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+---- Thread: *Fire Salamanders? Really? (/showthread.php?tid=25404)
*Fire Salamanders? Really? - BigKicks - 09-04-2020
I don't know if I'm in the minority here, but I really don't like the new Berlin team's name. I think the city is an excellent choice don't get me wrong, but I think the name "Fire Salamanders" was perhaps the worst name they could've possibly picked! On the flip side, a lot of people seem to detest the fact that New York City got a team, but I think their name and logo has become the best in the league. Today I'd like to veer from my typical formula of finding some very obscure thing and blow it into a 3000 word essay and instead discuss the branding choices of the new expansion teams (and to a lesser extent every other team in the ISFL).
Let's start with the team that inspired this article in the first place: the Berlin Fire Salamanders. Berlin has been in existence since about 1237, and has been a capital city since 1417. The country it is the capital of, Germany, once had 5 teams in the now-disbanded World League of American Football, or NFL Europe, so it makes sense for the ISFL to bring in their own team (I'd just like to note that location in this league doesn't exactly have an effect on where teams are put in. One such example is the Yellowknife Wraiths). What name did they decide on for this exciting new team?
Fire Salamanders.
Let's first analyze the reasoning behind the name before I tell you why I hate it so much. In their reveal post, the reasoning behind the name is that the Fire Salamander is a common animal throughout most of Europe. Okay, that's fine, you want your brand to represent your location. Only problem is that a Fire Salamander's habitat does not include Berlin (I'm also going to ignore the fact that fire salamanders are more prevalent in France, Germany's historical rival). However this is a petty reason. Orange County has no otters in it. Saber-toothed cats have been extinct for around 7 million years. Yetis don't exist. A 60-mile separation between habitat and city is hardly a reason to dislike the name. I dislike the name for a different reason.
It sounds absolutely horrible.
Say "Berlin Fire Salamanders" 5 times fast. Doesn't it feel like you're verbally hitting a brick wall every time you say "Fire Salamanders"? That's because the name is violating an unspoken rule about naming convention, and that is that the name must flow throughout the whole name. It's why Orange County Otters, despite not having any otters, works as a name, because you're not hitting any snags when you say it. Austin Copperheads is another name that works in that manner. A name that doesn't work that way, and ultimately sounds like a mouthful, is New Orleans Second Line. You have an ending s in Orleans, followed by a starting s in Second, which forces you to take a pause, and ultimately hit that snag. Philadelphia Liberty is also a name that struggles with flow. By the time you've finished saying "Philadelphia" you've already said a mouthful. Berlin Fire Salamanders suffers both of these problems, with a forced pause between finishing "-lin" and starting "Fire", and by the time you reach "-manders" you're out of breath.
There are a few ways Berlin can go about handling this name issue. The first way is to choose a new name. Berlin Bears immediately comes to mind. The bear has been the city's Coat of Arms since 1709, and on it's coinage and various Seals since the 12th century. However because the team is having a logo contest, this approach now appears to be the least likely. The second approach could be to drop "Fire" from the name. You don't need to specify the exact genus and species the animal on your logo is. Imagine if the Baltimore Hawks were actually called the Baltimore Cooper's Hawks, or the Orange County Otters were actually the Orange County River Otters. If they dropped "Fire" you're now only saying Berlin Salamanders, which isn't nearly as bad as what it is now. It'd be a solid middle of the pack name. Unfortunately, the most likely thing they do is keep the full name. If their brains came to the conclusion that the name "Berlin Fire Salamanders" was good, then I don't see them independently thinking "Hey wait a second this name sucks". And unless they read this article and agree with my points (please let this be what happens), then we have a new holder of the League's Worst Team Name award.
On the other end of the spectrum, the New York Silverbacks have created the best branding in the league. Everything down to how they revealed the new team was perfect. They even have a logo, which to me is an 8/10 (if they made the background look more like skyscrapers it's an easy 10/10). However a lot of people seem to be upset over the fact that they picked one of the most populated metropolis areas in the world which has a rich history in just about everything, and have resorted to start saying ">international >picks a us city", as if picking a location outside of where American Football is most popular is now the requirement. Allow me to explain why this branding is so good. I will use simple speech to explain this.
New York City is concrete.
Looks like modern jungle.
Gorilla live in natural jungle.
What if gorilla in city?
That is movie!
King Kong.
King Kong copyrighted.
...
Silverback is gorilla!
New York Silverbacks.
It doesn't even suffer the verbal snags the Team That Shall Not Be Named has! It's perfect! This is expansion team naming done right. All future expansion teams should look to emulate this type of branding. Make it simple, make it cool. Don't specify. Now if they decided to name themselves the New York Western Lowland Gorillas...
RE: Fire Salamanders? Really? - Vainknight13 - 09-04-2020
BigKicks Wrote:I don't know if I'm in the minority here, but I really don't like the new Berlin team's name.
You are..
RE: Fire Salamanders? Really? - YoungTB - 09-04-2020
Yeah Fire Salamanders is dumb not gonna lie
RE: Fire Salamanders? Really? - speculadora - 09-04-2020
Feuergeist is apparently the german word for salamander. Literally translates to fire spirit. Could kill two birds with one stone there.
RE: Fire Salamanders? Really? - GlimsTC - 09-04-2020
Fire Salamanders have a lot of fun potential with a branding like that. Even though it's not something I'd typically think of with Germany, I dig it.
RE: Fire Salamanders? Really? - BigKicks - 09-04-2020
(09-04-2020, 08:11 PM)speculadora Wrote: Feuergeist is apparently the german word for salamander. Literally translates to fire spirit. Could kill two birds with one stone there.It's in German, retains the exact same name, AND sounds better? How did they mess this up so bad?
RE: Fire Salamanders? Really? - siddhus - 09-04-2020
(09-04-2020, 07:55 PM)BigKicks Wrote: Yetis don’t existWtf my first grade teacher told me they did exist ;(
RE: Fire Salamanders? Really? - Crodyman - 09-04-2020
They missed the opportunity to be the Berlin Brewers.
RE: Fire Salamanders? Really? - Dewalt27 - 09-04-2020
Yeah those guys big suck. HO should take back their bid.
RE: Fire Salamanders? Really? - SchwarzNarr - 09-04-2020
Since the moment I saw you That is really his last name, I knew I loved you. I agree with p much everything said here.