Hey guys WildfireMicro here and with all the recent talk of expansion and some people putting up expansion bids, jokingly or not, I am here to talk about some expansion team ideas I have, including talking about the cities I have chosen and the team name ideas for them. Obviously I might know more about some cities then others but I will try my best to put some ideas out there. Without any further ado let's start with the city i know the most about!
City: Louisville Kentucky
Team name: The Louisville Spirits
I mean come on Kentucky is one of the most overlooked cities when it comes to sim league teams expect for maybe in basketball leagues. It's a great city with hard working people that currently has no major irl pro sports franchise. It's known for horse racing with the Kentucky Derby and bourbon so why not combine those two ideas into one team name with the Louisville Spirits? Its a reference to both of those, along with the motto on the state welcoming sign. The logo itself would have to incorporate horses in some way, so why not have a tough looking stallion huffing out of its nose somewhere.
As for it's colors it's hard to say. I am currently thinking silver and black but only because no other team is using it i think. I know Portland is using them but they also have green and not just those two colors alone. I told Ace in the London locker room about this idea and they said they would use purple and gold but NOLA exists so that color has been taken. But anyways I think good old sliver and black will work here.
City: Seattle Washington
Team: Seattle Airborne
This is an obvious one for me. I am actually surprised there currently isn't a Seattle team in this league. It's a huge area for branding, and I hope the Airborne name would represent the city well. The logo would of course involve planes and aircraft, and I think the colors would easily be green and yellow like the old now defunct Supersonics from the NBA. Plus people in Seattle are crazy over the Seahawks of the NFL so I think they would appreciate another team from there.
City: Tokyo Japan
Team: Tokyo Dragons
Another obvious one. My current player Tsuyu Asui is from there so I feel like I have to add this in. I actually was gonna have a team named this in another league but that never happened unfortunately. But anyways the branding is pretty obvious and I am sure I am not the only person that suggested this name. Japan could also have a ton of pre game ritual and there are a ton of media potential with it.
The branding would obviously be a dragon but it would also be cool if they could also include the Japanese flag in some way. An issue that might come up is my idea of the colors being red and white. We already have the red trio in Colorado, Chicago and Berlin so maybe have white be the main color with red accents. Oh and put them in a different division. The Colorado vs Chicago games are already hard on my eyes with all the red going around.
City: Dublin Ireland
Team: Dublin Celtics
Well I'm not calling them the Leprechauns. I also considered the Gold, but in the end I went with the Celtics. But in all seriousness Ireland is a place with tons of history in it and full of very tough people who are crazy about sports. There are definitely some hooligans in Ireland who would go absolutely crazy in this league. True they would only exist in a video game but still.
The branding would probably be some kind of Leprechaun or four leaf clover which might be the most iconic parts of Ireland. The colors would be green and gold obviously though you probably could incorporate orange somewhere in there.
City: Tampa Bay Florida
Team: Tampa Sharks
Admittedly i don't know that much about Tampa, but I think it would still be a great city for an expansion team. I would suggest bringing back the Buccaneers classic Creamsicle but OCO has taken it. Honestly I am not sure for the colors here but I think orange and blue would work. Sorry for not saying more about this but I really don't know that much about Tampa. Seriously I need to travel more and learn more about these cities.
City: Cleveland Ohio
Team: Cleveland Raccoons or Trash Pandas
In real life Cleveland is one of the most unlucky cities with it comes to sports.... and maybe even when it comes to life in general. They have just had a ton of awful luck and heartbreaking moments. But I would hope to change that with the Cleveland Racoons... or as I would like to call them, the Trash Pandas. Yeah I just think Thrash Pandas is a better name with it being funny and memorable. There is a reason there is a real minor league baseball team using that name it is just so eye catching.
Obviously the branding would involve a racoon of some sort but I don't know if I would involve a trash can there are just too many jokes that can be made with that. And while black and white would work with this team, I think they should borrow the tran colors from the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. Hey, Austin isn't using them anymore more, so why not?
Alright looks like that is all the team name and branding ideas I have. If I didn't include your city its because I don’t really have a good idea for them or I didn't think of them when I was writing this. This was purely hypothetical but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. But seriously someone bookmark that Louisville Spirits and Cleveland Trash Pandas ideas because I think they are the best of the bunch. But feel free to tell me any if your ideas! Thank you for reading and I will see you on the field.
City: Louisville Kentucky
Team name: The Louisville Spirits
I mean come on Kentucky is one of the most overlooked cities when it comes to sim league teams expect for maybe in basketball leagues. It's a great city with hard working people that currently has no major irl pro sports franchise. It's known for horse racing with the Kentucky Derby and bourbon so why not combine those two ideas into one team name with the Louisville Spirits? Its a reference to both of those, along with the motto on the state welcoming sign. The logo itself would have to incorporate horses in some way, so why not have a tough looking stallion huffing out of its nose somewhere.
As for it's colors it's hard to say. I am currently thinking silver and black but only because no other team is using it i think. I know Portland is using them but they also have green and not just those two colors alone. I told Ace in the London locker room about this idea and they said they would use purple and gold but NOLA exists so that color has been taken. But anyways I think good old sliver and black will work here.
City: Seattle Washington
Team: Seattle Airborne
This is an obvious one for me. I am actually surprised there currently isn't a Seattle team in this league. It's a huge area for branding, and I hope the Airborne name would represent the city well. The logo would of course involve planes and aircraft, and I think the colors would easily be green and yellow like the old now defunct Supersonics from the NBA. Plus people in Seattle are crazy over the Seahawks of the NFL so I think they would appreciate another team from there.
City: Tokyo Japan
Team: Tokyo Dragons
Another obvious one. My current player Tsuyu Asui is from there so I feel like I have to add this in. I actually was gonna have a team named this in another league but that never happened unfortunately. But anyways the branding is pretty obvious and I am sure I am not the only person that suggested this name. Japan could also have a ton of pre game ritual and there are a ton of media potential with it.
The branding would obviously be a dragon but it would also be cool if they could also include the Japanese flag in some way. An issue that might come up is my idea of the colors being red and white. We already have the red trio in Colorado, Chicago and Berlin so maybe have white be the main color with red accents. Oh and put them in a different division. The Colorado vs Chicago games are already hard on my eyes with all the red going around.
City: Dublin Ireland
Team: Dublin Celtics
Well I'm not calling them the Leprechauns. I also considered the Gold, but in the end I went with the Celtics. But in all seriousness Ireland is a place with tons of history in it and full of very tough people who are crazy about sports. There are definitely some hooligans in Ireland who would go absolutely crazy in this league. True they would only exist in a video game but still.
The branding would probably be some kind of Leprechaun or four leaf clover which might be the most iconic parts of Ireland. The colors would be green and gold obviously though you probably could incorporate orange somewhere in there.
City: Tampa Bay Florida
Team: Tampa Sharks
Admittedly i don't know that much about Tampa, but I think it would still be a great city for an expansion team. I would suggest bringing back the Buccaneers classic Creamsicle but OCO has taken it. Honestly I am not sure for the colors here but I think orange and blue would work. Sorry for not saying more about this but I really don't know that much about Tampa. Seriously I need to travel more and learn more about these cities.
City: Cleveland Ohio
Team: Cleveland Raccoons or Trash Pandas
In real life Cleveland is one of the most unlucky cities with it comes to sports.... and maybe even when it comes to life in general. They have just had a ton of awful luck and heartbreaking moments. But I would hope to change that with the Cleveland Racoons... or as I would like to call them, the Trash Pandas. Yeah I just think Thrash Pandas is a better name with it being funny and memorable. There is a reason there is a real minor league baseball team using that name it is just so eye catching.
Obviously the branding would involve a racoon of some sort but I don't know if I would involve a trash can there are just too many jokes that can be made with that. And while black and white would work with this team, I think they should borrow the tran colors from the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. Hey, Austin isn't using them anymore more, so why not?
Alright looks like that is all the team name and branding ideas I have. If I didn't include your city its because I don’t really have a good idea for them or I didn't think of them when I was writing this. This was purely hypothetical but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. But seriously someone bookmark that Louisville Spirits and Cleveland Trash Pandas ideas because I think they are the best of the bunch. But feel free to tell me any if your ideas! Thank you for reading and I will see you on the field.