Hardest City for Fictional Concept Leagues

[LAWeaver]

Philadelphia is my Achilles heel. Out of my 4 concept leagues with hockey, football, baseball, and basketball, I have a Phantoms and a Quakers for hockey and baseball respectively.

Not to be "that guy", but... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Phantoms

I knew about them, but I could not think of anything else, so I went with it. I also have a few other teams based on former franchises as well (San Diego Gulls, Seattle Sonics, Charlotte Hornets, New York Nets).

[macalesterscots]

I really like the thought of drawing on the La Brea Tar Pits for Los Angeles teams. I might have to do that in the future.

This is difficult, for me it's hard not doing clichés for certain cities. For example; Boston either has to be Irish or American Revolution themed. It's the easiest for Bilingual cities, because you have the help of Google Translate.

Yeah I definitely fall into the city cliches as well. Boston, Washington, and Las Vegas tend to have some low-lying fruit to always reach for, as does New Orleans.

It's hard finding anything that sounds good with Salt Lake City and Minneapolis.

As others have mentioned, bee themes work well with Salt Lake City. To make it sound better, I usually shorten it to Salt Lake instead. Also, I like giving Salt Lake City a train theme because the completion of the transcontinental railroad happened (relatively) close by. And there is a load of imagery you can draw off of with that.

For Minneapolis, it always surprises me when people use that instead of Minnesota. There is this other city of 250K+ people right across the river from it and, since it houses the state's politicians, it seems they would be a little more reluctant to give money to a Minneapolis team as opposed to one for the whole state (not that they should be giving money to sports teams anyway).

Louisville (no hometown bias) because nobody can decide whether it's located in the South or the Midwest.

Most larger cities have histories and regional tastes that make it a bit easier to figure out names for fictional sports teams, but mid-sized ones can be challenging, especially ones that are located inland and don't have the coastal/nautical themes to fall back on. Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Omaha, Columbus, and Portland (OR) also give me trouble for those reasons.

Yeah Louisville tends to be another "cliche city". Most of the time, it's something related to horse racing.

Orlando, unless you're doing a league where Disney sponsors/owns them I guess. Everyone tries to do the space theme, but the Space Coast is 40+ minutes away. That just leaves you with something to do with Florida's climate...yawn. If you want to be distasteful then the Orlando Bullets could work

Very true. It usually ends up being an animal related to Florida in some way.

Atlanta for sports other than soccer. There's nothing here you can really name anything after other than a Phoenix. I managed to name my fantasy baseball team the Copperheads however, due to those being a native snake of the southeast.

Another town I think is hard is Richmond. Its just kinda there y'know

Atlanta is also a problem because it's tough to use most of its history without looking all Confederate-y. Other than that, I'm left with more general Georgia themes, like peaches and peanuts, which don't exactly strike fear into the hearts of their opponents (unless they're allergic I guess?).

[Xist2inspire]

Orlando, unless you're doing a league where Disney sponsors/owns them I guess. Everyone tries to do the space theme, but the Space Coast is 40+ minutes away. That just leaves you with something to do with Florida's climate...yawn. If you want to be distasteful then the Orlando Bullets could work

I always use "Juice" (one of the proposed names for the Magic), with a color scheme of orange, lime green, and white. It's a bit of a silly name, I know, but I love the colors, and it's fitting considering that Orlando is the county seat of Florida's Orange County, and was once a big part of Florida's citrus industry, which is something else Florida's famous for. Plus I always found it pretty neat that the abbreviation for "Orlando Juice" is "OJ."

I know for me my top three are LA, Charlotte, and Toronto.

I actually don't use LA much, to be honest. When I do, I usually go super-generic with something like "Hollywood Knights" or "California Condors." I also really like "Express" for LA. For Charlotte, I tend to use something racing-related, or I'll just use "North Carolina" or "Carolina" as the place, and pick something flight-related for the team name. For Toronto, I either do something CN Tower-related (like "Towers" or "Titans"), or "Toronto Galaxy" (Because of Toronto's "Centre of the Universe" nickname).

When I do make my own leagues, I tend to use less typical places. So less Miami, Phoenix, Toronto, New Orleans, etc., more Jacksonville, New Mexico, Halifax, Arkansas, etc.

This is a great thread idea, by the way.

[Joke Insurance]

I always found it difficult to give a nickname to a Richmond based team without resorting to nickname related to the Civil War.

Other cities such as Albany, Austin, Bakersfield, Birmingham, Boise, Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbia, Dayton, El Paso, Fresno, Grand Rapids, Greenville, Inland Empire (Riverside-San Bernardino), Jackson, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Lehigh Valley (Allentown-Bethlehem), Little Rock, Providence, Rochester, Sacramento, and Tucson I've always had trouble with finding a unique nickname for them. Or maybe I am not that creative when it comes to giving out nicknames, haha.

[damnyoutuesday]

Every major (minor) city in montana

[Tyrano123]

I'm currently having trouble with Atlanta. I understand that the whole "fire" theme is a little touchy I guess, since my league is currently in the 60s but I also don't want a civil war reference. I've tried a train theme but I feel as if it would be a way too modern name for the 60s-70s establishment. Atlanta is just my Achilles heel.

Other cities:

New Orleans

Los Angeles

Tampa Bay

San Antonio

[Xist2inspire]

I finally found a solid, non-bee related name for Salt Lake City - "Lions". Apparently, Brigham Young was called the "Lion of the Lord" by his followers due to his bold personality.

I always found it difficult to give a nickname to a Richmond based team without resorting to nickname related to the Civil War.

Other cities such as Albany, Austin, Bakersfield, Birmingham, Boise, Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbia, Dayton, El Paso, Fresno, Grand Rapids, Greenville, Inland Empire (Riverside-San Bernardino), Jackson, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Lehigh Valley (Allentown-Bethlehem), Little Rock, Providence, Rochester, Sacramento, and Tucson I've always had trouble with finding a unique nickname for them. Or maybe I am not that creative when it comes to giving out nicknames, haha.

Let's see, here's the ones I use for some of them:

Austin Outlaws (Austin is the birthplace of Outlaw Country music)

Bakersfield Bucks (Bakersfield was home to Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, pioneers of the Bakersfield Sound)

Birmingham Thunderbolts/Vulcans/Blacksmiths (Birmingham is basically the South's version of Pittsburgh, there's also a Vulcan statue which is the symbol of the city)

Idaho Diamonds/Stars (Idaho is known as the Gem State, and it is one of only two places in the world where a good amount of star garnets can be found. Plus, since Boise's located in the Treasure Valley region, the idea of a "Treasure Valley Diamonds" alt sounds pretty good)

Dayton Aviators (no explanation needed really)

El Paso Sol (El Paso's known as the Sun City, and the fact that "Sol" is Spanish for "Sun" works for El Paso due to its proximity to Mexico and the large number of Hispanics & Latinos living there)

Ontario Juice (I feel it works for Ontario in the same way it works for Orlando - the Inland Empire, and Ontario especially, has a history of orange production. There was even a major Sunkist factory located in Ontario, and the Sunkist water tower is still there)

Jackson Soul (Jackson - and Mississippi in general - has a rich musical history in blues, gospel, and jazz, and the current slogan for the city is "City with Soul")

Jacksonville Generals (Jacksonville was named after President Andrew Jackson, the first military governor of the Florida Territory)

Knoxville Clash (During the Civil War, the city's loyalties were split, and it was occupied alternately by both the Union and Confederate armies)

[Joke Insurance]

I'm currently having trouble with Atlanta. I understand that the whole "fire" theme is a little touchy I guess, since my league is currently in the 60s but I also don't want a civil war reference. I've tried a train theme but I feel as if it would be a way too modern name for the 60s-70s establishment. Atlanta is just my Achilles heel.

Kings, reference to MLK.

Terminus, former name of Atlanta.

[biscuit faces of them]

Reno, Nevada because of all the stuff associated with it

[Tyrano123]

I'm currently having trouble with Atlanta. I understand that the whole "fire" theme is a little touchy I guess, since my league is currently in the 60s but I also don't want a civil war reference. I've tried a train theme but I feel as if it would be a way too modern name for the 60s-70s establishment. Atlanta is just my Achilles heel.

Kings, reference to MLK.

Terminus, former name of Atlanta.

MLK is currently alive in my universe. The current season is 1968. I don't think atlanta would be too happy with the name of Kings after MLK.

Revised list (since this thread made me obsessed with finding a name):

Express

Firebirds

Thrashers

Locomotives

[DR73SEN]

Des Moines, Iowa (or just Iowa in general) has always given me major problems. "Energy" is used by their D-League team, "Hawkeyes" is used by their college (and "Hawks" is used by Atlanta), "Blackhawks" is used by Chicago, and finding a name that relates to the farming industry without sounding silly isn't easy at all.

As a native Iowan, easily the best Iowa-related name belongs to our AFL team, the Iowa Barnstormers. There were also the now-defunct Iowa Chops of the AHL. Personally, (and maybe I'm fulfilling an Iowan stereotype here) I think swine-related mascots are pretty cool (i.e. Arkansas Razorbacks) as they are rarely used amongst major teams.

Or you could go with one of infinite stupid corn clichés.

[leopard88]

I finally found a solid, non-bee related name for Salt Lake City - "Lions". Apparently, Brigham Young was called the "Lion of the Lord" by his followers due to his bold personality.

I always found it difficult to give a nickname to a Richmond based team without resorting to nickname related to the Civil War.

Other cities such as Albany, Austin, Bakersfield, Birmingham, Boise, Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbia, Dayton, El Paso, Fresno, Grand Rapids, Greenville, Inland Empire (Riverside-San Bernardino), Jackson, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Lehigh Valley (Allentown-Bethlehem), Little Rock, Providence, Rochester, Sacramento, and Tucson I've always had trouble with finding a unique nickname for them. Or maybe I am not that creative when it comes to giving out nicknames, haha.

Let's see, here's the ones I use for some of them:

Austin Outlaws (Austin is the birthplace of Outlaw Country music)

Bakersfield Bucks (Bakersfield was home to Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, pioneers of the Bakersfield Sound)

Birmingham Thunderbolts/Vulcans/Blacksmiths (Birmingham is basically the South's version of Pittsburgh, there's also a Vulcan statue which is the symbol of the city)

Idaho Diamonds/Stars (Idaho is known as the Gem State, and it is one of only two places in the world where a good amount of star garnets can be found. Plus, since Boise's located in the Treasure Valley region, the idea of a "Treasure Valley Diamonds" alt sounds pretty good)

Dayton Aviatiors (no explanation needed really)

El Paso Sol (El Paso's known as the Sun City, and the fact that "Sol" is Spanish for "Sun" works for El Paso due to its proximity to Mexico and the large number of Hispanics & Latinos living there)

Ontario Juice (I feel it works for Ontario in the same way it works for Orlando - the Inland Empire, and Ontario especially, has a history of orange production. There was even a major Sunkist factory located in Ontario, and the Sunkist water tower is still there)

Jackson Soul (Jackson - and Mississippi in general - has a rich musical history in blues, gospel, and jazz, and the current slogan for the city is "City with Soul")

Jacksonville Generals (Jacksonville was named after President Andrew Jackson, the first military governor of the Florida Territory)

Knoxville Clash (During the Civil War, the city's loyalties were split, and it was occupied alternately by both the Union and Confederate armies)

I really like a lot of these . . . especially the ones that I bolded.

For the Lehigh Valley, I think steel/iron related names work well since it was one of the first major hubs of the steel and iron industry. Coal related names also fit to a lesser degree, as a great deal of coal was shipped through the Valley and used in the steel industry.

[jch]

Hey guys, I've always been interested in doing concepts for fictional sports leagues and I have noticed that there are definitely some cities for which assigning a name can be exceedingly difficult.

Like I'm sure many of you do, I try to give my team names some sort of connection with the city (historical, economical, whatever) but for some cities I have major problems.

So my question for discussion is, what cities give you the most trouble when doing a fictional league? I know for me my top three are usually LA, Charlotte, and Toronto.

Would love to hear what everyone else thinks on the subject!

There are actually a lot of historic nicknames available for Charlotte. One of the origins of the name Hornets comes from the American Revolution and Charlotte being called a "Hornet's nest" the British. The local soccer team just took the name the Independence. So there is more fertile ground there than probably known outside of the region.

I did a mock MLB expansion set a few years back (before I moved to Charlotte) and the Charlotte team was the Hornets. This was before the basketball team got the name back. I tend to look back at team names from history to come up with inspiration. So for me, the hardest cities are ones without a lot of team histories.

[LAWeaver]

Just thought of one for those who are struggling wit a New York name...

...Alligators. Yes? No?

[raysox]

It's hard finding anything that sounds good with Salt Lake City and Minneapolis.

With primate cities like that, state names normally sound better. I had an OOTP save with the Utah Bees and Minnesota Loons.

[neo_prankster]

Whenever I would try to do a fictional football league with teams in Europe and North America, it was extremely hard without recycling the names of the old WLAF and NFL Europe teams.

For example, what else could be used in Frankfurt without rehashing the Galaxy?

"Mariners" is the only substitute I could think of for "Admirals" in Amsterdam.

For London it always comes down to Monarchs, Kings, Royals, Bulldogs, Black Knights and even Werewolves.

The Barcelona Dragons identity seems to be quintessential identity of the WLAF and NFL Europe, but it's just too hard not to resurrect in a concept.

Dublin gives me fits without resorting to either Shamrocks or Celtic Tigers. Maybe Brewers could be okay with Guinness nearby.

As far as cities in the States go, Chicago is very tough without resorting to mob references like Hitmen, Mobsters and the like. New York is another tough one without using names like Skyliners or Skyscrapers which would be cool back in the 40's, but would be laughed at nowadays.

Los Angeles also gives me fits without rehashing the Avengers of the Arena League. Especially when most of the city's teams kept names they used in their old cities, and should the Rams come back from St Louis, they'd be included too. Not sure how to pull of a "Guardians" concept for this town.

Miami makes me feel like I have to have an aquatic name. Tritons anyone?

The Bay Area is very hard without a cheap 49ers knockoff and anything I try for Oakland pales in comparison to the Raiders.

[Needschat]

I always found it difficult to give a nickname to a Richmond based team without resorting to nickname related to the Civil War.

Other cities such as Albany, Austin, Bakersfield, Birmingham, Boise, Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbia, Dayton, El Paso, Fresno, Grand Rapids, Greenville, Inland Empire (Riverside-San Bernardino), Jackson, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Lehigh Valley (Allentown-Bethlehem), Little Rock, Providence, Rochester, Sacramento, and Tucson I've always had trouble with finding a unique nickname for them. Or maybe I am not that creative when it comes to giving out nicknames, haha.

Albany isn't that difficult, if you look at the history of nicknames:

Senators, Govs/Governors, Capital City, Patroons, River Rats, Capitals, Alley Cats, Diamond Dogs, Attack.

You could add Mastodons, remains of the creature were found 15 miles or less from the city in Cohoes and now reside in the state museum, plus the Cohoes Mastodons were teams in the NY State Basketball League.

[Tyrano123]

I know this has nothing to do with nicknames but does anyone else have a problem with keeping a nickname for a city?? I often change names probably 2-3 times before settling on something I like. Just curious

[Scoo8b]

Des Moines, Iowa (or just Iowa in general) has always given me major problems. "Energy" is used by their D-League team, "Hawkeyes" is used by their college (and "Hawks" is used by Atlanta), "Blackhawks" is used by Chicago, and finding a name that relates to the farming industry without sounding silly isn't easy at all.

Des Moines used to have a basketball team named the Dragons, which doesn't really have anything to do with Iowa, but I always thought it rolled off the tongue nicely.

[Burmy]

Des Moines, Iowa (or just Iowa in general) has always given me major problems. "Energy" is used by their D-League team, "Hawkeyes" is used by their college (and "Hawks" is used by Atlanta), "Blackhawks" is used by Chicago, and finding a name that relates to the farming industry without sounding silly isn't easy at all.

As a native Iowan, easily the best Iowa-related name belongs to our AFL team, the Iowa Barnstormers. There were also the now-defunct Iowa Chops of the AHL. Personally, (and maybe I'm fulfilling an Iowan stereotype here) I think swine-related mascots are pretty cool (i.e. Arkansas Razorbacks) as they are rarely used amongst major teams.

Or you could go with one of infinite stupid corn clichés.

I have always wanted there to be a team of some kind to be the Iowa Reapers.

It would be a subtle nod to their agricultural history, but at the same time use the super-cool Grim Reaper imagery (maybe have him swinging his scythe as he rides a reaper machine for an alternate logo?)