Soccer team names? No gooaaaallll, cry fans

Is it a phrase from a "Star Trek" convention? The name of an Eastern bloc country? Did focus groups consisting of a bunch of youth soccer coaches come up with some new moniker?

Those were some of the questions raised by Seattle sports fans Thursday after three possible names for Seattle's Major League Soccer team -- Seattle Alliance, Seattle Republic and Seattle FC -- were unofficially revealed. The names have been registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and cover everything from team trading cards to plush toy animals and bendable figurines.

POLL

These are the names that have been trademarked and may be under consideration for Seattle's Major League Soccer team. Which do you like best?  18.7% Seattle Alliance 13.9% Seattle Republic 67.4% Seattle FC Total Votes: 2018

"Good Lord these suck," wrote one online Seattle P-I reader, among many upset about the names. "The Seattle Alliance sounds like my health care plan."

The new name will be decided by a fan vote beginning March 27 through March 31 on the club's Web site, mlsinseattle.com. Team officials didn't confirm the names, but said the monikers fans will be able to choose from were decided through fan focus groups, internal committees and fan suggestions.

In an online P-I poll, about half the votes were in favor of Seattle FC Thursday evening. But dozens wrote in protest that the name Sounders -- the name of Seattle's current soccer team -- wasn't among them.

"We want to start a new tradition and a new direction and we'd like our name to reflect our attempt to have a global connection on and off the field," said MLS Seattle part-owner and general manager Adrian Hanauer, who also owns the Sounders. "I love the Sounders brand and the Sounders history. That will always be a part of Seattle soccer. ... This is a new team in a new league and we want to start fresh. ... This is a good opportunity for our fans to choose our name."

The Sounders, which joined the North American Soccer League in 1974, hosted the first sports event before 58,000 fans at the since-demolished Kingdome and were the first Seattle team to score there.

The opposing team at that game with national record-setting attendance? The New York Cosmos -- a team with owners who were much more creative than the current Seattle group, some fans said Thursday.

"I have great respect for the Sounders and the club's history," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. "While we should celebrate the past, we believe the MLS Seattle team should be about where they are headed tomorrow and help position the club globally."

The Sounders, who folded in 1983 and resurfaced in 1994, begin their final season in the United Soccer League First Division with a game April 19 in Charleston, S.C.

The new major league club has sold more than 13,000 season ticket deposits. The final name selection will be announced via live Webcast on April 7; the new MLS club begins play in March 2009.

Some Seattle fans pointed out Alliance is a common team name used often in youth leagues.

Others didn't understand the significance of the Seattle Republic, and thought Seattle FC was blatantly uncreative.

Several fans have wondered why they didn't suggest the name Sonics, held by Seattle's possibly Oklahoma-bound basketball team who picked the moniker four decades ago in a name-the-team contest.

Mariners team directors chose their moniker in 1976 from a name-the-team contest that drew more than 600 entries. A year earlier, the majority owner of the Seahawks got the team nickname among a few others from a name-the-team contest, and made the decision after consulting NFL officials.

The Storm's owners announced their name in 2000 after working with WNBA officials and taking fan suggestions into account.