If you think about the names of some of the most respected teams in the US, you'll find that they have names that no one would pick if they were starting the teams today. Would anyone brand their team the Yankees, for example? But the name is old, there's tons of tradition and history behind it. Like you said, 50 years from now Rapids and Earthquakes will be as established as Yankees and Red Sox. Hell, my favorite sports team is named after a leaf.
But some team names are better than others. They all catch on, but they're not all created equal. I'm a Minnesota sports fan so I'll use my teams Minnesota Vikings- Great name. Fierce warriors, reflects the state's Scandanavian heritage Minnesota Twins- For the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul. Not a very good name but has a ring to it Minnesota Timberwolves- Good name. We have more wolves than any state in the continental US. And it's a fast, aggressive animal, which you want in a sports team Minnesota Wild- Worst team name ever
Agree completely with all of them, especially the Wild, which is even worse considering how good the name North Stars was, IMO.
IIRC, the fans in Minnesota voted to call the team the Northern Lights and the owners decided to go with the name that finished second because they felt the Northern Lights name was living in the past.
But that counters your previous argument. You're just not used to the Wild name because it's less than a decade old.
No, I said some names are better than others but they all catch on regardless of how bad they are. I hate the Minnesota Wild name. It's part of the new wave of ambiguous hockey team names which also includes Thrashers and Predators. Yesterday I came across a club in Holland's 2nd division "Go Ahead Eagles"
Lol I confused you and the poster above you because you had the same avatar. My mistake. P.S. Go all Minnesota-based sports teams!
Perkins throwing tonight we'll see. Check out this kit for the "Go Ahead Eagles". They look like McDonalds uniforms
What a mickey mouse name. Somebody should tell them that a name like that isn't how they do it in Europe.
and they would never have a corporate name like the Red Bulls in Europe...except FC Red Bull Salzburg and Bayer Leverkusen If anyone else knows of any European corporate team names feel free to chime in Here are some other great ones to laugh at. These are all professional soccer clubs BTW Deportivo Wanka (Peru) King Faisal Babies (Ghana) Wikki Tourists of Bauchi (Nigeria)
The Ghana Premier League, in addition to the "King Faisal Babies" also has clubs called "Arsenal" and "Chelsea"
I know, I don't like that. That's what I don't like about Chivas. It's just copying from a big club. That Arsenal and Chelsea will never get out of the shadows of the EPL Arsenal and Chelsea and that will hold them back. The same goes for Chivas. MLS needs to name teams based on the location of the city they represent. Whether it's [insert city] FC or names like Philadelphia Union, Seattle Sounders, and Chicago Fire. That will get more fans involved and dedicated to the team, imo.
This topic has just reminded me of a comversation I had with a friend of mine who supports Leicester City. When they were formed they were called Leicester Fosse (I haven't a clue why) only becoming Leicester City in 1919. We were talking about club names and he said that him and many people he knows really wish they'd kept their original name, like most unique names over here it doesn't sound that great but he wishes they'd kept it so that now they wouldn't be just one of many Cities in the League, they'd have a name no one else had with it's own history behind it, they'd have a name that was a real part of their club's identity. I think that if your more interestingly named teams changed them to simple, European style names then in the future fans of those teams will wonder why on earth anyone would change a unique, interesting name to something so bland, why being more like the European clubs was so important it took priority over your own tradition. I think they might well wish it hadn't been done as well.
I agree. I think FC Dallas and Toronto FC sound a little bland compared to teams like Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, and Philadelphia Union. I think naming teams after something to do with the city/state they represent is the better than FC. I think New York Red Bulls should have been named after something to do with New York. I guarantee more people would have connected with the team.
Flex i you are right, nicknames help identify a team and just giving a fc, ac, or sc only is just boring.
The team name "New York Red Bulls" is the reason they have a 200m stadium and Henry/Marquez. I see nothing wrong with it. Red Bull also owns a club in Salzburg, Austria.
I'm not disputing that at all. I just don't see why they couldn't have named the team differently and kept the name, Red Bull Arena, and the logo on their front jersey. The Lakers play in Staples Center and aren't called the Los Angeles Staples. It turned a lot of fans off. To me, I don't care either way. I'm just saying that I think more fans would have more pride in the team if it was named to represent their city. I'm not saying the reason why fans don't come out to Red Bulls games is because of the name, but there has to be a reason why New Yorkers still aren't packing that $200m stadium even with the likes of Henry, Marquez, and Angel on the team and being in 2nd place in the East.
I think they paid extra to have naming rights to the club. In Salzburg some of the fans revolted when Red Bull bought the club and renamed it "Red Bull Salzburg". They boycotted the club and started a new one that's in the 5th division or something. This situation was a bit different because the club SV Salzburg has been around for more than 75 years. They've won their league back-to-back years so I'm sure there's a whole new crop of fans (and then some) who replaced the ones who left. I heard the match last night against LA was sold out, but that's hardly a surprise. Not sure why the Red Bulls are not packing it every match. Could have something to do with the fact that it's in Harrison, NJ? I really don't know. I think attendance would be about the same if they were still the MetroStars.
Worst soccer team name in the world: King Faisal Babies of the Ghana Premier League The name alone makes it the worst (Babies, seriously?). The logo with religious imagery and message makes it even worse. C'mon guys!
Red Bull attendance this year is up about 40%. They're not selling out each game, sure, but that's a pretty impressive jump. Especially given the Metrostars' utterly crappy history of drawing fans to their games. I don't think the Red Bull re-branding has been negative in any way for the team.