Those in charge of naming sports teams are “finding that satisfying the whims of fans and in-house lawyers is anything but easy or quick,” according to Katie Deighton of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. PWHL SVP/Business Operations Amy Scheer said they were working through “intellectual property across two countries with different laws, and, you know, there’s only so many words out there.” Deighton noted sports teams need “one-word, easily chantable names that look great on T-shirts and can be turned into mascots, and can’t rely on adding a geographic designation to get them off the hook.” Deighton noted another consideration is getting a team name “wrong in the age of social-media outrage.” When owners of Boston’s new NWSL team announced that the team would be called BOS Nation, fans “absolutely hated it.” Toronto’s WNBA expansion team “turned to the public for help with a name,” crowdsourcing more than 10,000 suggestions. The final name “was leaked at the beginning of December, then officially announced: Toronto Tempo” and the “complaints rained down.” Toronto Tempo President Teresa Resch said that the “volume of feedback shows that Canadians are invested in the team.” Several teams have played their first seasons nameless, including Utah’s NHL team. Unrivaled, the new women’s 3-on-3 basketball league that begins play Jan. 17, “came up with the names of its six clubs in less than six months, with no fan votes or prolonged meetings.” Unrivaled Chief Brand Officer Kirby Porter said that the club names were “chosen in part for their ability to carry strong visual branding” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/7).
New era for golf and “RAW”; NFL owners largely stay the course and start-up leagues for $100, please.
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