Team names

[cudef]

Birmingham Big Hornz as in a Rhino with colors red (crimson) and yellow (Gold) Don't want to sound like an afl team they have some odd names

[dkrouskop]

I'm not a proponent of team names which aren't easily expressed in the plural. "Galaxy", "Express", "Rage", etc., just sound odd - in particular when referring to individuals. I prefer to be able to say, "He's a Packer" or "That guy was a Raider" or "He should be a Bear". As edgy and cool as some of those singular names look on paper when you're trying to make your league seem progressive and new, I just don't think they translate well to water cooler discussions or sports talk radio.

The most successful example of a pro team name that can't be easily pluralized is the NBA's Miami Heat, but the NBA is a league that today is more about individual stars than teams. I don't fault them for that - it's a marketing philosophy that has served that sport very well. I'm just not sure it's the right approach for a football organization.

None of the early NFL teams attempting to use singular team names survived beyond their first few years of operation. The WFL, USFL, World League/NFL Europe, XFL, and Arena Football League all featured multiple teams with similar, non-plural monikers, and all of those leagues and teams are now defunct. Certainly the franchise names weren't the primary reason these leagues failed. But I do believe it's much easier for a community of fans to personalize and identify with local teams when they can refer to the individual players as one of a collective whole in a way that rolls off the tongue. Ben Roethlisberger is a Steeler. Tom Brady is a Patriot. Brett Favre will soon be a Viking. Dwyane Wade is... what? A Heat? A Heater? A Heat player? A member of the Heat squad? It's a subtle difference, but I believe the psychological effect is profound. Tommy Maddox was a below-average back-up as a Bronco and a Giant, and a decent one as a Steeler. In the XFL, he was the starting QB of the first and only league champion, and the first and only XFL MVP. But what was he? An Xtreme? An Xtremist? An Xtremer?

I'll follow the UFL regardless, but I hope the team owners and league office consider carefully how much difference that little pluralizing "s" makes at the end of a pro sports franchise's name.

[FirstClass5WH]

Orlando- Dream or Seminoles or Indians or Warriors or Orange
New York- Volunteers or Emprerors
Las Vegas-Vault, Dream or Aces or Spades ( Aces used on video game)
San Francisco- Architects, Conquistadors, Missionaries, Earth Quake

[FirstClass5WH]

San Francisco Should Be Green Yellow or perhaps Gold and Blue
New York Black/ Red would say green and white but not to over take jets
Orlando Carolina Blue White and Orange
Black and Gold or Maybe Hunter Green with the Gold

[TheUpstart]

Hello anyone there?

[mickey66]

Originally Posted by dkrouskop

I'm not a proponent of team names which aren't easily expressed in the plural. "Galaxy", "Express", "Rage", etc., just sound odd - in particular when referring to individuals. I prefer to be able to say, "He's a Packer" or "That guy was a Raider" or "He should be a Bear". As edgy and cool as some of those singular names look on paper when you're trying to make your league seem progressive and new, I just don't think they translate well to water cooler discussions or sports talk radio.

The most successful example of a pro team name that can't be easily pluralized is the NBA's Miami Heat, but the NBA is a league that today is more about individual stars than teams. I don't fault them for that - it's a marketing philosophy that has served that sport very well. I'm just not sure it's the right approach for a football organization.

None of the early NFL teams attempting to use singular team names survived beyond their first few years of operation. The WFL, USFL, World League/NFL Europe, XFL, and Arena Football League all featured multiple teams with similar, non-plural monikers, and all of those leagues and teams are now defunct. Certainly the franchise names weren't the primary reason these leagues failed. But I do believe it's much easier for a community of fans to personalize and identify with local teams when they can refer to the individual players as one of a collective whole in a way that rolls off the tongue. Ben Roethlisberger is a Steeler. Tom Brady is a Patriot. Brett Favre will soon be a Viking. Dwyane Wade is... what? A Heat? A Heater? A Heat player? A member of the Heat squad? It's a subtle difference, but I believe the psychological effect is profound. Tommy Maddox was a below-average back-up as a Bronco and a Giant, and a decent one as a Steeler. In the XFL, he was the starting QB of the first and only league champion, and the first and only XFL MVP. But what was he? An Xtreme? An Xtremist? An Xtremer?

I'll follow the UFL regardless, but I hope the team owners and league office consider carefully how much difference that little pluralizing "s" makes at the end of a pro sports franchise's name.

Well,as all this is playing out 8/12/09 the uniforms will all look the same....colors will be different....the names aren't anywhere close to what everone has come up with(CA,Redwoods???) and this is the way I thought things would go the other leagues were no different if you look back....Marketing people NOT Fans pick the names and Uniforms.