Choosing the Philly MLS Team Name

Since we heard word that Philadelphia had been awarded an MLS franchise, we've mostly been wondering what the team would be called. Soccer names can be so great (Real Madrid) or banal (Kansas City Wizards), and we were really hoping we didn't get stuck with some liberty-laden cliché.

Today, Ives Galarcep, who writes for espnsoccernet.com and his own Soccer By Ives site, quotes a source saying that the Philly club has narrowed down the list of possible names to four choices: AC Philadelphia, SC Philadelphia, Philadelphia Union, and Philadelphia City. It's good to see that most of the options are throwbacks to European naming styles, in my opinion. I was pulling for AS Philadelphia, but I could live with any of these.

Other than the report linked above, which seems to have some legs, I haven't seen this posted officially or at Sons of Ben, philly.com, or the MLS Philly site yet. We'll keep you posted.

What's your vote?

Comments

[Leroy]

Philadelphia Orange Slices

[Bobby Fisher]

PHILLY UNITED... they blew it

[beelove]

NONE OF THE ABOVE.

they're all bullshit - the team is not in philadelphia, it is in CHESTER. nobody in their right mind would ever think that the team would be named for chester (though a cheetos sponsored chester cheetahs would have been awesome), but they could have at least thrown chester a bone and called them "pennsylvania whatever".

"philadelphia city" is the absolute worst of them since, oh i don't know, the team will NOT PLAY IN PHILADELPHIA CITY. chester city? right on. give the kids in chester some sense of pride, buy the jerseys that read "CHESTER" across the front. but nope.

shocking prediction: no one who lives in chester will ever go to these soccer games, especially if you call them the philadelphia whatevers. another shocking prediction: no one who lives in philadelphia outside the sons of ben will go, either.

[RIcky]

We've been awarded another MLB franchise??

Welcome back, A's!!

[Chris]

I don't know anything about soccer and I don't know what the letters stand for, but they seem way cooler than Philadelphia City.

[Mark E]

I like Philadelphia City except, you know, for the team playing in F-ING CHESTER. Seriously, what?

[Matt P.]

@Ricky: Smartass!

[KevinLin]

All the options are good and the haters need to get over it. IT is phlly's soccer team stop whining and just enjoy finally having an MLS team. And if you don't care about soccer than shut up anyway.

AC Philly is the way to go anyway.

[SteveS]

Wow even as a Man United fan I would not mind hearing "C'mon City!, C'mon City!" all throughout chester

[tom]

How about the Philadelphia Empty Stands

[will.H]

Philadelphia October 29ths. i asked cholly, its ok.

[tom]

How about the Philadelphia Empty Stands

[will.H]

Bobby Fisher! Where is he? i dont know, i dont know.

[Mitch]

I agree. As long as they take one that resembles a European team I'll be happy. What about Philadelphia FC. Pretty boring but very traditional.

I am a huge futbol fan and follow all the European leagues especially the English Premier team because I love Liverpool. I will never support the Philadelphia team the way that I do Liverpool but I am def. excited to have a futbol team in the area. Should be an interesting endeavor for Philadelphia despite the fact that they will never be taken seriously.

[TJB]

AC Philly

As Milan fan, it just comes natural.

[Bryan]

OK to an actual important topic:

Who is the new incredibly smoking chick on comcast? Just saw her on...WOW.

[Tim Malcolm]

Considering some football clubs are named after dates, it wouldn't have been a stretch to call them Philadelphia 1029. That actually sounds pretty badass.

[Francis]

I think the recent trend of naming our MLS teams after European traditions we do not have in America is dumb. Is there a dumber name in the pro sports universe than Real Salt Lake? It is literally meaningless. It's interesting that in North America we, for whatever reason, have traditionally given our sports clubs cool nicknames and sweet logos. In Europe everything is "AC this" and "FC that" and the logos are usually lame coats of arms. Our way to doing things in this particular regard is vastly superior; I don't know why MLS has decided that acting like we're Europeans with hundreds of years of soccer tradition is suddenly going to make the game more popular here. Aren't you glad we have the Eagles, Flyers (with that immortal flying P), Sixers and Phillies (with that gorgeous P in the red and white pinstripes and not some stupid crest with a corporate insignia) - and not FC Philadelphia, HC Philadelphia, BC Philadelphia and Real Baseball Union Club of Philadelphia?

All these suggested Philly soccer names suck. The probability of me following this team is now lower.

[MikeY]

What's Soccer?

Isn't that Brett Myers' answer when he's asked what he does to his wife when she talks back?

[Francis]

@mikeY

SNAP! good one.

[Elano]

I actually prefer Philadelphia City also. AC doesn't work IMO because we aren't freaking Italians. It's seriously sad they have a team called Royal Salt Lake. Spanish probably see the league as a joke, if they didn't already. Associazione calcio Philadelphia? Lame. Too many FC's already. Stay away from the cheesy Mascot team names.

[Bryan]

Just found out her name is Amy Fadool. Finally a hot woman on Comcast!!! Leslie used to but Pat the Bat knocked her up one too many times.

[gootman]

If they do go Philadelphia Union I hope the Steamfitters Local 420 sponsors them.

[Ben P.]

i would not mind Philadelphia Union.

[Pistols at Jawn]

I vote for AC Slater.

[joey wade]

how about the Philadelphia "Noone will see this and it is a huge waste of dillars"?

i think its catchy.

But seriously, there isn't a market for soccer in the united states! This team will have as big a following as teams like the Wings, Kixx or the Soul... it's just doesn't make sense to make this team a reality.

[Alex P.]

The Philadelphia F***ing Champions

[tc]

Those names are derivative and they all suck moosecock. With all of the history in this fucking city to pull possible names from, they are going to try to tell us that these are the best pool of potential names? It's bad enough that they will play in Chester. You fight traffic around the airport to get out there for a game, get your car broken into during the game, then get robbed and stabbed looking for a cop to report the break in to. As you bleed to death on the porch of a Widener frat house, the cops ask you where this happened, and you respond with your dying breath "Uhhhh...AC Philadelphia..uhhh". The cops look at each other and wonder "Well, if it happened in AC or Philadelphia, how the fuck did he get here?". FAIL. Cue Sad Trombone- wah wahh waaahhh.

[dcs]

Philadelphia Union is no good, it makes it sound like they play a different sport (rugby union).

Why not Philadelphia AFC (Association Football Club)?

[ChesterCountyRedneck]

I give it 2 years before it folds.

No one wants to go to Chester.

No one will want to watch soccer.

No one will want to bring their children to Chester to watch soccer. It's a waste of time, money, and a risk. Outdoor pro-Lacrosse has a better shot than this foot fairy sport.

[slowski]

the Philadelphia Santa Boos

[Saul]

To all you people complaining about it being in Chester... get over it. A lot of teams don't play in the city that they're associated with - the Giants and Jets play in Jersey, for example, but they're still the NY Giants and the NY Jets. They still represent NY and - here's the catch - the whole NY area. There was nowhere actually IN Philly to put a pro soccer team, so they found a place nearby. Despite not being in the city, it still represents Philly and the surrounding area. To all of us who don't actually live within the Philly borders, Philly is more than a set of municipal borders; it's an area and, perhaps more importantly, an attitude and a mindset. The exact trivialities of geographical location don't matter as much. So get over it. The team still represents Philadelphia... and Chester, and everywhere else in the area, too.

[BadMotherFutley]

They should compromise and name them the Philadelphia Chesters. Their mascot?
http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/dale/971/pictures/chestr2.jpg

[ChesterCountyRedneck]

Saul:

you sound like a whiney bitch and you aren't convincing anyone. get off your soap box.

[Chamomiles Davis]

The Balls.

The Pitchslappers.

The Sod-omites.

More to follow as I continue drinking...

[KevinLin]

I don't get the anti-euro style name feelings. Look the new american style names tend to suck. OKC Thunder anyone? In addition Real Salt Lake does suck but that is because they went with something that has nothing to do with SLC. A.C. Philly sounds great and is the best way to stick it to MLB for not allowing Athletic(Yes, I know A.C. refers to an italian phrase in most instances but in America it has referred to Atheletic Clubs) But anyway point is in an ideal world it would be Philadelphia athletic, old and new.

And to those still complaining about it not being chester why don't you talk to fans of the Auburn Hills Pistons or the Landover Redskins or the East Rutherford Giants. Seriously people.

[brad]

Goooooooooooaaaaaaaaallll!.

Seriously what does the AC & FC stand for?

[Not a fan of five]

I like the Philadelphia Union so when they stink, "PU!" (pee-yew!) won't sound like you're a hater, but actually cheering for them.

I don't mind any of those names, and as being primarily a soccer player growing up, won't mind going to a few games... in the second season.

[Wilson]

call me crazy but I'm mildly excited about this.....

[tc]

Saul- I see where you're coming from, but since you brought it up lets use NY as an example-if I was a New Yorker and I heard that we were getting a new football team, the NEW YORK ______, and then found that they were going to play in New Jersey, I would be disappointed, then pissed.

But let us not get away from the main problem here- they will be playing in CHESTER. If it couldn't be within the city limits, why not Media, Springfield, Delran (or any of the BurlCo towns right on the river- Cinnaminson, Riverton, etc)Huntingdon Valley,Warminster, Southampton, Willow Grove, Langhorne, or KofP. Shit. Anywhere but Chester.

[Zack]

FC in the US is just plain stupid because we play soccer and not football...so I am glad that is not a choice.

Philadelphia Union sucks...because the Philadelphia Unions suck and ruin the city...I don't want to have to wait 2 seasons for them to finally decide they should score a goal because they have had enough lunch breaks and vacation time.

I think AC Philly and Philly City are my two favorites

[James]

If everyone is going to dump on the location of the stadium, how come no one suggested the Chester Molesters? I kind of like Philly Union, myself. AC Philly? I would think there was a toll booth ahead.

[zagurski]

Not that anyone really cares but southeastern PA is one the biggest hotbeds for soccer talent in the entire country and thus i would expect an impressive following if the team is actually decent. Cheap tickets, and a good team in Chester sounds a lot more interesting than cheap tickets and a bad team (your philadelphia 76ers) in a building where the only team that should matter is the flyers. Philadelphia City is clearly the best, and most unique name of the four.

[RiverRat]

@KevinLin
If you are an Athletic club, you are going to have to have more than one sport to offer. So it is referring to Italian teams.

@tc
You been to any of the Burlco River towns lately? Nowhere to build.

[Loqiel]

Yeah I'm excited about this, actually. The only time I follow soccer is when the US teams play, but that could be in part to not having anywhere to go to see it. I bet it'd be a cheap date for that Euro chick you've been hitting on at work!

[Francis]

Because American style nicknames CAN or have sucked that means that's a good reason to name all teams AC or FC? Pretty flawed logic. And I can't think of anything that would honor C. Mack and the Athletics LESS than to name our soccer team after a European tradition.

[Francis]

I'd buy season tickets to the Chester Molesters, however - just to clarify.

[mike t]

how about gay Philadelphia CAUSE SOCCER IS GAY!

[BFT]

Philadelphia Athletic would have been my choice, but seeing as that isn't an option, I gotta throw my phils hat in for Philadelphia City.

As for all the haters - glad I won't be seeing you at the game.

[db13]

i'm actually looking forward to this team....

Philadelphia Athletic would have been cool... but AC Philadelphia is a good substitute I guess... nice little nod to the A's