Toronto FC name chosen today

[Davey]

I like it and a good fit for toronto.

Anyone notice the "T" behind the script.

[leopard88]

I like it and a good fit for toronto.

Anyone notice the "T" behind the script.

Do you mean the grey one within the body of the shield? If so, then yes. It seems pretty obvious to me.

[harperdc]

I love it. I wouldn't have minded Inter Toronto, but going simple and classy (the word keeps coming up!) is awesome.

the red, white and steel-ish blue look is really good, too. now I wonder what the kits will be!

[dfwabel]

It looks nice. We can see the evolution of the look of MLS, but IMO they still try too hard with the names. They names attract people who are already soccer fans.

Regardless, it is still better than the initial Colorado Rapids logo. Let's remember that we are still going to see the name "Toronto" on the jersey more prominently than the crest (unless sponsors will be featured on the front).

[sbutler66]

"The absence of a conventional sports nickname is deliberate," Anselmi added. "We wanted the whole city to feel ownership and we want to provide the opportunity for a meaningful nickname to emerge over time."

Translation...

"Alright, you guys found out about the Inter Toronto FC plans early... and apparently you thought it stunk... so we decided to not have a name at all. How do you like them apples?"

I think it's good that they were able to reacte quickly if that is the case. The Inter Toronto idea was terrible.

[CC97]

"The absence of a conventional sports nickname is deliberate," Anselmi added. "We wanted the whole city to feel ownership and we want to provide the opportunity for a meaningful nickname to emerge over time."

Translation...

"Alright, you guys found out about the Inter Toronto FC plans early... and apparently you thought it stunk... so we decided to not have a name at all. How do you like them apples?"

I think it's good that they were able to reacte quickly if that is the case. The Inter Toronto idea was terrible.

How long does it really take to erase "Inter" from a logo?

[Jezus_Ghoti]

That logo is a beaut.

I wouldn't have minded Inter all that much, but this is better. They went right where some of the other new Euro names have gone wrong. MLS just gained a lot of respect in my mind.

It's weird to think that I might actually devote some energy to supporting a Toronto soccer team.

[sbutler66]

"The absence of a conventional sports nickname is deliberate," Anselmi added. "We wanted the whole city to feel ownership and we want to provide the opportunity for a meaningful nickname to emerge over time."

Translation...

"Alright, you guys found out about the Inter Toronto FC plans early... and apparently you thought it stunk... so we decided to not have a name at all. How do you like them apples?"

I think it's good that they were able to reacte quickly if that is the case. The Inter Toronto idea was terrible.

How long does it really take to erase "Inter" from a logo?

I think if they were ready to call the whole franchise one name ie Inter Toronto, not even to mention the logo and merch, then make a last minute change is really quite flexible, and a very positive platform. That is to say that all the Inter speculation was 100% accurate to begin with.

[jkrdevil]

Is the game in Canada called Football or is it called Soccer like in the US? I always thought it was called Soccer in Canada because of the presence of American style football (CFL) in Canada. If so shouldn't it be Toronto SC for Toronto Soccer Club instead of Toronto FC which makes it seem like it stands for Toronto Football Club. Especially considering the league is called Major League Soccer not Major League Football. I think the sport should be called consistantly through out the league.

Other than that nitpick. I like it. I have no problem with letting a nickname develop. There are plenty of North American teams that went this route, especially in the early days of pro sports. The Canadiens are one team that comes to mind.

[CC97]

Is the game in Canada called Football or is it called Soccer like in the US? I always thought it was called Soccer in Canada because of the presence of American style football (CFL) in Canada. If so shouldn't it be Toronto SC for Toronto Soccer Club instead of Toronto FC which makes it seem like it stands for Toronto Football Club.

It is called soccer in Canada... but I think you've forgotten about Miami Fusion FC and FC Dallas

[jkrdevil]

Is the game in Canada called Football or is it called Soccer like in the US? I always thought it was called Soccer in Canada because of the presence of American style football (CFL) in Canada. If so shouldn't it be Toronto SC for Toronto Soccer Club instead of Toronto FC which makes it seem like it stands for Toronto Football Club.

It is called soccer in Canada... but I think you've forgotten about Miami Fusion FC and FC Dallas

And those should be SC as well. I think that is the problem with some of the Euro names coming into MLS. It's not that they are bad it's that the people naming the teams don't look at what they means. They just do it because some famous team in Europe have it.

I don't have a problem with the team having a sport club name. Just make sure it is accurate with what the sport is called in the region where the league is. The league is called Soccer and the team if they are going to go with a sport club name should match that. In this case those teams should be Soccer Club (SC) and not Football Club (FC).

[FreeKobe]

Does anyone one know of any other unofficial expansion teams for 2007 that, along with Toronto FC, would balance out the conferences team-wise?

[CC97]

Does anyone one know of any other unofficial expansion teams for 2007 that, along with Toronto FC, would balance out the conferences team-wise?

San Jose is supposed to get another team

[Original6]

I hope for the sake of soccer fans this team doesn't fail. With Soccer being in the summer competing against the Blue Jays and football.

[Gothamite]

Does anyone one know of any other unofficial expansion teams for 2007 that, along with Toronto FC, would balance out the conferences team-wise?

San Jose is supposed to get another team

You leaking a story?

They probably should, but I haven't seen any actual confirmation that they will.

[pcgd]

I don't have a problem with the team having a sport club name. Just make sure it is accurate with what the sport is called in the region where the league is. The league is called Soccer and the team if they are going to go with a sport club name should match that. In this case those teams should be Soccer Club (SC) and not Football Club (FC).

I half agree with you. 5 years ago I would have fully agreed. When MLS was marketing themselves to new american soccer fans, they would have been better off calling the teams Soccer.

But now, they are marketing to fans that are already soccer fans, but they follow European teams. They are trying to say "Why follow teams halfway around the world when we've got the real thing in our own backyard." Yes, its still Major League SOCCER, but I think trying to make the sport more legit and drawing the people that are fans of soccer or football already is the right way to go.

Add to that, I think you'll find the Hispanic population that many of these teams are trying to draw call the sport Futbol and not Soccer. Therefore, FC fits that.

In reality, its just the F in FC. They aren't trying to overhaul our language when refering to the sport. Nobody had declared, "Soccer is no more, we play football." I don't think they are calling them FC only becasue someone else did it, I think they are trying to make the league more legit by using names you'd see in world soccer. I don't know if they are being successful, but I think its a move in the right direction.

[CC97]

Does anyone one know of any other unofficial expansion teams for 2007 that, along with Toronto FC, would balance out the conferences team-wise?

San Jose is supposed to get another team

You leaking a story?

They probably should, but I haven't seen any actual confirmation that they will.

I said "supposed to"

[Beantown77]

Does anyone one know of any other unofficial expansion teams for 2007 that, along with Toronto FC, would balance out the conferences team-wise?

The latest scuttlebut is that Cleveland and St. Louis are the front runners for the other 2007 expansion franchise.

The league is looking to add two more franchises in the following seasons, with the future of the Philly/South Jersey franchise to be further addressed on July 1 when Rowan University and the proposed stadium developer are to decide on continuing their previously developed memorandum of understanding.

San Jose and a team somewhere in the pacific northwest (Portland, Seattle) remain decent possibilities.

[Mac the Knife]

I'm not a big fan of soccer in general.

I'm not a big fan of North American soccer teams using "F.C."

I'm not a big fan of teams with unconventional (for North America) names.

But I like this. I like it a lot, in fact.

[Brian in Boston]

San Jose is supposed to get another team

You leaking a story?

They probably should, but I haven't seen any actual confirmation that they will.

With regard to Beantown77's "scuttlebutt", Cleveland or St. Louis coming on board in the near future is more than just a rumor. Actually, at a press conference in Washington DC yesterday, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber said...

Expansion, as I mentioned, will happen next year in Toronto. The next team, our 14th team, will be in the Midwest -- Cleveland or St. Louis, two cities that are vying for that 14th team. The 15th and 16th we hope to happen by the end of the decade. That will be in either St. Louis or Cleveland, possibly Philadelphia, San Jose, and Milwaukee is another market where we're making a lot of progress. We have a lot of cities that are interested in being number 15 or 16. Then we're going to take a deep breath and stop for awhile. We want to maintain that 16-team league size for a number of years to let the game grow and be able to manage where we are competitively with (the) many new teams coming on in a short period of time.

So, according to Garber, Cleveland and St. Louis are the front-runners to land the league's 14th franchise. However, there is no guarantee that said franchise will join Toronto in coming on-line in 2007. As MLS officials have hinted at before, the league may operate with just 13 teams until Cleveland or St. Louis is ready to enter competition.

Further, whichever of those two sites doesn't land the 14th team will become a candidate for either the 15th or 16th franchise, along with Philadelphia (the Rowan University/Glassboro, NJ bid), San Jose or Milwaukee.

Bear in mind that there is also the possibility that an existing club could relocate to any of these candidate cities.