What if the New York Red Bulls were to rebrand?

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

10 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

That's not a general rule, though.  It only applied to the one team (and was mentioned in the timeline I posted above).

 

They were able to make the proposed USFL team change its name. We still don't have any proof that there was a general rule in place that applied to any others.

 

Surely the WLAF team changed from "New York Knights" to something as unweildy as "New York / New Jersey Knights" not of its own accord but because it was forced to do so.  We can thus presume that the rule as cited in 1982 was still in effect in 1991 -- and in 1996 with the MetroStars, and in 2001 with the Hitmen.  The very existence of the clunky moniker "New York / New Jersey" is evidence of a rule being imposed on the teams in question, because absolutely no one would choose such a name willingly.

 

 

[Gothamite]

We can presume, but presumption is not the same as proof.  Considering that we know the state (which oversees the Meadowlands) does not actually have that rule, we need some kind of actual citation that the rule exists.  A quote from a team or league or Meadowlands official, something from a New Jersey legislator, something.

 

13 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

absolutely no one would choose such a name willingly.

 

A brand-new team in a fledgling league in a niche sport absolutely would, if they thought that might get ten more New Jersey families to come to the games.  When small amounts may mean the difference between red and black, businesses won't care much about how "clunky" the name is.

 

Now, I don't know if any of these teams (other than the Generals) did choose it willingly.  But we have no evidence to suggest that they didn't.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

3 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

We can presume, but presumption is not the same as proof.  Considering that we know the state (which oversees the Meadowlands) does not actually have that rule, we need some kind of actual citation that the rule exists.  A quote from a team or league or Meadowlands official, something from a New Jersey legislator, something.

 

There was a quote from the highest Meadowlands official going, namely the NJSEA commissioner. And it is reinforced by actions on the parts of teams that can be explained only by the existence of such a rule. To think that a team would ever willingly choose the name "New York / New Jersey" beggars belief.  Like "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim", a name as absurdly clunky as "New York / New Jersey" is clearly the product of a team twisting itself in order to fit under imposed rules.

 

The statement in the news story from the NJSEA head is the best proof that we are ever going to get.  There is no need to hold out for notarised copies of documents on NJSEA letterhead.  What we have is enough to support the conclusion that this rule did indeed exist until the Red Bulls bucked it. 

[Gothamite]

There was a quote from the NJSEA commissioner about the one single team.  There's nothing in it that suggests the rule had been applied to other teams before, or that it was ever applied to another team after that.

 

You've got speculation and a lot of assumptions.  I personally would love the rule to have been true, and for MLS to have shattered it, but we're just not there.  Until then, it's still just an urban legend.