2022 - The South Will Rise
1. (Atlanta) Georgia Bees - Atlanta was a tough team to name. I originally had the "Generals" name here before applying it to Dallas. The concept was a civil war theme given the city's importance during that time. But since our society is so quick to apply the racist label to anything relating to southern history, I moved on. That also knocked out "Confederates."
I stuck with "Copperheads" for a while but could not get a color scheme that was different enough from the Rattlers to work. Plus one snake team is enough. So I decided to look at state symbols.
Obviously "Peaches" was out. In honor of the nickname "Empire State of the South," I played with "Emperors" and "Imperials" but neither sounded right. Three of the four current major league teams in Atlanta have bird names, so that idea is played out. Looking over the list of state symbols, I finally found promise in its insect - the Honeybee.
Dropping the "honey" I decided I found a winner in Bees. The name connect with local Georgia Tech, provides a strong color scheme, and tons of logo potential. Although this is cool in its own right, the MLL team should go a bit less cartoonish.
Throughout the name debacle, I was struggling to find a good color scheme. When I think about expansion teams I try to make connections to the community. In this case I was looking at the major companies based in Atlanta - Home Depot, Delta Airlines, and Coke. Home Depot's orange never really fit with anything but possibly the Copperheads so I moved on. Like Dallas, the Atlanta Generals/Confederates would have been dressed in Delta's Red, Navy, and silver. Once I dropped that concept I moved on; plus those colors are overused as it is. Coke's red and black could work with pretty much any team name I could think of. As a result, red makes it onto the Bees' uniforms as a trim color. The teams primary colors would be athletic gold/yellow and black, of course.
The Bees would follow the trail blazed by previous expansion teams and set up shop in a soccer stadium. In this case they would use Remax Greater Atlanta Stadium, home of the Silverbacks (NASL) and Beat (WPS). The stadium currently holds 5,000 but is scheduled to expand to 15,000 within the next couple of years.
Atlanta was chosen primarily because of its status as a major sports city. With teams in all four major sports plus top flight women's' soccer and second division men's' soccer, many minor league teams, and major college athletics, the city is a proven winner. Holding many major corporations and experiencing impressive continual growth also make Atlanta extremely attractive.
With Mercer University adding NCAA Division 1 lacrosse next year the state has taken a major step towards increasing awareness. Four state universities also have MCLA programs - Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, and Georgia Southern; both Tech and State are in Atlanta. Other MCLA programs in Georgia include Reinhardt, Emory, and Kennesaw State. This translates into a population hungry for lacrosse at a high level.
2. Houston Hurricanes - Another team name that gave me headaches. Because of its "Space City USA" moniker - not mention the Astros and Rockets - I really wanted to give Houston a stellar name. I had "Spacemen" for a while, but that just sounded lame. Dredging through the city's sports past, I decided to resurrect the "Hurricanes" name from the 1978 NASL team. The name was most recently used by a short lived minor league soccer team. Generally I try to avoid names that were previously used by other sports, but "Hurricanes" works so well.Furthering the soccer connection, the MLL Hurricanes would play in the planned Houston Dynamo Stadium. The 21,000 seat facility is expected to open in time for the 2012 MLS season. With its 35 suites and great location, the stadium will be a major success and has the potential to become the crown jewel of the MLL once the Hurricanes arrive.
Despite the strong applications of red and black in the league already, the Hurricanes will wear these colors to reflect hurricane warning flags (only in Miami are hurricanes orange and green, apparently). However, their primary color will be a light blue based on the Dynamo's "Space City Blue" to honor their shared stadium and to represent the calm skies before the storm. This also helps set the Hurricanes apart from other teams in the league (except Chicago).
Although neither the University of Houston nor Texas Southern have MCLA teams, Rice does. Nearly every major school in Texas has an MCLA program; there is a whole division named for Texas. Considering the number of campuses involved, there is definitely a demand for lax in the Lone Star State - enough demand for a second team.
Houston was chosen because of its size and accessibility. Its teams easily form strong and healthy rivalries with those in Dallas. Houston has a strong youth program, several competitive adult teams, and strong clubs in the state's high school league. All of this translates into a solid future for lax in Houston and demonstrates the city's worthiness for a professional team.
Western Division: Houston, Oregon, Minnesota, St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, LA, Seattle, San Jose, and Denver
Eastern Division: Georgia, Charlotte, Detroit, New York, Long Island, Boston, Rochester, Toronto, Washington, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh
Continue to Part 7
