Name that Women's Professional Soccer franchise

1 comment

December 1, 5:43 AM

by Zalika Green, Women's Sports Examiner

 

The Bay Area just announced its name and logo, FC Gold Pride, with the colors being black and gold. The lioness demonstrates the characteristics of strength, teamwork, and skill and they are the providers of the pride. Each lioness has a specific role in the group just as each player has a specific role on the team.

As the old proverb goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Boston Breakers have yet to change the logo it used during its Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) days. I’m mean really, it’s an ocean wave rolling over a soccer ball. How can you possibly improve upon that?

The Chicago franchise let the burden of choosing the name fall on the city’s fans who had the choice among 10 nominations in a lengthy two-month process. Some were real winners (Blues), some seemed rather violent (Massacre), some were rather inane (1871), and some made you scratch your head (Stinking Onions). The most obvious choice, Red Stars, was finally unveiled to a very pleased crowd taking a collective sigh knowing the team wouldn’t be called something as transparent as Wind. The team logo is taken from the City of Chicago’s Municipal Flag with the stars representing a landmark event in Chicago’s history.

Los Angeles chose Sol which is the Latin translation for ‘Sun’ and the modern word for ‘Sun’ in many other languages. The owners wanted to honor L.A.’s history and community. And heck, we all know it’s pretty sunny in L.A.

Jersey Sky Blue, a W-League franchise, combined two states and made one professional team - New Jersey/New York Sky Blue. That’s already a mouthful. It added the moniker ‘Football Club’ to reflect the owners Thomas Hofstetter and Francesco Prandoni’s European Heritage. The logo, which is a contemporary design of a bird flying through the sky, was recently updated from a simple box design to the shape of a shield.

St. Louis first unveiled the logo and then, approximately two months later, finally settled on a name – Athletica – a made up English word derived from the adjective “athletic” causing another addition to my Microsoft Word dictionary. The logo features a crest with a silhouette of a woman a top a horse hoisting a flag. It’s imposing, rather intricate, and probably one of the better-looking logos.

Another former WUSA team, the Washington Freedom, changed its logo recently. The old logo, a caped figure sporting a ponytail, needed a makeover. Why did the logo have a ponytail anyway? Did Michelle Akers have a ponytail? The logo had a star-shaped head, no arms, and pointy legs. Did it really need a perceived gender? The Freedom transformed this somewhat biased logo to a soccer ball superimposed over the US Capitol Building.

For the most part, all the franchises pass the That’s a Ridiculous Name for a Team Test, which goes something like this: Assume yourself the role of a play-by-play analyst, Julie Foudy maybe, and your team is on the field in a heated competition. Fill in the blank space with your team name:

"(The) ______ just got the ball on a turnover and is now moving swiftly down the midfield. (The) ______ has been playing well offensively all match and is now looking for an opportunity to score in transition. (The) ______ has been adjusting well to the changes in its lineup and can take first place in its conference with a win tonight."

If you can say these lines without laughing then your team name passes the test. I’m looking forward to seeing these teams (ridiculous logo/name or not) in action next year.

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