Sunday, April 21, 2013

Kickin’ Around a New Name: Minnesota soccer plays the name game…and loses

Editor's note: The President of the Minnesota United FC, Nick Rogers, responded to this post and his comments are below. 

About a month ago, the Minnesota Stars* decided that it was time to re-brand themselves after the then-league-owned team was purchased by former UnitedHealth CEO, William McGuire.  Like naming a child, choosing a name for a professional sports team is a rare occurrence that provides the owners/parents the opportunity to provide the team/child with the opportunity to be successful while also acknowledging familiar surroundings and family ties.  The Tampa Bay Devil Rays recently determined that supporting the underworld’s patriarch was not good for business and decided to drop “Devil” from the team’s moniker.  The New Orleans Hornets, after moving from Charlotte to New Orleans (and then to and from Oklahoma), will begin anew as the Pelicans next season.**