nas1787 Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 After completing my Canadian Rugby Premiership, I've had a few requests to do a similar concept for the US. So I thought I'd get the topic started now to generate some ideas before starting on the concepts. The CRP has 12 clubs, but I think this league will consist of 16 (with potential expansion in the future). I am now taking suggestions for the following:1. League nameAs I mentioned in the CRP thread, I'd like to avoid the word 'league' so as to avoid confusion with the sport of rugby league (this being a rugby union competition). Some of my ideas: National Rugby Union, National Rugby Association, American Rugby Union, American Rugby Association. I'll change the thread name once a name has been decided upon.2. Club locationsLike I said, 16 clubs to begin with. Only 1 team per city (no NYC and NJ/Long Island, for example). I think the only guarantees are NY, LA and Chicago. Keep in mind where rugby is popular (Wikipedia says New England and Colorado/Utah) as well as where there are suitable facilities (BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston has hosted a lot of rugby events). The Las Vegas Sevens tournament is one of the most popular in the world, so maybe LV would be a good spot for a club?3. Club names/colours/identitiesMuch like I did with the CRP I'd like to combine traditional rugby club names (in the CRP I used Harlequins and Blues), traditional North American sporting nicknames (CRP examples: Giants, Prairie Dogs) and teams without official nicknames (Ottawa RFC in the CRP). I'd like there to be some connection between location and identity. In the CRP I resurrected the Toronto St. Pats name that used to be a hockey team. I would consider doing the same in this competition.Let's hear your ideas. I'll get started later in the week.East DivisionAtlanta Rugby Football ClubBoston HarpsChicago UnionGotham Rugby Football ClubMinnesota VoyageursPhiladelphia GloryTropical Miami Rugby Football ClubWashington Stars Rugby Football ClubWest DivisionDallas BullsDenver BighornsGolden Gate Rugby Football ClubHouston Generals Rugby ClubSaracens Los AngelesSeattle Cascades Rugby ClubSin City Rugby Football ClubUtah Hornets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Dandy Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I'd say any of the potential names is fine, save for National Rugby Association -- best to avoid confusion with the NRA. National Rugby Union is the most natural in my opinion.For club locations, I'd say for sure the 8 you mentioned (NY, Los Angeles, Chicago, Vegas, Denver, Salt Lake City, Houston, Boston) and I'd suggest Seattle and/or Portland and San Francisco in addition. Seattle and Portland are natural fits because the Pacific Northwest is a hotbed for sports in general, and something about the Bay Area makes me think they'd eat up a rugby team. I'd also throw in a team around Raleigh-Durham.When a final list is settled on, I'll gladly toss out some team name ideas.Ideas for team locations:Los Angeles, San Francisco (or San Jose), Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, Denver, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Minnesota, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Raleigh, TampaI'm dropping Utah from my list because I realized that the East was under-represented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cohenj21 Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Glad to see this getting started, looking forward to seeing your work. As for the league name, I would go with either National Rugby Union or American Rugby Union, sounds better than using Association IMO. Also we can't have confusion with the NRA.For city locations, my suggestions would be:Eastern Division- New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, MiamiWestern Division- Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Salt Lake CityOther cities I thought about were Cleveland, Tampa, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Nashville, Indianapolis, San Diego, and Portland.Good luck with this project, I'll be happy to help with team names once you pick your cities. "Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElTeduardo Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 How bout Major Rugby Union Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElTeduardo Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Philadelphia would work ppl park hosts the college 7s tournament almost every year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camly Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Vegas hosts a lot of 7s tournaments too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whittier S Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I want to second the Twin Cities for a rugby team. We hosted the Bingham Cup quite successfully a couple of years back.I would go this way:EAST: New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, MinneapolisWEST: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Salt Lake City Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nas1787 Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 Ok I'm obviously going to need to make some executive decisions for the club locations. I have a pretty good idea where I'd like to go. Any other suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sykton Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 East: Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Carolina, Washington D.C., Mississippi, Baltimore, BostonWest: Los Angeles, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Portland, Seattle, Albuquerque, San Francisco, Las Vegas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Dandy Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I like Whittier's list, except that I'd swap out Atlanta for somewhere in the Carolinas, and maybe Jacksonville for Miami -- apparently Jacksonville has a good RL team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nas1787 Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 Thanks for all your suggestions everyone. I think there were over 30 cities in total mentioned, so I had to make some tough decisions. Sorry if some of the cities you'd like to see weren't included, but I won't rule out expansion in the future.Now the fun part. What kind fo names can you come up with for these clubs? As I mentioned in the first post, I'd like to see a mix of traditional rugby and traditional NA names. I also wouldn't mind having some clubs not include their city in their name (ie. Boston could be New England, Minneapolis could be Minnesota). City nicknames could also be utilized. If you have suggested colour schemes or other design elements, let me know those as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughRiders99 Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 You could use Twin Cities for Minneapolis instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whittier S Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Minneapolis Apollos (the arts are HUGE here); Twin Cities TitansLas Vegas Kings; Las Vegas JokersPhiladelphia GloryDallas Barons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Dandy Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Okay...name suggestions...I feel like traditional North American names can be a detriment to rugby, so a lot of the names are moreAtlanta: Forest City Atlanta -- Atlanta is covered in trees, and I just personally like the phrasing of "Forest City."Boston: Boston Harps -- self-explanatory, hopefully, but Boston has a huge Irish population and the harp is one of Ireland's national symbol (Boston Shamrocks is also a possibility because it's the IRFU symbol).Chicago: Chicago Union -- the name has multiple meanings -- a) they're a rugby union team, a tribute to Chicago's workforce, c) a tribute to Union Station.Dallas: Dallas RFC -- I really can't think of anything that doesn't incorporate a "western" theme, which I know most members of the Metroplex area hate. One could also consider Dallas XV or Fifteen.Denver: Denver Bighorns -- the state mammal of Colorado is the bighorn sheep.Houston: Houston Apollos -- got to go with something space themed for Houston; I don't believe it's too big of a deal that the Apollos were a minor league hockey team in the 70s.Las Vegas: Las Vegas Aces -- I'm not explaining this one.Los Angeles: Los Angeles Stars -- Nor this one.Miami: Tropical Miami -- this one too.Minneapolis: Gemini RFC or Minnesota United.New York: Despite the fact that this would be my home team, I'm not sure what a good name would be. New York Emperors? New York RFC? Gotham RFC? Mohawk New York? New York Kings? Club Orange? New York Tigers? Pick one.Philadelphia: Philadelphia Independents -- the birthplace of American Independence, blah blah blah. Alternatively: Philadelphia Lightning RFC, due to the famous story of Ben Franklin's kite flying exploits.Salt Lake City: Utah Hornets -- Utah is traditionally nicknamed the Beehive State (there's a beehive on the flag).San Francisco: Bay Wolves RFC -- the San Francisco Bay Area needs to have an inclusive name that doesn't reference cities so that Oakland and San Jose roots the team on as well. This name references the entire Bay and also pays tribute to local author Jack London and his love of dogs (and his novel The Sea Wolf). An alternative suggestion: San Francisco Originals, after the "Original All-Blacks" New Zealand team that played in San Francisco back in 1905.Seattle: Seattle Tempests -- Seattle is known for its rain.Washington: Washington Dukes -- a tribute to Duke Ellington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steff002 Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Minnesota Voyageurs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cohenj21 Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 My name suggestions-Boston- Minutemen RFC, Boston Minutemen, New England Minutemen. Minutemen, in case you don't know was a term for American revolutionary soliders.New York- I would go simply New York RFC, with a blue-orange scheme. Gotham RFC or New York Empire are good too but it should be short and powerful.Philadelphia- I like El Dandy's lightning idea with a black/yellow scheme, good idea.Washington- Definitely something capital-related, maybe Washington Federals/Americans/Generals. Capital City RFC sounds pretty good as well. Definitely red-white-blue for them.Atlanta- Perhaps Gateway RFC, as Atlants is nicknamed Gate City. Maybe something like Southland RFC because Atlanta is your only "Deep South" city.Miami- El Dandy's Tropical Miami is good, or Miami Tropics if you prefer the name that way.Chicago- Chicago Union. Bullseye. Maybe go light blue and red for colors as a nod to the city flag.Minneapolis- Minnesota Lumberjacks if you want to go that route, or Twin Cities RFC for something more urban.Houston- Houston Apollos is a good idea, should be space related. Perhaps Houston Galaxy RFC or Nebula or something.Dallas- I would go Western here, maybe Dallas Bandits or MustangsDenver- Rocky Mountain RFCSalt Lake City- Utah Hornets is good. Black and yellow would be good but only if you don't use it for Philly.Las Vegas- Sin City RFC or Las Vegas Devils. Red-black color scheme?Los Angeles- LA Stars RFC (per El Dandy)San Francisco- Golden Gate RFC or San Francisco Rush (Gold Rush)Seattle- Tempests is a good idea, something storm-related for sure if not that (Thunderbolts?)Hope this helps! "Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacificCoastRL Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 These are nicknames I use in my rugby league re-creation competitions. I'm sure some would be fine for rugby union.Seattle Chieftains - after Chief Sealth, for whom Seattle was namedSalt Lake City - Wasatch RFC, for the Utah mountain range that is visible for Salt Lake CitySan Francisco Redwoods - some one suggested Golden Gate,which I do like a lot, but there is already a union team in San Francisco using that name, if that mattersDenver Bears - I like old baseball teamsLas Vegas Red Rocks or Red Rocks RFC, for the red rocks near VegasLos Angeles Bulldogs - a name from the old Pacific Coast Football LeagueDallas Locomotives - lots of railroading in DallasHouston Generals - for Sam HoustonMinneapolis Millers - again, an old baseball team. Someone suggested Twin Cities RFC, I like that tooChicago Stockyarders - this is the name of a rugby league team in Chicago. I don't know if you want to use established namesBoston Beacons - old NASL teamNew York Senecas - for the former village of Seneca that was removed to make way for Central ParkPhiladelphia Keystones - PA is the keystone stateWashington Monuments - no explanation neededAtlanta Forest City - or something similar. Someone else has suggested this, I think it's greatMiami - Biscayne Bay RFC for Miami's bay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nas1787 Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 There are some really great ideas in here. Thanks everyone. Keep them coming. I forgot to mention that I am also taking suggestions for shirt sponsors. Preferably companies with strong ties to the city they are sponsoring.I'm starting on the first concept right now.Any other preferences for the league name? I'd like to set that soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cohenj21 Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Shirt Sponsor Ideas-Boston-TD Bank, GilletteNew York- Citibank, Metlife, JetBluePhiladelphia- Wells Fargo, Lincoln Financial, Citizens BankWashington- Verizon, FedexAtlanta- Philips, Delta, Coca-ColaMiami- Burger King, SunLife Financial, PepsiChicago- United Airlines, US CellularMinnesota- TargetDallas- American AirlinesHouston- Toyota, Reliant Energy, Exxon MobilDenver- Coors, Pepsi, Sports AuthoritySalt Lake City- Energysolutions, eBayLas Vegas- MGM, Caesar's Palace (gotta be a casino)Los Angeles- StaplesSan Francisco- Google, AT&T, IBM, Apple, HP, OracleSeattle- Starbucks, Safeco, CenturyLink "Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whittier S Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I suggest General Mills or 3M and/or one of their brands for Minneapolis. We already have Target on EVERYTHING here, it would be cool to see something else for a change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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