It looks like the next MLS expansion franchise is probably going to go to Indianapolis.
Imagine you are the CEO, Grand Poobah, and God-King of the franchise; meaning, you have 100% control over everything. First, how do you handle naming the team? Do you go for the American model and name the team [City] + [Nickname], and call your team the Indianapolis Speedsters? Or do you follow the Euro model and go for something simple and straightforward, like Indianapolis FC? If the latter, do you do like Orlando City did and have the nickname in place before the first match (Lions), or do you copy the Euro model and do like St. Louis City SC is doing and wait for a nickname to develop organically? (Aside: despite three years of my advocacy to nickname the team “The Archies,” as of yet they still lack a nickname.)
As regards fan culture, do you do like Orlando did and have the major aspects (such as an official, organized Ultra group) in place before the first kick? Or do you do like St. Louis and, again, wait for things to develop organically?
As for me, I prefer to stick with the Euro naming convention, so my team would just be AFC Indianapolis. I rather admire what Orlando did by having things in place, fan-culture wise, before the teams hits the field. I’d have a better nickname/mascot though: Orlando’s is a lion named Kingston, and neither lions nor Kingston have any connection to Orlando. I’d have a guy dressed as a drop of motor oil and his name would be “Slippy,” and the team’s nickname would be the Slicks.
Where have you head that? That’s disappointing. Indy already has a minor league soccer team with a really loyal fan base - the Indy Eleven, which plays in the United Soccer League. As I understand it, the fans really really like the Eleven, and aren’t interested in an MLS team, for whatever reason.
That I like - especially with the legacy of Slick Leonard.
Having scoured Wikipedia for some ideas, I learned that “Racing” is apparently a not-uncommon element of names of soccer teams. Over on the women’s side, for instance, Louisville tips a cap to the Kentucky Derby by calling its team Racing Louisville FC. So it seems like Racing Indianapolis FC would be a natural choice here.
Why that particular style of European name? Personally, using AFC with Indianapolis would be a constant reminder of the Indianapolis Colts. Wouldn’t Indianapolis FC, Indianapolis United, or just plain Indianapolis be better?
ETA. As far as how else I would run the team, I would be 100% focused on winning over profits. There’s no chance at all that I would be the MLS version of the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates or the aforementioned Indianapolis Colts.
ETA 2. That is I wouldn’t be like the late Jim Irsay. I don’t know enough about the current owner to say I wouldn’t be like her.
I would name the team the way all other non-soccer American teams are named, as alluded to by the OP. City, followed by some animal or thing. “Herons,” “Wolves,” “Bison,” etc. I let all fan culture develop organically.
I really dislike the aping of Euro teams just for the hell of it. Real Salt Lake is particularly egregious. Racing, with the history of motorsports, wouldn’t be that bad. FC, I find boring as well and we don’t call it football either. The Fire were founded as Chicago Fire Soccer Club. Not trying for a European name for no reason, SC instead of FC. I like it. I similarly like the Sounders, Timbers, Whitecaps.
As far as how I’d like the club to go, I think recognizing that MLS is pretty damn far away from being a top league is important. Try to be an Ajax and have a good farm team and scouting operation in South/Central American. Try to play a fast, high scoring team, sell on top players to bigger leagues.
Fandom-wise I think you mostly cater to young urban professionals. Stadium in a public transportation accessible area, sports bar in stadium open even when games aren’t going, cheaper tickets to have a loud, packed stadium.
USL with good attendance → MLS is a well worn path. Makes sense to me for MLS and the specific franchise. I’m not familiar with Indy Eleven’s fanbase, why do they not want to be in MLS?
It did not occur to me until now that “AFC Indianapolis” does indeed recall the American Football Conference in which the Colts play. OK then, just “Indianapolis SC.”
I was surprised by the pushback from the boosters as well. I don’t entirely understand their reasons - it’s mostly “we’re Eleven fans. We love the team, we love the rivalries we’ve created, we love the community”.