Probably some tool out there who doesn't want to give up the rights to the name.... *cough*Rowdies*cough* Then again, according to the trademark search site, the trademark was cancelled in 1989 and no other results come up....
http://nasl.com/news.php?id=47 wow. Edmonton hires a coach, a very good one. Dwight Lodeweges was recently the head coach for the Dutch premier league's FC Groningen, FC Zwolle, PSV Eindhoven and NEC Nijmegen. Lodeweges spent 9 years playing in North America including three years with the Edmonton Drillers.
They've got over a year to attach a catchy nickname and decide the "FC" is silent. It's a placeholder name that doesn't need an expensive total rebrand if it stays around for too long.
I like that they already have a staff and coach in place, a year ahead of time. Should help them get prepared for 2011.
Why a bad name? Just because they wanted to keep it simple and not come up with some horrible nickname like 50% of other teams! Nothing wrong with keeping it simple, wish several other teams would do the same thing.
Says the FC Dallas supporter.... Sure it's lazy but it's better than some half-baked nickname like Burn, Wiz or Clash. Besides they still have a year they can develop a further identity as they move forward. FC Edmonton is better than "Edmonton NASL 2011".
NSC Minnesota is much better. At least it has a specific meaning -- the ownership group is the NSC. FC is so generic, and I'm getting tired of it. And before you jump on my, I didn't like the FC Dallas choice. While I hated the Burn name when they started out, once they had it, I thought they should keep it. I hate when teams change their name. The only way to get history is to keep what you started with. I've been a Burn fan (and so has Jefe) since '95, so just because they changed their name to something stupid, doesn't mean we're going to stop supporting them.
That's great! I understand completly, I'm from Charlotte and when the Hornets moved I find myself now calling the Bobcats the Hornets. When your use to something it's hard to change, but to say FC is used to much is like saying to stop calling the sport what it is. The names that have FC, etc are for identification. I write Wizards you don't know who I'm talking about KC, Washington, but wright Wizards FC(by the way I know that's not really their name) and you know MLS. No one uses FC when they're talking to each other, It's just on the logo for identification purposes. Maybe that will help you think of it in a different way. I personally like FC, and I know this argument occurs in the forums all the time, but does it truly hurt for a teams name to written with FC or SC or what ever they would like to go with?
That might depend if the city of Edmonton is willing to renovate Clarke Stadium up to NASL standards, whatever they may be. It might also depend if the existing Drillers allow FC Edmonton to use the Drillers name for their season (name recognition).
Very interesting points you bring up, because 1. I don't think that the huge Commonwealthstadium would be a good fit and 2. The Drillers brand is still a household name for top soccer in the Edmonton region, maybe the indoor and the outdoor teams should work together
The Journal yesterday considered Foote Field as the likely home for the team. It turf field has a larger permanent capacity than Clarke and the U of A may be more willing to spring for a turf with removable lines. The team is also planning an exhibition schedule for this summer.
OK. I didn't know about Foote Field. I thought Clarke Stadium would make more sense for them to play in. BTW, here's an aerial pic of what Foote Field looks like:
Inside MN Soccer did an interview with Mel Kowalchuk the GM of FC Edmonton and he had some very interesting things to say and it seems he means business: http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2010/...-the-newest-nasl-team-and-do-they-have-plans/ Three things strike me in this article: 1. They want their own SSS and they are looking to start that process in about 3-6 months! That's pretty aggresive. 2. Apparently the NASL has a rule about clubs not playing on fields with throwball lines on it...........! 3. FC Edmonton is NOT the Whitecaps placement club when they make the jump to MLS, so this puts another club somewhere in Western Canada as the Whitecaps subclub (Which would make 5 clubs in the NCC). With Edmonton coming in I would think the Whitecaps could put a club in Calgary for an instant rival, or if they want to keep it close to home then maybe Victoria. In any case this article really makes me excited about the prospects of Canadian soccer making HUGE advances in the next few years.
Yep. Next year, there should be four teams in the Nutralite Canadian Championship. Any more Canadian teams enter the NASL they're going to have to come up with another way to determine the CCL representative. There won't be time to play a full home-away schedule.