The FC in America

[Saturn]

the team that brought this to my attention was Real Potosi (from Mexico).

Bolivian. And the fact that their crest is a knockoff of Real Madrid makes it really poserish.

Oh, and there is Real Zara and Real Betis.

Spain and Spain.

[illwauk]

Red Bull New York - Technically it's the New York Red Bulls. Either way I like the name.

I hate it. Sponsors on the shirt is one thing (even though I don't like that either), but this is the equivelant of the Packers if they never dropped the "Acme" name. Besides, they play in New Jersey, not New York.

Y'know before they were the Red Bulls they were the MetroStars, and before that they were the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. But that should all be beside the point 'cause they currently play in Giants Stadium, and guess where the Giants are supposed to be from? Same with the Jets, they too play in the same stadium, they also hail from the same place as the Giants.

Well, I don't see the Giants as any more of a NY team than the Red Bulls. At least when the Giants and Jets moved to Jersey, they took the "NY" off their helmets (and have since added them back due to the retro craze).

Besides, what sense does it make to take a name that completely nixes New Jersey out of the picture when the team is planning on moving even further away from NYC? MetroStars makes sense... Red Bull New York doesn't.

[harperdc]

yes it does, because it ties them with Red Bull's other soccer club, FC Red Bull Salzburg.

[LimeGuy]

Wouldn't it be great if all of the world's soccer teams competed in one big league?

*snickers*

[StoneRaizer]

Considering that some leagues have trouble scheduling a season with "only" 10-30 teams, imagine the scheduling nightmare of having approximately 2000 teams. You're also bound to have some mismatches also - Manchester United vs. some bottom feeding USL team. *cringes*

Oh ya, the road trips would be brutal also - imagine Man U having to play the LA Galaxy on the road and then fly back over the Atlantic for a game against Juventus?

[illwauk]

yes it does, because it ties them with Red Bull's other soccer club, FC Red Bull Salzburg.

I'm not disputing the Red Bull part (although I despise the idea of teams being named after corporate entities), it's the New York part that doesn't make sense. Especially when they play in another state.

[apeman33]

Somebody said (There were so many quotes here, I just trimmed it down to get to the part I want to respond to):

Well, I don't see the Giants as any more of a NY team than the Red Bulls. At least when the Giants and Jets moved to Jersey, they took the "NY" off their helmets (and have since added them back due to the retro craze).

Just to point out that the "NY" had been off the Jets' helmets for several seasons already before they moved to the Meadowlands.

And who ever said "Salt Lake Athletic" as a possible alternate name a few posts back....That has a sound that works to me. "Real Salt Lake" hasn't ever sounded right. It's not because of the whole "Real" concept. It's that those three words together just don't do it for me. If there was a "Real Montreal," I could live with it. It sounds right.

That probably sounds a bit picky. But it's like the reason I didn't like "Kansas City Wiz" was not because the word "Wiz" was a dumb-sounding word (which it is). It was because the phrase Kansas City Wiz didn't sound right...four-syllable place name followed by monosyllable nickname.

Good gosh, I just think too much sometimes....

[jr79]

The "Real" doesn't work because its fake. People know its a shameless gimmick.

The FC type names work fine because they are simple and not trying to impose a name on the team. Fans will come up with their own nicknames for those teams based on their colours or some local quirk or tradition. Nicknames don't have to be official.

[VitaminD]

In watching Fox Soccer Channel today, I discovered that "Real" isn't exclusive to Spain... the team that brought this to my attention was Real Potosi (from Mexico). Oh, and there is Real Zara and Real Betis (just doing a quick search after the fact).

But the teams that are using the "Real" designation do so because they have been granted the title by the King of Spain, making them "royal teams". Teams can't use that designation without the patronage of the royal family. The United States has no royal family... and so calling a team "Real Salt Lake" is illogical and ridiculous (not to mention anti-democratic enough to make our Founding Fathers roll in their graves).

I'm all for giving the MLS teams a touch of Euro style (United, FC Dallas... and Houston 1836 would've been great even though the German teams they were biting off use the year of the team's founding, not the city... so why not Houston 06?), but Real was one name that MLS simply could not use, but did. It shows a terrible lack of understanding on the part of MLS. There are more than enough traditions available to mimic without resorting to a honorific bestowed by a king on a fortunate team.

[xxjdm66]

I could be wrong, but didn't Dave Checketts ( owner/invester) give the identity to the team and does MLS have any say in a teams identity?

p.s. I agree with all the posters in regards to "Real", an awful name for this MLS team

[Brian in Boston]

Fans will come up with their own nicknames for those teams based on their colours or some local quirk or tradition. Nicknames don't have to be official.

However, in the highly competitive world of North American pro sports marketing and merchandising, you're going to find that your opinion on this matter is the exception rather than the rule.

Given the immense amounts of money that are invested by team owners in their North American pro sports franchises, there are going to be precious few aspects of team management that are left to the vagaries of chance - particularly allowing the "unwashed masses" of fans to brand a team.

Bottom line? It will remain customary for owners in the vast majority of North American pro sports to name their teams... including nicknames. Further, I'd go so far as to say that even in cases where a team's nickname is supposedly left up to the will of the fans, subtle machinations will be taking place behind the scenes to steer fan preference towards a choice (i.e. rigged "Name the Team" polls).

Or, not so subtle. Witness the labelling of the rebranded FC Dallas as "The Hoops". The "Hoops" designation was pretty much force-fed upon the FC Dallas fanbase through references in team press releases early after the re-branding and media coverage fueled by said press releases. Also, take a look at "Name the Team" fan polling conducted prior to Dave Checketts unveiling his team's identity. Real Salt Lake was a non-factor in those polls, yet wound up being selected as a team name.

[Gothamite]

yes it does, because it ties them with Red Bull's other soccer club, FC Red Bull Salzburg.

I'm not disputing the Red Bull part (although I despise the idea of teams being named after corporate entities), it's the New York part that doesn't make sense. Especially when they play in another state.

You have to remember that they play in suburban New York, though. States are smaller, closer together out here than the Midwest.

It's like if the state line ran through Wauwatosa - Brookfield would still be suburban Milwaukee.

[-kj]

I still have to wonder about the whole idea of a second NY team, given that the first one is barely an MLS team to begin with.

[illwauk]

yes it does, because it ties them with Red Bull's other soccer club, FC Red Bull Salzburg.

I'm not disputing the Red Bull part (although I despise the idea of teams being named after corporate entities), it's the New York part that doesn't make sense. Especially when they play in another state.

You have to remember that they play in suburban New York, though. States are smaller, closer together out here than the Midwest.

It's like if the state line ran through Wauwatosa - Brookfield would still be suburban Milwaukee.

Thanks for assuming that I'm some slow jackass whose never left the Great Lakes states.

I don't care how close they are to NYC. If they don't play in the city's (or at least the state's) borders, they don't deserve to call themselves New York. It makes even less sense when you consider that the team had a well established (and regionally ambiguous) "Metros" identity before they got bought out by Red Bull. They should've used it.

[horrorshow]

yes it does, because it ties them with Red Bull's other soccer club, FC Red Bull Salzburg.

I'm not disputing the Red Bull part (although I despise the idea of teams being named after corporate entities), it's the New York part that doesn't make sense. Especially when they play in another state.

You have to remember that they play in suburban New York, though. States are smaller, closer together out here than the Midwest.

It's like if the state line ran through Wauwatosa - Brookfield would still be suburban Milwaukee.

Thanks for assuming that I'm some slow jackass whose never left the Great Lakes states.

I don't care how close they are to NYC. If they don't play in the city's (or at least the state's) borders, they don't deserve to call themselves New York. It makes even less sense when you consider that the team had a well established (and regionally ambiguous) "Metros" identity before they got bought out by Red Bull. They should've used it.

Red Bull wouldn't allow it. There was a serious push by the supporters to somehow integrate "Metro" into the name of the rebranded team, but alas, we all know how that all turned out. Red Bull wanted name recognition with one of the world's most famous cities, and in the eyes of RB execs, none of the cities in New Jersey fell into that equation.

[rams80]

yes it does, because it ties them with Red Bull's other soccer club, FC Red Bull Salzburg.

I'm not disputing the Red Bull part (although I despise the idea of teams being named after corporate entities), it's the New York part that doesn't make sense. Especially when they play in another state.

You have to remember that they play in suburban New York, though. States are smaller, closer together out here than the Midwest.

It's like if the state line ran through Wauwatosa - Brookfield would still be suburban Milwaukee.

Thanks for assuming that I'm some slow jackass whose never left the Great Lakes states.

I don't care how close they are to NYC. If they don't play in the city's (or at least the state's) borders, they don't deserve to call themselves New York. It makes even less sense when you consider that the team had a well established (and regionally ambiguous) "Metros" identity before they got bought out by Red Bull. They should've used it.

If a city's a close to the state border as NY, chances are teams might play in different state. Its the same metropolitan area, so it should work.

*Runs of to tell those b@stards in the Redskins front office that since they don't play in the District, they have to call themselves Maryland*

[Pandaguy87]

I still have to wonder about the whole idea of a second NY team, given that the first one is barely an MLS team to begin with.

Hey they're off to a great start this season, and are the only team so far to not have conceded a goal, after they beat Houston who were the only other team to do so. Still another team would be kind of cool, and would follow the principle of New York having two of every professional sports team (with the exception of basketball, but the Nets play in East Rutherford like the Jets and Giants). If they do get another team they have to make it Empire Soccer Club, like the MetroStars were supposed to be. The coolest name in American soccer, and they had to change it with the most retarded name in major league sports history...

[Gothamite]

If they do get another team they have to make it Empire Soccer Club, like the MetroStars were supposed to be. The coolest name in American soccer, and they had to change it with the most retarded name in major league sports history...

I've heard that claim, but never seen it actuall substantiated. It was the name of the parent company, but did they ever announce that the team would play under that name before adopting the corporate moniker?

I like the name, but wonder how much of that is fan revisionism.

I wouldn't mind seeing the second club take the name. I also wouldn't mind seeing them take up the glorious history of the Cosmopolitans, either.

[VitaminD]

yes it does, because it ties them with Red Bull's other soccer club, FC Red Bull Salzburg.

I'm not disputing the Red Bull part (although I despise the idea of teams being named after corporate entities), it's the New York part that doesn't make sense. Especially when they play in another state.

You have to remember that they play in suburban New York, though. States are smaller, closer together out here than the Midwest.

It's like if the state line ran through Wauwatosa - Brookfield would still be suburban Milwaukee.

Thanks for assuming that I'm some slow jackass whose never left the Great Lakes states.

I don't care how close they are to NYC. If they don't play in the city's (or at least the state's) borders, they don't deserve to call themselves New York. It makes even less sense when you consider that the team had a well established (and regionally ambiguous) "Metros" identity before they got bought out by Red Bull. They should've used it.

No one assumed anything. Thanks for your opinion. Greater New York extends through the entire northern half of New Jersey and the western and southern parts of Connecticut. Sorry if that offends your sense of right and wrong. Take your argument up with... well, every team that does this. When you're done there, take it up with every city that sits on its state's border and whose suburbs extend into another state. Let us know how it works out for you. In the meantime, we'll all just forgive the fact that the Austrians who own Red Bull would prefer to include in their team name the biggest city and largest market in the US, in whose metropolitan area and sphere of emphasis they pay their games, instead of a small suburb in North Jersey that most people have never heard of. We're rooting for you. Seriously.

[illwauk]

yes it does, because it ties them with Red Bull's other soccer club, FC Red Bull Salzburg.

I'm not disputing the Red Bull part (although I despise the idea of teams being named after corporate entities), it's the New York part that doesn't make sense. Especially when they play in another state.

You have to remember that they play in suburban New York, though. States are smaller, closer together out here than the Midwest.

It's like if the state line ran through Wauwatosa - Brookfield would still be suburban Milwaukee.

Thanks for assuming that I'm some slow jackass whose never left the Great Lakes states.

I don't care how close they are to NYC. If they don't play in the city's (or at least the state's) borders, they don't deserve to call themselves New York. It makes even less sense when you consider that the team had a well established (and regionally ambiguous) "Metros" identity before they got bought out by Red Bull. They should've used it.

No one assumed anything. Thanks for your opinion. Greater New York extends through the entire northern half of New Jersey and the western and southern parts of Connecticut. Sorry if that offends your sense of right and wrong. Take your argument up with... well, every team that does this. When you're done there, take it up with every city that sits on its state's border and whose suburbs extend into another state. Let us know how it works out for you. In the meantime, we'll all just forgive the fact that the Austrians who own Red Bull would prefer to include in their team name the biggest city and largest market in the US, in whose metropolitan area and sphere of emphasis they pay their games, instead of a small suburb in North Jersey that most people have never heard of. We're rooting for you. Seriously.

The Boston Patriots became the New England Patriots when they left Boston for Foxboro, the San Francisco Warriors became the Golden State Warriors when they moved to Oakland and the LA Angels became the California Angels when they first moved to Anaheim. On top of which, the USFL had an official policy regarding geographically correct names, which is why we had New Jersey Generals, Michigan Panthers and Arizona Wranglers. So we really need to stop acting like this concept is completely out of left field.

As far as Red Bull, if they want to be associated with New York so bad, they can take some of that corporate money, buy some land that's actually in NYC and build a stadium there. Although I seriously doubt hearing the name "Red Bull New York" is gonna actually help them move product. As if someone is gonna think "I should drink Red Bull because I hear people in New York drink it."

I understand about marketing and I understand that people who don't live in the city proper like to feel as though sports teams represent the metro area. But having a pro sports team (at least on this side of the pond) is a sign that your city has arrived. And I don't think that suburbs whose ability to sustain themselves depends solely leeching off of the economy of a larger city deserve that distinction. I hate urban sprawl, I don't like it when people in suburbs claim to live in the city and when suburban businesses list themselves as being in the city. I hold sports teams to that same standard.... that's all.