Seattle NHL Brand Discussion

[gosioux76 1,800]

12 minutes ago, Fresno St. Alum said:

They all had team names in the 90s then all of a sudden ESPN started showing euro scores and and nbc started showing gms, then the team names for some started going away. I remember all the WTF when Houston was going to be called 1836. So as I said they did things the american way then switched to copying the big boys. 

I think you're giving way to much credit to TV broadcasts for this change. But to your original point, you're not exactly wrong, it's just a really cynical way to analyze the situation.

 

The way I've always viewed it, MLS shifted from trying to appeal to AMERICAN sports fans (Go Burn!) and instead started trying to appeal to fans of SOCCER (Go FC Dallas), where such unconventional names were conventional. So yeah, MLS began to parrot European-style names, but it was done with a purpose. Though the results are mixed (looking at you, RSL) it's been a pretty good fit for the league.

 

I think the opposite would be true for the NHL.  

[Fresno St. Alum 270]

1 minute ago, LMU said:

The Houston thing was more offense at the racism in the choosing of the name than the team adopting a Euro-style moniker.

but that seemed to be the starting point where I saw MLS teams have not normal team names. It may have been a little before but, there was a stink about that

[Fresno St. Alum 270]

5 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

I think you're giving way to much credit to TV broadcasts for this change. But to your original point, you're not exactly wrong, it's just a really cynical way to analyze the situation.

 

The way I've always viewed it, MLS shifted from trying to appeal to AMERICAN sports fans (Go Burn!) and instead started trying to appeal to fans of SOCCER (Go FC Dallas), where such unconventional names were conventional. So yeah, MLS began to parrot European-style names, but it was done with a purpose. Though the results are mixed (looking at you, RSL) it's been a pretty good fit for the league.

 

I think the opposite would be true for the NHL.  

I get you. I just can't ever see it happening w/ the big 4 sports which all started in the US or Canada. I mean even some of the euro hockey teams do the soccer type thing. I thought it's more of a cultural thing, they're not trying to copy the NHL. I don't know. just thinking out loud.

[Wings 2,141]

2 hours ago, the admiral said:

Omaha Wednesday

I enjoyed their 3rd album immensely. Way better than the first two. The new lead singer has way better vocals. 

[Thaumatrope 370]

24 minutes ago, Fresno St. Alum said:

but that seemed to be the starting point where I saw MLS teams have not normal team names. It may have been a little before but, there was a stink about that

 

I agree with your interpretation. The Houston 1886 debacle seemed to be a key turning point with MLS. Up to that point the league had flirted with traditional European-style naming conventions (FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake) but still had teams that tried to straddle the line (the Chicago Fire being the best example). After Houston opted to appropriate the Dynamos name, it's been one long succession of FC, SC, Union, Sporting, etc. The lone exceptions being those teams that came into the league with established NA-style names (Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, and Montreal). The fact that Atlanta opted to discard the very popular and historically significant Silverbacks nickname speaks volumes on the strength of the conventions that MLS has established...for better or worse. 

 

All of which is to say that a single league's decision to adopt a non-conventional naming convention (for Norther American sports) due to cultural and historical factors does not mean that other organizations (in other sports) will follow suit. It's worth noting that NHL teams have dabbled in this area in the past (Minnesota's "NHL Hockey" secondary patches are the first thing to come to mind...but there've got to be more out there I'm blanking on), but it's always been as a secondary or tertiary branding element. I could easily see a Seattle team doing something similar, perhaps even as part of a primary logo or wordmark...but when even the Sounders are still...the Sounders...I suspect we'll be seeing some kind of nickname officially associated with the team. 

[Ferdinand Cesarano 4,512]

1 hour ago, Fresno St. Alum said:

1 hour ago, gosioux76 said:

Or they were just attempting to adhere to a branding standard in their sport, but if you like your way, go for it.

They all had team names in the 90s then all of a sudden ESPN started showing euro scores and and nbc started showing gms, then the team names for some started going away. 

 

Teams in the U.S. started to respond to fans' awareness of the norms of the sport in its home in England, and aimed to meet those expectations. Likewise, the basketball and baseball teams in England tend to be named according to the norms in the U.S. where those sports were invented, having names such as Reading Rockets and London Mets.

 

Of course, North American soccer has some names that have built up quite a history of their own. In addition to the Sounders, Whitecaps, and Timbers, there are the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the all-time kings the New York Cosmos. All of these names date to the 1970s. And one of the cheesy original 1996 MLS names has escaped the stigma of early MLS with its embarrassing Clash, Burn, and Wiz, and has become regarded as a cool name: L.A. Galaxy. None of these names should ever be discarded in favour of English-style names.

 

But we shouldn't be surprised when teams such as the Carolina RailHawks change their name to the much more dignified North Carolina FC, when Toronto FC, Minnesota United, and Atlanta United replace the Toronto Lynx, the Minnesota Thunder, and the Atlanta Silverbacks, and when new teams such as LAFC, FC Cincinnati and Detroit City FC pop up.

 

This trend is now firmly entrenched in the naming of soccer clubs  in the U.S. and Canada, as well as in the rest of the English-speaking world, such as Australia, New Zealand, and India.

 

It is worth remembering that an English-football-style naming convention once prevailed even in baseball. The teams that were part of the National League before 1900 and the the American League in the years immediately after its 1901 inception tended to have official names along the lines of the "[city name] Baseball Club". So the use of this style of naming for soccer teams in the early 21st century just brings the tradition back full circle. 

[M4One 1,178]

18 hours ago, tigers said:

Seattle Hockey Club.

 

that is all.

 

Perfect name to avoid any trademark disputes, but it's not going to happen and it most certainly should not happen.  What might work in another sport, doesn't necessarily mean it works in an another.  

[_J_ 1,767]

needs to be some form of green and blue. Shades are flexible, adding a third is flexible.

 

 

Need that green and blue though

[Fresno St. Alum 270]

another question, why is navy blue a default color(like black or gray) for NHL teams that are royal blue for lots of fan gear? Like Van, Tor, TB, Mtl(secondary), selling navy shirts? Edm too back when they were still royal. 

[the admiral 26,392]

Focus groups show that people like to wear navy blue more than royal blue. Even the Cubs and Dodgers, who are tightly associated with their shade of blue, have sold navy blue merchandise.

[VancouverFan69 616]

19 hours ago, tigers said:

 

I realise there are a lot of factors behind why clubs ultimately choose an identity but I for one would love to see a professional club just go with their city or local name and let the fans and the environment choose it, allow the club to develop it's own identity similar to how it was once before.

 

Seattle in the NHL has this opportunity.

 

Let's leave that tradition in Europe. This is North America. 

[SFGiants58 12,969]

8 minutes ago, VancouverFan69 said:

 

Let's leave that tradition in Association Football/Soccer. This is Hockey.

 

 

I fixed your post. Allow me to repeat what @hawk36 said about naming conventions in sports:

 

On 12/7/2016 at 7:10 PM, hawk36 said:

I would liken it to an American football team in London switching from "London Football Club" to "London Kings" or whatever because they'd want an American Football sounding name.  I don't have a problem with it.

 

 

Sports have their own naming conventions, ones that go beyond nationality. Leave your "this is North America" BS at the door. 

[tigers 284]

29 minutes ago, VancouverFan69 said:

 

Let's leave that tradition in Europe. This is North America. 

 

I'm sure back before there was TV or radio for that matter there were North American clubs from all codes that used primarily the city or are name only followed by whatever sport it was.

 

 

[the admiral 26,392]

1 hour ago, SFGiants58 said:

Sports have their own naming conventions, ones that go beyond nationality.

 

Not really, because doesn't Spanish basketball have BC Barcelona and Real Madrid? Swedish hockey has the delightful HV71. It is more about local conventions than sport conventions. 

[andrewharrington 4,347]

6 hours ago, Fresno St. Alum said:

I assure you there's no way any NHL, NFL, MLB, NBA team will go that route. The only reason the MLS started doing that after a while is they are posers trying to copy the Euro teams

 

That’s moving the goalposts from your original assertion. Whether a team will do it and whether fans will accept it are two totally different things. The first is much less likely to happen than the second because the team is the one assuming all the risk.

[andrewharrington 4,347]

1 hour ago, VancouverFan69 said:

 

Let's leave that tradition in Europe. This is North America. 

 

If you’re insinuating that European traditions are inherently inferior to North American traditions, then that’s preposterous. There are definitely some areas North American culture could benefit from borrowing.

[VancouverFan69 616]

28 minutes ago, andrewharrington said:

 

If you’re insinuating that European traditions are inherently inferior to North American traditions, then that’s preposterous. There are definitely some areas North American culture could benefit from borrowing.

 

Never said that. Every tradition is unique in their own way. However, I feel strongly about preserving our North American sports traditions here at home.

[VancouverFan69 616]

2 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

I fixed your post. Allow me to repeat what @hawk36 said about naming conventions in sports:

 

 

Sports have their own naming conventions, ones that go beyond nationality. Leave your "this is North America" BS at the door. 

 We'll agree to disagree. 

[Kevin W. 1,815]

7 hours ago, Fresno St. Alum said:

but that seemed to be the starting point where I saw MLS teams have not normal team names. It may have been a little before but, there was a stink about that

The league has used European-style naming conventions since its inauguration.

[VancouverFan69 616]

Seattle Kraken >>>>>> Seattle HC.

 

And Kraken is my very least favourite out of all the names available. At least, the Kracken can be referred to as the "Kraks".