Red Bull buys MetroStars

[nyc94]

Yes, that Red Bull.  And they're renaming the team.

http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20060309&content_id=53518&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp

I had to check that it wasn't April 1.

[Hillel Hoffmann]

Wow. I can live with ads on MLS kits because it has been a club convention almost everywhere else in the world for so many years now. I'm used to it. But there's something icky about a club's name and heraldry having a brand name. I'm sure there may be isolated examples of this internationally, but it still feels ... wrong.

[atb9]

[quote nyc94]Yes, that Red Bull.  And they're renaming the team.

http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20060309&content_id=53518&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp

I had to check that it wasn't April 1.[/quote]

It's a very disappointing gimmick to raise money for the league.  Rightfully so, the billionaires that bankroll the MLS are ready to pass off their investment after 10 years but it is a sad sign that they couldn't find an American that is passionate enough about soccer to purchase the team without having a secondary business motive.

I love the MLS and it has done wonders for American soccer but this deal is embarrassing.

[jtwcornell91]

[quote Hillel Hoffmann]But there's something icky about a club's name and heraldry having a brand name. I'm sure there may be isolated examples of this internationally[/quote]

One comes to mind...

[nyc94]

I suppose Japanese baseball has survived teams being named for their corporate owners: Yomiuri (media conglomerate) Giants, Seibu (department stores) Lions, Yakult (beverages) Swallows, etc.  The Swallows have a bird as their logo but I don't know if that is supposed to be a play on words or just a quirk of the Japanese to English translation.

[Hillel Hoffmann]

[quote jtwcornell91]One comes to mind: [coat of arms][/quote]

Awesome. I totally forgot about B04L.

I was telling a friend about this Red Bull mess, and he said:

"Hey, what about Chivas?"

Dumbass baseball fan.