What if the New York Red Bulls were to rebrand?

[Around the Horn]

Actually, "Brooklyn" is working just fine for the Nets. When they're not drawing well, it's because they suck. But they're still selling a metric ton of merchandise.

Brooklyn is a merchandise gold mine for the Nets.I see more people in the subway in Manhattan with Nets gear than Knicks.Thats saying something...

However from a fanbase point of view it hasn't worked.The Knicks fans from Brooklyn are still Knicks fans but have some sort of Nets "Brooklyn" apparel.(I'm one of them-I've got my "Blackout in Brooklyn" tee and a "Brooklyn blue" Shirsey)

[Gothamite]

The Nets were never going to convert Knicks fans. Sports doesn't work that way. Their hope was to grow the pie, not try to take away any significant bit of the Dolans' slice.

The Cosmos do play outside New York City - they play on Long Island, at Hofstra University's stadium.

They never had an opportunity to share a stadium with the Red Bulls - Red Bull wouldn't have rented to them.

And finally, the notion of a Flushing Meadows soccer stadium is dead. The Cosmos are now trying to build a stadium in Nassau County, just over the Queens border. Not far from Hofstra, actually.

Ok. I knew they were still trying to build a stadium in the greater NYC area. For some reason I was thinking it was nearer to Arthur Ashe Stadium as opposed to Belmont Park.

Nope. It's Belmont.

Arthur Ashe would be worlds better - it's on the subway. Where the Cosmos want to build is a shuttle bus ride away from public transportation, which is why I think it's a terrible idea.

[Around the Horn]

Nope. It's Belmont.

Arthur Ashe would be worlds better - it's on the subway. Where the Cosmos want to build is a shuttle bus ride away from public transportation, which is why I think it's a terrible idea.

You're forgetting the Long Island Railroad which gets you to Penn Station in 30 minutes(way faster than the (7) from Citi Field) and will get to Grand Central when East Side Access opens in 7 years.

And before you say it can't handle crowds, 50-65% of the attendance for the last 5 Belmont Stakes take LIRR to and from Belmont.

[Gothamite]

I meant the city's public transportation.

Belmont is a $14 round trip from Manhattan (and Brooklyn, for that matter). Plus the subway fare to get to a LIRR station.

So no, not nearly as attractive a location as Flushing Meadows. Not at all.

[Around the Horn]

I meant the city's public transportation.

Belmont is a $14 round trip from Manhattan (and Brooklyn, for that matter). Plus the subway fare to get to a LIRR station.

So no, not nearly as attractive a location as Flushing Meadows. Not at all.

There is currently a plan in the works to lower fares within the City( this could easily include Belmont if the Cosmos want it to)to a number between the current CityTicket fare of $4.25 and the express bus fare of $6.50 and would allow a free transfer to the bus/subway.

And the Belmont terminal has 5 tracks for trains to pick up passengers.Mets-Willets Point on the (7) only has three and has to run regular trains through too.The only reason they can run special expresses for Mets games is because the night games end after the Queens-bound <7> has stopped running.(most MLS games are day games right?)

If you noticed the MTA only ran the special vintage train to the World Series on the weekend because on weekdays(particularly rush hour) there is no extra room for special trains to/from the game...

I like Flushing Meadows too but where are you going to put the stadium?In the middle of the park? Its pretty clear they won't allow that or else NYCFC would be playing there...

[Gothamite]

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that Flushing Meadows was a possibility. It's not. If it was, the Cosmos wouldn't be forced to (try to) put their stadium in Belmont. The Shea Stadium parking lot would have worked, but not once the Wilpons were excluded from the process.

And no, most MLS games are in the evening. Even on weekends. At least it seemed most of NYCFC's games were.

It would be nice if they ran some sort of special fare (although if the Cosmos had that kind of clout they wouldn't be waiting for three years to see if their bid for the stadium land is being considered), but even $5 is too much to spend. Considering you'd have to transfer from the subway. They might like to pretend that Belmont is actually on the city's public transportation grid, but it really ain't.

[29texan]

New York Bulls

There you go.

[Almighty]

Seems only natural that with a name like the Red Bulls, they were going to get a name change a couple of years down the line, i believe the New York Diabetics would be fitting

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

When Red Bull sells the team I think the team should rebrand itself as Metropolitan SC.

It sounds European, which is in right now, and it is a nod to their past as the Metrostars without embracing too much of the 1990's corniness that went along with it.

Metro FC or Metro SC sounds more European in my opinion.. If they don't embrace the full MetroStars name, then I'd say Metro FC would be best

Right, the name "Metropolitan FC" or "Metropolitan SC", which would be referred to by everyone as "Metro", would be great. And the team would likely be called by people outside the New York metro area "New York Metro", just as people outside Milan call Inter "Inter Milan", and some outside Glasgow call Celtic "Glasgow Celtic". They could use the last MetroStars uniforms from 2005, the ones that looked like AC Milan.

This would set up derby matches between New York City and New York Metro. I would like that.

Personally, I think the MetroStars forfeited their right to use "New York" when they gave the city a big middle finger. They wanted to chase the soccer mom market in New Jersey. Which is a legitimate choice, but the choice they made. They can try to reclaim it now, but it's just posing.

Just make them the Cosmos. And bring the Rowdies back to Tampa Bay.

Both of those teams very much exist

And the Cosmos refused to play outside of New York or even share a stadium with Red Bulls. They're still trying to get a stadium built in Flushing Meadows I believe.

Actually, no.

The Cosmos do play outside New York City - they play on Long Island, at Hofstra University's stadium.

They never had an opportunity to share a stadium with the Red Bulls - Red Bull wouldn't have rented to them.

And finally, the notion of a Flushing Meadows soccer stadium is dead. The Cosmos are now trying to build a stadium in Nassau County, just over the Queens border. Not far from Hofstra, actually.

The operative term is "just over"; the proposed Cosmos' stadium would be just a few yards from the New York City line. So, while it would not be in New York City, it would be as close as possible. It would be closer to the New York City border than the Chicago Fire's stadium is to Chicago's border, which is about a half a mile.

Also, the MetroStars never "gave the city a big middle finger", in the sense of rebuffing someone's offers to play within the City. Neither the Yankees nor the Mets had ever been part of any discussions to let the new MLS team use the parks in which they were the primary tenants. The MetroStars used the only place that they could, the stadium which had just hosted World Cup matches and which had many times hosted the U.S. national team, and in which the Cosmos had played just 12 years before.

This, of course, meant that the MetroStars were less than an afterthought to New York's fans. And no comparison to the Giants and Jets is possible; the NFL is a big enough cultural force that the "New York" teams can play in the Meadowlands, but MLS was and is not. The MetroStars were in an obscurity even more profound than that which afflicted the New Jersey Nets and the New Jersey Devils.

The change to "New York Red Bulls" raised the team's profile a little, at the cost of alienating the core of its New Jersey fanbase.

So I think that the name "Metro FC" or "Metro SC" would be great for the team, as it would be all-inclusive; it would evoke New York without specifically saying "New York" and thereby excluding New Jersey.

By the way, I don't want to sound like a supporter of that team. I was uninterested in MLS when it began, as it arrived before I took up interest in soccer. And I was hostile to the league on account of its founding, whereby no existing soccer clubs in any of its markets were brought in or even consulted. The league's deviations from international rules, its goofy team names (including "New York/New Jersey MetroStars", the most risibly unwieldy name of all time), and its horrible uniforms made me gag.

My contempt for MLS increased when its method of not paying players according to their market value, the single-entity model, survived a court challenge by the players. Then, when I started following English football, even I as a novice viewer could see the huge difference in level of play between the Premier League and MLS; so that only furthered my sneering dislike of the league. The coming of the Red Bull name to the MetroStars only increased an existing disgust with all things MLS.

MLS matured a bit, shedding the worst of its team names (except one); Beckham arrived, and Henry followed. Finally NYCFC was founded as my true home team; and I became interested in MLS for the first time. So now the Red Bulls have become the direct rival of my team. But I'd feel better having a local rivalry with Metro FC or Metro SC than with something called "the New York Red Bulls".

[hawk36]

I've always liked Red Bull - New York.

New York Red Bulls seems fake, forced. Whereas Red Bull - New York seems more natural for soccer naming.

[Nyk33]

Right, the name "Metropolitan FC" or "Metropolitan SC", which would be referred to by everyone as "Metro", would be great. And the team would likely be called by people outside the New York metro area "New York Metro", just as people outside Milan call Inter "Inter Milan", and some outside Glasgow call Celtic "Glasgow Celtic". They could use the last MetroStars uniforms from 2005, the ones that looked like AC Milan.

This would set up derby matches between New York City and New York Metro. I would like that.

I don't know about going with the AC Milan jerseys.

I have a very strong feeling that Atlanta United is going to go a similar route but using a much darker shade of red.

[raysox]

Black and color stripes should be more of a thing. It's way better than white and a color.

Metropolitan SC would be great if they do it right. I think I don't care for NYRB because of the name. NYCFC feels more like the city's team to me. That being said, a striped red/black vs sky/white derby would be killer.

[Gothamite]

Personally, I think the MetroStars forfeited their right to use "New York" when they gave the city a big middle finger. They wanted to chase the soccer mom market in New Jersey. Which is a legitimate choice, but the choice they made. They can try to reclaim it now, but it's just posing.

Also, the MetroStars never "gave the city a big middle finger", in the sense of rebuffing someone's offers to play within the City.

I didn't mean to imply that - I was talking about their decision to market almost exclusively on the west side of the Hudson River.

[2001mark]

For a NYRB rebrand I would just suggest the name 'Metrostars FC'. Without any city or location added.

This is one of those sports tangents I fall into while trying to sleep... Red Bull drink surely won't endure as popular as it once was, & a new owner/sponsor has to be inevitable one day yes?

Since they play in New Jersey, & they don't want to lose touch with NYC, they should yes ditch their city/locale all together- Red Bulls, Metrostars, Cosmos, etc. FC. No one will harp on that if they do, it makes sense both logistically & logically.

I caught the NFL Network's NY Giants 'Timeline' episode. How they put Giants on their helmets with their move to the Meadowlands because they were no longer exclusively NY, not to mention how proud they were to have a NJ logo at midfield. Yet they never pulled the trigger to call them New Jersey Giants because god forbid.

[Gothamite]

More like because that would have been stupid. Nobody has ever suggested that they should be the Irving Cowboys or the Auburn Hills Pistons.

[MJWalker45]

Black and color stripes should be more of a thing. It's way better than white and a color.

Metropolitan SC would be great if they do it right. I think I don't care for NYRB because of the name. NYCFC feels more like the city's team to me. That being said, a striped red/black vs sky/white derby would be killer.

I think keeping the current uniform layout would work. White jersey, red shorts and white socks separate them from the other teams in the league. Only LA Galaxy wears white at home. An AC Milan style away would work as well.

[AndrewMLind]

What if Red Bull was to rebrand?

[MJWalker45]

What if Red Bull was to rebrand?

All their teams would as well. I don't think they'd keep their current looks or names.

[ElCapitanCranky]

I like rebranding them to something like the Metros. But in terms of embracing the wider area, not just the NYC metro area or NJ, how about something to do with the Tri-State area? Or would that be trying to impede on NYCFC's area somewhat?

[The_Admiral]

When Red Bull sells the team I think the team should rebrand itself as Metropolitan SC.

Tom Townsend: That it ceased to exist, I'll grant you, but whether or not it failed cannot be definitively said.

Charlie Black: Well, for me, ceasing to exist is — is failure. I mean, that's pretty definitive.

Tom Townsend: Well, everyone ceases to exist. Doesn't mean everyone's a failure.

I'm enthusiastically in favor of this, needless to say