I thought of this after I voted, which is unfortunate because I thought "NorthStar Toronto" would be a great name. Using "International" or some variant would make sense because something like half the city population is from outside the country, but I think we should be wary of too many teams adopting "euro-sounding" names. I don't even have a problem with things like Dallas FC & Real Salt Lake, but for my money names like "Chicago Fire" are best...it's all their own, it's distinctive, it comes from the city's history...it just works. I like the Revs name as well--obviously there's some bias there--but it works the same way. Reds would work, but there's just too many teams with red unis now. Nationals is alright, I guess, but it doesn't grab me. Perhaps working "Lake" into the name somehow. "Golden Horseshoe" certainly doesn't have a nice-sounding ring to it. Yeah, I think I just talked myself into "International" by default.
Of the names listed Toronto Reds is the best option IMO. Generic enough that noone will dislike it intensely for being too eurosnob sounding like Inter Toronto FC or too North American franchise gimmick sounding like the NBA's Toronto Raptors. There are plenty of teams around the world that are regularly referred to as the Reds (Liverpool, Aberdeen, Man Utd), Rojos etc etc. The idea that there are too many teams with red does not bear close inspection IMO. Red and blue tend to dominate in most leagues around the world and the problem is easily solved by having home and away kits:- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/FA_Clubs_map_home_colours.PNG Best to stick to the colours that sell the most merchandise. MLSE have already had to move away from the Raptors original distinctive purple to a more mainstream Canadian red for that reason.
I like Reds alright, but do you worry about Blue Jay fans thinking it's like Cincinnati? I think Liverpool would probably come to mind first still.
Toronto Internationals. The fans can call them Inter if they please, but the offical name should be not a blatent rip-off of another team.
Not hugely given that the Cincinnati Reds are a National league team while the Jays are in the American League (now the Montreal Expos are gone the NL gets limited coverage in Canada) and given that baseball and soccer tend to appeal to different demographics in southern Ontario. I think it's a name that people from all backgrounds could get used to very quickly and that is a major plus in a city as culturally diverse as Toronto.
I voted Toronto FC on the site, but must admit I like the sound of FC Toronto better, following in the footsteps of FC Dallas, this can become a conventional North American style name. I also like Toronto Lynx as a name. Can anyone fill me in on what will happen to this team? Will they fold next year? I remember the commissioner of the USL saying before that while he wants the clubs to stay, the USL would do nothing to prevent a team from moving up to the MLS, so I was always curious if this team could reorg as a MLS team as opposed to start from scratch completely.
That is oONE person's thought up nickname for the TEAM. Poster I replied to specifically mentioned every person in the SUPPORTERS GROUPS.
Where is the BigSoccer FAQ when you need it? The Lynx have nothing to do with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the company that has secured an MLS franchise. The Lynx may play games in the new stadium constructed in part for the U20 WC to be held in Canada and for the new MLS Toronto team.
Why don't we name teams after geographical features like River Plate?? How about "Rouge River FC", "Inter Ontario" or they could just call themselves the "hosers".
Rochester Football Club. Toronto's just on the other side of the lake anyway. But I think MLS is, frankly, going way too deep into the suburbs, the stadium should be in the center of Rochester.