Soccer in US

[WideRight]

Do you think the US could embrace 1) Eurostyle soccer names like FC Dallas or

2) having teams not mention the city in the name?

Could "Gotham FC" work in NYC? What about "AC 1776" in Philly or "Caribeño FC" in Miami?

While there are a lot of Euro teams specifically named for their cities (Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan) the Europeans also seem to be able to handle non-city named teams (Juventus, Celtic, Arsenal, Betis, etc.) I am sure most of these have some history to the name, but I wonder if the US fans would accept a team name with no city in it. We sort of did with the Cosmos, and they try with Metrostars but I just don't see it happening much.

[PhilaLogos]

in america every kid plays soccer. When they're 9-10 they grow out of it and play baseball or basketball or football. Nobody here cares about soccer. People thought Freddy Adu could make it big here, I haven't heard his name in a while. The MLS is weak. I think soccer should stick to Europe. BTW, I don't think this belongs in sports logos.

[jr79]

Well Chivas is coming to LA... they don't mention LA anywhere in their name, probably because they want to attract Mexican supporters across the USA.

[Avenger]

BTW, I don't think this belongs in sports logos.

Why not? It's a sports identity topic.

To answer the question (or not, really), I'm not sure. Eurpean styled names might give MLS teams a little more legitamacy in the eyes of less casual soccer fans, and it might set itself apart from the rest of the pack in the eyes of many unschooled spectators. At the same time, if the MLS wants to eventually become a mainstream staple in American sports, it might need to follow the lead of the rest of the American sports and use the city/nickname conjunction, keeping things more familiar.

It's hard to say, but I bet some expensive market research could tell us.

[scooter13]

I totally would embrace European team names. Some of your suggestion Wide are great, by the way. But I agree with Avenger. The four major sports have set the bar for sports fans here. And quite honestly, I know some soccer fans that won't watch the MLS because they lack talent. Most of them don't really care too much what the team nickname is (given that they follow European soccer). But they want to see quality soccer, and the MLS can't do it. There is not enough income for pro soccer teams in the States to bring in the big name (and big money) players.

[MJWalker45]

The recent move by adidas to buy the uniform rights for MLS proves anything, it is that the MLS is improving. adidas and Nike are neck and neck in soccer sales in the US. Buying into MLS made more sense then just sticking to a couple of teams. As far as names, teams like Arsenal have to have a different name. they play in London as well as Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Aston Villa. Four teams with London in the name would get real confusing, especially when new people are introduced to the Premiership for the first time. Of course, we are trying to get an MLS team here in San Antonio and a name I think would fit the team is Athletic 1836 or Atletico 36. We have a huge Hispanic population and soccer is a big deal her in Texas. Dallas Cup hosts reserve teams and U-17 teams from England and Germany every year. And the Cinco de Mayo tournament here in San Antonio has teams come from as far south as Cancun. Last year we even had a team fly in from England to play. My squad hosted them for the two weeks they were here. MLS is not the top rung of soccer, but in the eyes of Europe it is improving. Otherwise Tim Howard, DaMarcus Beasley, Brian McBride, and Clint Mathis would still be here. And Landon Donovan is expected to be a hot commodity when teh winter transfer market opens in January. He was almost picked up by Werder Bremen but a compensation packet couldn't be agreed to.

[kc51design]

Walker, Aston Villa is from Birmingham, not London, but London has Fulham, Chrystal Palace and Charlton, and in lower divisions West Ham, Wimbledon, QPR...

Wide Right - no team in US (specially in Phila) can't be AC (as AC Milan) since AC stands for Associazione Calcio...

I think US needs to stick with nicknames but maybe like Premiership teams use first name more when they market to Mexican and Latin or Euro people. We all know Arsenal, but they are also known as gunners, Chelsea is blues, Chrystal Palace are Eagles, Liverpool are Reds... So Dallas should be FC Dallas Tornado, and LA should be FC Los Angeles Galaxy, and that would make everyone happy

[amare32]

Wide Right - no team in US (specially in Phila) can't be AC (as AC Milan) since AC stands for Associazione Calcio...

Makes sense. I use the AC suffix on all my fantasy sports teams, but I consider it to mean "athletic club."

I think the acronym thing is pretty cool. I don't mind FC Dallas.

[gosioux76]

I think US needs to stick with nicknames but maybe like Premiership teams use first name more when they market to Mexican and Latin or Euro people. We all know Arsenal, but they are also known as gunners, Chelsea is blues, Chrystal Palace are Eagles, Liverpool are Reds... So Dallas should be FC Dallas Tornado, and LA should be FC Los Angeles Galaxy, and that would make everyone happy

I like this suggestion.

[Dilbert]

Teams that are named (city) (nickname) FC or even SC are ok with me but just keep the FC (City) in Europe.

[Cashcleaner]

Well, considering that most Americans speak and use English as the primary language, it doesn't make sense to call the team FC Dallas or FC Miami or anything like that.

We only ever see that with teams from Spain, France, Portugal, etc., where the desripter precedes the subject. Call it Dallas FC, DC United FC, etc. Hence in the UK and Ireland, we have teams like Manchester United FC, Ipswich Town FC, and of course, Hibernian FC (Go Hibees!). Its all got to do with language. Calling it Dallas FC would be proper.

Also, you sound like a twat when you put the FC in front of the city. L*

As an aside, it is really only a case of unoriginality when it comes to football teams in Europe and whatnot. Many teams are well over a hundred years old (some approaching 200) and back then, it just wasn't a done thing to name a team over a type of bird or fish or whatever. The only exceptions I can think off of the top of my head are Celtic, Rangers, Heart of Midlothian, and Hibernian football clubs.

[IronChefShark]

I always thought a good name for a soccer club in san francisco would be "Golden Gate Football Club". I even did a concept for it for the first WaffleBowl competition.

A good name for a club in Oakland would be "East Bay United"

[scooter13]

Those are good Iron. My first thought for a team in San Fran would be "Silicon Valley FC".

[IronChefShark]

Those are good Iron. My first thought for a team in San Fran would be "Silicon Valley FC".

that name would be more suitable for a club in San Jose

[Cashcleaner]

Golden Gate FC? Sounds pretty sweet to me. Though, if I were in charge, I'd go with Bay City FC. It has some zing to it, I think.

Silicon Valley FC sounds like a good laugh too. (Go microchips?)

[DEAD!]

Bay City FC? hmmmmm....... There is a Bay City Michigan. Perhaps the team can play there.

[Saintsfan]

Walker, Aston Villa is from Birmingham, not London, but London has Fulham, Chrystal Palace and Charlton, and in lower divisions West Ham, Wimbledon, QPR...

Fulham, Crystal Palace, Charlton, West Ham, Wimbledon and Queens Park are all areas of London. As are Tottenham, Leyton, Millwall and Brentford. Aston is a region of Birmingham. Virtually every team in England and Scotland has a regioanl name. Celtic's full name is Glasgow Celtic for instance.

[Cashcleaner]

I'll tell you what, being exposed to british football for the first time was extremely confusing to say the least. We also got Everton FC playing in Liverpool, Manchester City FC and Man United FC in Manchester. As an aside, London has football clubs coming out the ying-yang all throughout the divisions and conferences as well. More then I can count at least.

I'd have to say the most strange fact was Dundee FC and Dundee United FC not only playing in the Scottish Premiership, but they went so far as to build the stadiums right beside each other! I would have figured they would have ground shared, but there is no chance of that.

[JQK]

It's soccer....

...who cares?

[paynomind]

*I* do, for one, fuknut.

Soccer has a market, and that market isn't going away. It will never be bigger than the NFL, or the MLB, or even the NBA, but it wont go away in the US either.

I think US league = US names. I would have prefered seeing the Dallas stay the burn, and force Chivas to get a real name, like the LA Burrito-eaters.