http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou060211_gj_1836change.2832c5cc.html

I think it's still in full fledged rumor mode but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened. If/when it does happen, it will be a colossal mistake in my opinion no matter what your opinion of the name 1836 is.

Say it ain't so.

Ugh.

In other news, the Philadelphia 76'ers are considering changing their name so as not to offend Anglo-Americans of British heritage.

it is true. and for good reason.

we knew it would upset those died in the wool fans. now you have some keep sake items to ebay later.

sponsorship were going fine, but this is a fight we didn't want to fight down the road. there was talk of protests and what not.

I would rather stay the 1836 and say deal with it, can't you let something go that happened 180 years ago? but I am a businessman it this is best.

if you have questions for me, drop me an email (if you are a subscriber)

There will be a backlash by those proud of Texas and America and what they stand for as opposed to Santa Anna's Mexico.

FYI - Those are also the ones with the greater amount of disposable income in most cases.

This franchise died before it got started. Can't say I care.

So is the new name La Raza Houston?
The long delay in unveiling the kits makes more sense now.

Any hints on the new name? Lone Star would be extremely lame, IMO. But you know what they say about opinions...


EDIT: Actually, now that I think about it, it can't possibly be safe to use 'Houston' in the name at all. Obviously, since Sam Houston was responsible for the controversial defeat of Santa Anna in 1836, the name of the city itself is off limits.

In all seriousness, I don't envy any of you who are involved with the team. Now you have a legitimate PR nightmare and NO fans who are likely to be excited about the recent developments. I understand the need to avoid protests and boycotts, but the fallout from this isn't just going to go away with a new name.

On the bright side: ANY name you pick is sure to be better than Real Salt Lake.

[This message has been edited by tool (edited 2/14/2006 5:27p).]

Hopefully the new name is not chosen from the original list that the public chose from. They were all pretty lackluster and the '1836' name was the only unique choice.

I hope the front office can get past this relatively quickly. To me it just seems like they were extremely shortsighted not preparing a PR campaign for the name, or they are somewhat soft giving in to the threat of future protests. The name-change will probably make headlines for a few days and then (like soccer in general) be all but forgotten again and the organization can focus on the upcoming season.

I hate the PC world we live in today.

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it is true. and for good reason.

we knew it would upset those died in the wool fans. now you have some keep sake items to ebay later.

sponsorship were going fine, but this is a fight we didn't want to fight down the road. there was talk of protests and what not.

I would rather stay the 1836 and say deal with it, can't you let something go that happened 180 years ago? but I am a businessman it this is best.

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Well, you're dead on about one thing: it pissed off this dyed in the wool supporter.

Why does it piss me off? Because I apparently am a supporter of a FO who has the foresight of a blind mule. One of several possibilities happened:

1) There was no research done into how the name would affect the Hispanic population's perspective and a "hope for the best" approach. I'd like to think this wasn't the case but then I didn't think the name would actually be changed.

2) Research was done but it was so poorly done that the FO didn't accurately understand the effect 1836 would have on a given segment of the population.

3) Research was done and the FO knew all along this would happen because their research was good enough to tell them so. They went ahead with the name under the mantra "any attention is good attention"

Frankly, no matter what scenario is accurate (and I feel pretty confident one of those scenarios is), the FO has shown an amazing amount of incompetence and now have pissed off not one, but two different groups they are hoping to capture. Does Houston ??? think that by changing the name, hordes of Mexicans are going to come watch MLS now? Does Houston ??? think that it's OK to piss off the plurality that liked 1836? Because the answer the answer that I am inferring to both questions is 'yes'.

That come off as personal bknetag...I didn't mean it to. I as well as many other fans that I know of are just at a loss at the moment. Hopefully, it's just a knee-jerk reaction, but I've already received e-mails from people are planning on cancelling their season ticket apps.

Why does it piss you off so much? I really dont understand why something that happened 180 years ago pisses you off.

Do you consider yourself a Texan? I am proud that Texas was founded in 1836
As i am proud that the US was founded in 1776.

Pardon me for being ignorant, but what does FO stand for?

No, no. I'm pissed the name is changing...not that the name was 1836.

And FO stands for front office.

Is "Houston Gutless Weinies" available? Sounds appropriate.

I'm gonna echo what Dre said. I loved the 1836 name because it was unique. I would've bought a shirt, a jersey, whatever. I was even considering buying season tickets. I don't know that I'll be doing any of that now; not because of whatever name they pick to replace this, but because of how the team is handling this.

This one really is a head scratcher. It's a reach but I can understand why the bullets changed their name and even tampa bay wanting to drop the word devil from their baseball team, but it seems that mls or houston is just being over protective.

does anyone know the reason syracuse became the orange from orangemen?

Orangemen was slang for Indian.

There is now a 0% chance that I or any of my kids ever attends a MLS game in Houston. I'm not a big soccer fan, but I would have wanted to see a new franchise succeed in this market. Apparently, my ideals and pride in this state and country don't match up with theirs. I'm now pulling for the failure of MLS in Houston and their exit from this market.

it seriously makes me sick. I cant stand people bowing down to whoever shouts the loudest. What happen to common sense and reason? Hey asshats.....1836=Houston, the city you live in. This is so f-ing ridiculous. Based on this reaction, arguements could be made to change more than half of our major league sports team's names. It seems as though no one is allowed to have an identity, unless you are being opressed or were opressed.

wow, Gap. I guess I am just blind to your sensitivities. It seems as though your family is taking the franchise namechange thing somewhat hard for you to wish death and destruction to the team. I'm not even sure the loss of countless jobs from the front office to the gameday food vendors will be adequate to help you and yours overcome this. Please let us know if there is anything that the Texags community can do during this time of transition.

Freakin' Mexicans. If we hadn't become independent from Mexico, Texas would just be another Mexican state that all the illegals would have to cross to find jobs ...in Oklahoma!

This community bends over backwards to hawk Miller Lite on Cinco de Mayo, and all we get is slapped around for choosing a team name that MIGHT remind somebody that Texas won her independence 170 years ago.

Sam Houston must be rolling in his grave.

Mexicans will not support MLS no matter what the name of the team. Look at Chivas USA in L.A. as an example. They sit in the largest Mexican population in the U.S. and their attendance is terrible.

Mexicans support the Mexican league and Mexican teams...hence the reason when non-Mexican teams have matches here the attendacne is low.

the club is making a mistake.

Exactly - Mexicans view this country as a place to make a dime - nothing more. They come here, speak their language, live in their communities, use the free public schools and health care, and dream about going home. We ask nothing from them, except to obey the laws of this country (which is ironic). To expect them to support ANYTHING non-Mexican is a pipe dream, since culture is founded primarily on language.

Ag-in-a-Box,

Not wishing death on anyone. Just looking forward to the team leaving the Houston market when they find out that they were out of touch with the sensibilities of their primary paying audience. Offending American-Americans and Texan-Americans is worse than offending Mexican nationals hoping for the rise of the dictatorial Santa Anna regime to take Texas back to Mexico.

You really think that there was a measureable positive economic impact from an MLS team in Houston? Are you kidding about countless jobs? MLS is a Mom and Pop operation. The front office personnel are moving from California. Any public funding the receive, will offset the menial, low paying, and part time jobs for the 10 popcorn and 25 beer vendors that would have been created.

Nah, I never thought the team would be a serious boon to the Houston economy. Perhaps countless was the wrong word to use, implying dozens of dozens of jobs. I just meant that an indeterminate number of people will be happy to have full time or part time work for the club.

It seemed a little callous to me to openly root for the demise of the club in Houston because of the impending namechange. I just think the backlash over the original name and the backlash over the soon-to-be new name are much ado about nothing, but perhaps that is me just failing to see a larger issue here.

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Offending American-Americans and Texan-Americans is worse than offending Mexican nationals hoping for the rise of the dictatorial Santa Anna regime to take Texas back to Mexico.

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so you are offended by Houston Lone Star FC or Houston Lone Stars or Apollos or mustangs etc tc?

face facts, MLS in LA (Chivas included) is 60-40 Hispanic to anglo demo. We can not alienate 60% of our core audience. and I state this because we are a mirror image of their audience.

That being said, I am also against the name change, and being half white, half colombian, I think the anglo community is more forgiving, this is a fight that was not good in the long run.

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You really think that there was a measureable positive economic impact from an MLS team in Houston? Are you kidding about countless jobs? MLS is a Mom and Pop operation. The front office personnel are moving from California. Any public funding the receive, will offset the menial, low paying, and part time jobs for the 10 popcorn and 25 beer vendors that would have been created.

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sorry to say gap, but you are 100% wrong. ONE employee has come from San Jose, the team admin. The rest of the front office are native Houstonians or have been living here for some time. better call someone next time to get your facts straight (this has created hundreds of positions just on the game day staff side let alone team side)

another impact this team will have in the community and grassroots. We are setting up charitable organizations as we speak to help with the city of Houstons youth.

Trust me...I understand the MLS core demo of youth (soccer mom) Hispanic and Male. Not everyone can be pleased. this was a political tight rope where if you complete the walk, you piss some people off, if you don't finish the walk, you piss off others.

again, if anyone wants to hear more, personal email me above.

I also ask that you do try out one game...support the on field product, not the name. (which is also a Houston and Texas proud name)


[This message has been edited by bknetag (edited 2/15/2006 1:20p).]

I am now openly rooting for the failure of the franchise in Houston - as a result of them greatly and deeply offending me and my pro-USA values.

Sorry, we non-Mexicans can be angry too. I'm not the only one.

I am with you gap. I think it is stupid. I hope that doesn't get me fired but who am I?

I too argued about the Texans, Rangers, Patriots, New England Revolution, Philly 76ers, San Fran 49ers.

again, it is a tight rope. I am just trying to sell the sponsorships.

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face facts, MLS in LA (Chivas included) is 60-40 Hispanic to anglo demo. We can not alienate 60% of our core audience. and I state this because we are a mirror image of their audience.

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Not a fair comparison. There are two teams in LA and one blatantly panders to only Mexicans. I'm sure the Galaxy's fanbase is decidedly different than 60-40 Hispanic.

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I also ask that you do try out one game...support the on field product, not the name. (which is also a Houston and Texas proud name)

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Lone star it is then? It's the only thing that makes sense because it wouldn't require a change in the badge. Sadly, it's nowhere near as good as 1836 was. What about Houston 2006 as a compromise? Why can't this happen? You don't alienate the plurality that voted for 1836 and it takes away the portion that offended some Hispanics. It's the best choice by far in a bad situation. I know you don't have a say in the matter but tell Oliver...he's not answering my e-mail

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That being said, I am also against the name change, and being half white, half colombian, I think the anglo community is more forgiving, this is a fight that was not good in the long run.

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So basically the front office is saying that you screwed over hard core fans because you think they'll get over it. They may be right (although I know for a fact they've lost some) but that makes me feel pretty worthless. Nothing like being taken for granted.

This will only make sense to me and be OK with me if Hispanics start supporting this team in droves now, but I am highly skeptical. If it does happen, it will be the first time in MLS history.

p.s. I have a box of XL 1836 t-shirts right here. let the bidding begin

dre....

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Not a fair comparison. There are two teams in LA and one blatantly panders to only Mexicans. I'm sure the Galaxy's fanbase is decidedly different than 60-40 Hispanic.

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actually the 60-40 number is from the galaxy. they are a sister AEG team of ours and I got the info from them, not chivas.

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So basically the front office is saying that you screwed over hard core fans because you think they'll get over it. They may be right (although I know for a fact they've lost some) but that makes me feel pretty worthless.

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that was just MY personal opinion. well I do work in the front office so you can take it as that. but it is NOT Oliver and AEG's position. read my quote again. I am half colombian and half anglo, my having lived in both colombia and USA, I know who is more forgiving. it as just my own opinion so take it with a grain of salt.

I have also said that I am not personally for the name change. I loved 1836.

All of the remaining names from the original poll are crap. I vote for something like Houston Wanderers or Houston Rovers, a la the EPL---appropriate for a team that just moved and isn't off to a great start in its new home. I mean, in just a couple of months, this team has made enemies of many fans in San Jose and pissed off most of Houston without ever playing a match. Not good for a team in a league that suffers from low fan support in the first place.

A post on BigSoccer said something like this:

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Name the team the Apollogists.

Change the colors to yellow.

Play every game for a draw so as not to offend anyone.

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bknetag, I do wish you all luck. I really hope the team succeeds in Houston. I just don't think all of this bodes well.

Sorry, I again didn't mean to sound personal against you.

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p.s. I have a box of XL 1836 t-shirts right here. let the bidding begin

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No one has XLs anymore. I may have to squeeze into a L...checking the soccer stores today after work to see what I can find.

if I give you guys some shirts...will you be my friend?

I know it is not a personal attack. hell, I am not as big a soccer fanatic like many of you. I played football and baseball through college. yeah I played some U19 stuff and am passionate about the team.

I am glad to see there are some passionate fans out there. come to a game and *****. just be passionate when you do.

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if I give you guys some shirts...will you be my friend?

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Well seeing as how all the stores only have S left...uhh yeah. Actually, I'll be your friend even if you don't but if you do let me buy some, I'll be your bestest friend . Oliver brought some to the last supporter's meeting but I think he underestimated how many people we had gathered because I didn't get one

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come to a game and *****. just be passionate when you do.

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I just got my call from the nice lady at Houston 1836 to confirm my season ticket, which I did. I'll definitely be coming to the games but I'll most definitely be *****ing.

I'll be your friend if you give me a shirt.

I don't envy you at all, to be sure. I haven't read all of the previous posts, so I don't know if you've touched on it, but what sort of backlash do you guys expect after this name change?