I’m wondering if any St. Louis Dopers who follow the local news more closely than I do (I live about 100 miles away) could answer some questions about the St. Louis MLS expansion team, St. Louis City SC.
Do they have a nickname yet, like Manchester United is the Red Devils or Orlando City are the Lions*+? Have they brought in a person/committee who will cultivate the chants & cheers & whatnot that the fans do? Is there a timetable for these things?
*Yes, I know that in soccer (to exclude a handful of MLS teams), nicknames don’t work the way they do in baseball, basketball, etc. They aren’t the Manchester City Red Devils in the same way a certain Illinois baseball team is the Chicago Cubs. I get that soccer nicknames are more like terms of endearment, for want of a better choice of words.
+I recommend The Archies.
For fans of other MLS expansion franchises, what was the timetable for these things? Like how long was the nickname and fan schtick in place before the team first kicked the ball in a game?
The team won’t start play until 2023. Right now it is still filling out its marketing and promotion staff from the top down, so it will be some time before they get down to filling any “fan experience” slots.
As for nicknames, that pretty much has to develop organically. When the XFL put the Battlehawks in St. Louis in 2020, the fans’ favorite cheer turned out to be “(Stan) Kroenke Sucks!”*
- Stan Kroenke was the owner of the Rams who, after doing everything he could to alienate the fans for years, moved the team to L.A. and blasted the area on his way out.
IIRC we were awarded a MLS team in Philadelphia in 2008 for play in the 2010 season. The fan club was already organized and pushed for the award before hand.
The decision for a team name was made in 2009 and Union was voted over a few other names. We never adapted a “nickname” however have adopted a snake as our symbol and official mascot.
I’m thinking St. Louis “nickname” will be created organically and then built upon by your marketing department.
This also brings up another talking point: how far will MLS expand before enough is enough?
The Montreal MSL team changed its name from the nice-sounding “Impact” to “CF Montreal” (“CF” standing for “Club (de) Foot”). It sort of loses something in the translation. 