Philly than it would have for Seattle. I don't mind the name for our membership association so much.
Re: Join the Alliance! How about... "Shifters" "Wafflers" "Jelloers" or "Can't make up our minders" ??? I kid, I kid...sort of.