Chicago Women's Professional Soccer

[Brian in Boston]

Chicago's franchise in Women's Professional Soccer has announced the launch of its "Name the Team Sweepstakes". The candidate names are:

1871

Blues

Massacre

Progress

Red Stars

Riot

Stinking Onions

Towers

Union

Wind

Log-on to http://www.womensprosoccer.com/form_ektekfrm1940.aspx to cast votes for your top three choices.

All I can say is, "Wow... just, wow."

[Sodboy13]

Stinking Onions is clearly a joke entry - legend has it that the origin of the name "Chicago" translates to "stinking onion field." Red Stars, on the other hand, is quite a fine name which could lend itself to a solid identity.

[gueman]

What? No Cunning Runts?

[cappital92]

Chicago Progress. That sounds like a Barack Obama soundbite.

[ManCalledAmp]

Horrible. Absolutely horrible.

I guess Blues, Union, or Towers are about the only ones I could see out of that list. Maybe, MAYBE Wind, for obvious reasons, but it seems too simple and yet too forced. Breeze, Zephyrs, "Windies/Windys"...but just "Wind?"

Chicago Blues sounds okay, but it doesn't have the same oomph of Memphis, New Orleans, Seattle, etc. (Granted, wikipedia does show that I'm apparently musically ill informed, as the Chicago blues were a pretty big deal. I feel a tad silly now...)

Union sounds like an attempt to play off the "Europoseur" naming trends...a different spin on "United" that I think sounds pretty cool...except that it makes me think Rugby Union, not Assoc Football.

And Towers? Well, if it's good enough for the Sky...

Eh, call me a Commie but I think the Euro route is the way this team needs to go to set itself apart from the kitchy-named opponents which we're sure to hear about soon (Boston Breakers, I will admit, is a good name; Washington Freedom is decent...and wtf is up with NY/NJ SkyBlue?).

Just imagine how beautiful this could look on a crest....or heck, go the original-MLS route and fill up the jersey with it:

United AFC Sporting Chicago Atletico 1871.

Imagine it.

But as far as Red Star goes? It's bold, brandable imagery. I just see them having a hard time overcoming the "Red Star = Communist/Soviets" kneejerk response. I know that's what I think of, even when I hear about Red Star Belgrade, and though it was formed in USSR Yugoslavia, it is in what is now Serbia.

[Sodboy13]

But as far as Red Star goes? It's bold, brandable imagery. I just see them having a hard time overcoming the "Red Star = Communist/Soviets" kneejerk response. I know that's what I think of, even when I hear about Red Star Belgrade, and though it was formed in USSR Yugoslavia, it is in what is now Serbia.

I can see the Soviet tie-in, but as a Chicagoan, the name "Red Stars" immediately links to the four red stars on the iconic Chicago flag in my mind, a look which was almost universally embraced when the Fire donned it on their alternates for an all-too-brief period.

And this company doesn't seem to have an issue with it. They're actually fairly prominent in the city.

Though if the team's gonna take on a shirt sponsor, this might be the direction to take. Now go on and make with the jokes, gents.

[rams80]

Red Stars strike me as being the best of a poor lot.

1871? Seriously? Where does it say in the city charter that every soccer team in the city must allude to the Great Chicago Fire?

[Mac the Knife]

I voted for Stinking Onions #1, with no #2 or #3 choices. I think it'd be appropriate for everyone to do likewise, simply to show the powers that be that sometimes making a joke can backfire.

That aside, almost every one of those names suck.

[max]

The name Chicago will choose is The Towers.

[illwauk]

Red Stars strike me as being the best of a poor lot.

1871? Seriously? Where does it say in the city charter that every soccer team in the city must allude to the Great Chicago Fire?

Leave it to Chicago to actually want to name teams after a disaster that destroyed their city...

[BallWonk]

In the spirit of the WUSA Women's Professional Soccer, I felt obliged to vote for Chicago Wind. It's the only name that really works within the whole women's-soccer-name paradigm.

However, I'm with those who actually prefer Red Stars among the seriously deficient choices.

[jeremyb]

Definition of a Massacre, the intentional killing of a consderable number of human beings, under the circumstances of atrocity or creulity.

Massacre include Beslan School, Columbine High School. Tianenmen Square and the list goes on and on.

And this seems to be acceptable name for a womens soccer team,

shame, shame, shame

[Blackjack76]

Definition of a Massacre, the intentional killing of a consderable number of human beings, under the circumstances of atrocity or creulity.

Massacre include Beslan School, Columbine High School. Tianenmen Square and the list goes on and on.

And this seems to be acceptable name for a womens soccer team,

shame, shame, shame

It was supposed to say "mascara." Nice work, spellcheck....

[totc]

Definition of a Massacre, the intentional killing of a consderable number of human beings, under the circumstances of atrocity or creulity.

Massacre include Beslan School, Columbine High School. Tianenmen Square and the list goes on and on.

And this seems to be acceptable name for a womens soccer team,

shame, shame, shame

It was supposed to say "mascara." Nice work, spellcheck....

If the men's team is the Fire (conjuring up the image of first-responders), shouldn't the women's team be the Auxiliary?

[totc]

Red Stars strike me as being the best of a poor lot.

1871? Seriously? Where does it say in the city charter that every soccer team in the city must allude to the Great Chicago Fire?

Or every team in Houston refer to the Alamo?

[illwauk]

Red Stars strike me as being the best of a poor lot.

1871? Seriously? Where does it say in the city charter that every soccer team in the city must allude to the Great Chicago Fire?

Or every team in Houston refer to the Alamo?

Pssst... the Alamo is in San Antonio...

[CubsFanBudMan]

Red Stars strike me as being the best of a poor lot.

1871? Seriously? Where does it say in the city charter that every soccer team in the city must allude to the Great Chicago Fire?

Or every team in Houston refer to the Alamo?

Pssst... the Alamo is in San Antonio...

He misremembered the Alamo.

Sorry... I agree on most points. Stinking Onions should be the name because they put something that ridiculous on the ballot. I get Red Stars, but people outside Chicago (and this forum) might not -- although if they used the Fire alts as a model that could work. Towers also seems like a frontrunner, although I don't see it for soccer. More minor-league basketball. Masscare, even if you don't consider recent regional events -- no.

[murtaugh]

1871? Seriously? Where does it say in the city charter that every soccer team in the city must allude to the Great Chicago Fire?

Leave it to Chicago to actually want to name teams after a disaster that destroyed their city...

I posted more on this topic elsewhere, but it bears repeating;

1871 is probably the best name in terms of both brand unity and flexibility. It can go many directions, still have a salient connection to the Fire, its fanbase, directly identify with Chicago soccer, the city, and still be unique in its own right.

It doesn't work well as a traditional American sports nickname. But neither does Fire. Both "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago 1871" function best in association with the city name as part of the club's title. It does allow for any number of nicknames to be generated (like "71s") that make that difficult bridging between having a stand-alone brand and co-branding with the men's club very well. The colors are most likely going to be some variance of Fire colors and those of the Chicago flag; so the connection is there like it or not.

As for the comment about references to the Fire; it seems to be a popular derision given by those who don't live here that we revere an event that 'destroyed the city' when in fact it's pretty much the prime reason the city even exists and thrives today. It's a pretty damn important event for a pretty damn important city.

[pcgd]

1871? Seriously? Where does it say in the city charter that every soccer team in the city must allude to the Great Chicago Fire?

Leave it to Chicago to actually want to name teams after a disaster that destroyed their city...

I posted more on this topic elsewhere, but it bears repeating;

1871 is probably the best name in terms of both brand unity and flexibility. It can go many directions, still have a salient connection to the Fire, its fanbase, directly identify with Chicago soccer, the city, and still be unique in its own right.

It doesn't work well as a traditional American sports nickname. But neither does Fire. Both "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago 1871" function best in association with the city name as part of the club's title. It does allow for any number of nicknames to be generated (like "71s") that make that difficult bridging between having a stand-alone brand and co-branding with the men's club very well. The colors are most likely going to be some variance of Fire colors and those of the Chicago flag; so the connection is there like it or not.

As for the comment about references to the Fire; it seems to be a popular derision given by those who don't live here that we revere an event that 'destroyed the city' when in fact it's pretty much the prime reason the city even exists and thrives today. It's a pretty damn important event for a pretty damn important city.

Right, without the Fire the city wouldn't be the architectural world leader it is today. Young architects from all over the US flocked to Chicago to help rebuild it. The streets were redrawn, the buildings rebuilt, and the debris pushed into the lake to form the area east of Lakeshore drive.

It was a horrible event that took the lives of far too many. But it also helped the city recreate itself.

[rams80]

1871? Seriously? Where does it say in the city charter that every soccer team in the city must allude to the Great Chicago Fire?

Leave it to Chicago to actually want to name teams after a disaster that destroyed their city...

I posted more on this topic elsewhere, but it bears repeating;

1871 is probably the best name in terms of both brand unity and flexibility. It can go many directions, still have a salient connection to the Fire, its fanbase, directly identify with Chicago soccer, the city, and still be unique in its own right.

It doesn't work well as a traditional American sports nickname. But neither does Fire. Both "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago 1871" function best in association with the city name as part of the club's title. It does allow for any number of nicknames to be generated (like "71s") that make that difficult bridging between having a stand-alone brand and co-branding with the men's club very well. The colors are most likely going to be some variance of Fire colors and those of the Chicago flag; so the connection is there like it or not.

As for the comment about references to the Fire; it seems to be a popular derision given by those who don't live here that we revere an event that 'destroyed the city' when in fact it's pretty much the prime reason the city even exists and thrives today. It's a pretty damn important event for a pretty damn important city.

But there are other events as well in the city's history that are just as important. Also, why do you have to co-brand with the men's team? This team should be able to survive on the merits of its identity alone, without needing to trade off of the other team. Also, while the fire may have made some development in the city possible, to contend that without a dumb cow kicking over a lantern, the city would not be there, completely ignores Chicago's advantageous location for trade and as a hub for the railroad networks.

Also...1871 is an attempt to make your team name sound "cool" and "European". This completely ignores that those teams in Europe have year names indicating the year of their founding....not referencing a disaster.

Red Stars works well as a purely "Chicago" identity, and may be on the verge of becoming slightly more in the Public eye, as the flag may be modified in a year or two *cough*Olympics bid*cough*.