Agreed. I will say I like the name "California Surf" and the logo/crest/colors are pretty cool, but I don't think it's the direction that this club should take. Soccer is marketed to a whole different crowd today, this moniker has soccer mom written all over it. I think they should really focus more on the Anaheim aspect (Anaheim name)....and possibly doing cross promos with the Ducks/Angels with events in Anaheim (might not happen, but always possible). I was just in downtown Anaheim last month, they could really do some cool things down there. I just think if chosen, the California Surf name will run out of steam quickly as it wasn't even that strong culturally in the old NASL anyway.
And the trademark to Los Angeles Aztecs, if I remember correctly. It will be interesting to see if they use one of these old names or go for something more modern (and less controversial).
OC expansion has placed trademark and has a ghost twitter account for.... California United FC Probably the worst name they could ever come up with. How the hell are they supposed to market that thing to a very crowded soccer market and plan to play at ex-OC SC Titan Stadium?! This league is so frustrating sometimes to allow this to happen...how about actually engaging the fans to see what name works best with them? While this is not official, the dots are seeming to line up that this is the name. With NASL coming to SD and already in SF.....California is the worst name you could station your club with.
I would wait until they actually name it that before getting fired up. Maybe they have a few options in mind and will do a fan voting contest like Peter Wilt plans to do in Chicago? You would need to register the names before the poll. I don't know that this is the case but just saying it's not worth getting frustrated over yet
I just don't want them to make a mistake with this. NASL needs every franchise from here on out to be solid and a lot of that has to do with marketing, exposure and outreach. Just look at the Phoenix example. I think Phoenix Rising put time and effort into this "3rd incarnation of Phoenix pro soccer in 5 years" organization. And it shows. Yes they have more money behind it, a better stadium, more civic-oriented with the city and a star player as co-owner, but it's a solid name that fans have wanted for a long time and now look at the results. Like I said, SoCal pro soccer market is now incredibly crowded. Having a lame name like California United FC while playing at Titan Stadium, is a death sentence.
Oakland_Soccer, calm down, the name is important to a degree, what is much more important is what you do with it. We can have some fun imagining what name would be a death sentence but California United is not one of them. Seal Puppy Killers gets my vote!!! Yeah, go get'em guys!!.
winner winner chicken dinner... http://www.calutdfc.com/news/2017/0...b-more-than-a-name-for-socals-new-nasl-outfit What’s in a name? A lot, if you’re California United Football Club. Meet NASL’s new side from SoCal who are taking aim at the grassroots to unite California’s passionate and expansive soccer base. Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. (August 8, 2017) - The word United is so common in the soccer world that it’s lost much of its meaning. But California United Football Club, one of the newest clubs in the North American Soccer League (NASL), has made it the watchword for their entire operation. The club, based in Orange County, intends to tap into the massive grassroots soccer fervor alive and thriving in Southern California. The aim is to exemplify the word United not just through performances on the field, but from the ground up – from scouting to player-relations, backroom operations, front office and fan base. Cal Utd has signed a letter of intent to play their home games at Cal State Fullerton’s 10,000-seat Titan Stadium. The venue boasts a natural grass playing-surface
Don't know what's worse. That this could be the final wordmark logo, or if not that they didn't even bother to design a proper wordmark before they launched with such a piss poor name. What is it with the NASL and names in California. They're 0 for 2 so far between this an the SF Deltas. Hopefully the San Diego guys have a clue unlike these last two ownership groups. But I've not got high hopes seeing as they've already delayed their announcement at least a month beyond when they intended to announce the SD name.
California United name is worse than...Indy 11, Sacramento Republic, FC Cincinnati? These are three most successful clubs in D2 and I just don't see how each name guaranteed their success. Maybe success has more to do with the organization rather than the name. Wishing for the demise of a soccer club that yet to play a game because of the name is childish.
For a D2 that in no way represents California... yeah it is. Obviously it's a small part of what will make them sink or swim, just as the Deltas name is only a small part of why that team is about to fold. But it's definitely a check mark in the sink category. In a state with 9 other D1/2 teams it's presumptuous as hell to name your team after the whole state when in reality you're the Northeast Corner of Orange County FC and everyone knows it.
Athletics 68 someone needs to tell you to stop being pedantic [to put as nicely as humanly possible] and step back look at the big picture. They are a D2 soccer club in California, they have hopes and dreams, some money and the will to spend it on a club. Good luck to them; they will need it. SF proves that no matter how good the team [and their team is very good] that financial success is difficult [and the name Deltas does not contribute to the on-field success any more than the name does for the front office deficiencies]. To call for the end of their existence, as you have, is beyond teenage hate/rage and I think it's possible you will admit that this is not your brightest contribution to BigSoccer. I'll repeat this with the hope it sinks in; it's not the name, it's what you do with it. Put the atlas down, step away, look at the their club for what it is as it develops over the next few years. We'll see what they DO.
I think you're misunderstanding me. I'm agreeing with you that the name is not going to be the one thing that kills them if they do in fact die (I said as much regarding the Deltas two posts up). Just as the pitiful Deltas name is not the lone thing, or even a large part, of why they're dying. All I'm saying is having a shit brand to base your marketing and branding strategy on is an easily avoidable problem that does impact the ability of your front office to market your team. You may see realizing that as pedantic, I call it being realistic. Branding is a big part of success, and a name/logo/identity are part of a team's core branding. If their core of the branding isn't good, the ability to market is hurt unnecessarily as a result. And I'm not calling for their death, not sure where you're getting that idea. That's a strawman at best. I wish them well. But at the same time I won't stop acknowledging the fact they've made their branding job harder from the get go by choosing the identity they did, and launching it with a logo that looks like it could have been done on MS Word. They've screwed up, and I'm going to call them on it. Just as people called the Deltas on their shit branding, which has hurt them in addition to other issues with marketing, ticketing and management. It was one small act in a show that's thus far been a comedy of errors.
Athletics68, first let me apologize if I have confused you with someone else [calling for their demise]. Second, a correction, there are two black and white placeholder graphics, neither is their logo [which has not been released yet] as you claim. I'm going to very clearly disagree with you about their name. They have chosen a classic and traditional football name for a club, United; nothing fancy, nothing crazy. If your argument is that California is too broad to use I find that to be a very, very small argument; not worth the worry no matter how many pro teams exist in CA. When combined with the fact they have not yet begun to market the club I feel you may have jumped the gun with criticism. Be patient. Lastly, on SF, I don't think the Deltas name is much of a factor. They have done such a poor job getting their name into the community that it is insignificant to their situation. A better name wouldn't make a difference.
Absolutely, in both cases. @athletics86 is right about this. I think it's worthwhile to reverse engineer the logic of a team's name. LAFC came into the league with a lot of advantages. An established league, a good stadium location, a willingness to spend money (Vela!). Added to that, they knocked the color scheme and badge out of the park. All they needed with the name is to not screw it up. City + FC is a conservative, don't-screw-it-up kind of name. Cal United starts from a bad situation. A league that is having trouble surviving. Surrounded by three other professional soccer teams. They need to be the best promoters they can possibly be in order to make it. By picking a safe name, and not even City+United, they missed an opportunity to promote themselves. To give the team a little personality. It's not going to be decisive, but they're only going to have so many chances to sell the team and they can't afford to waste any of them. What this says to me is that they don't have much in terms of promoting skills, and that's a bad sign.
This pretty clearly shows the problem with this team. A minor league soccer team is a business that is built on selling tickets to fans. And yet there was no discussion of what they will offer to fans. They need 5,000 people to buy tickets every game. No one is going to care that you discover a player who might turn out to be a bench warmer in MLS. They might care about being part of something that is hip and cool - which is why branding matters. Or more likely, they're looking for cheap, convenient entertainment. They need to figure this out and quick.
Yeah the discussion of the "grassroots" as if it's some sort of holy grail is troubling. Deltas made similar proclaimations early on... and found there was no grassroots without accompanying leadership from the team. People don't just magically appear to watch a soccer team because you have one. Particularly not in sports impacted markets like the SF Bay Area or Greater LA. Conversely, the guys putting the NASL team in SD are making me cautiously optimistic about that team. Having a plan for not only their own stadium, but a youth ladder, feeder team, women's team, and they've been getting on local media regularly to promote themselves. http://www.foxsports.com/san-diego/video/1022694467715?amp=true