XFL team names could go far in proving this is a different league than 2001

[XtremeFanForever]

Good sports team names describe heroes, warriors, pioneers, or fierce animals.

There are four kinds of business: tourism, food service, railroads, and sales ... and hospitals/manufacturing ... and air travel.

We got a business school teacher here, folks. You should apply for a job with the league. Maybe you could help them turn a profit (fancy word for money).

[LeoNY]

The logos and branding have many options, but here's how I picture them:

Emperors - Gray roman-emperor type figure, statuesque, imposing.

Drivers - i might actually want to use a horned steer logo for this one. the Cattle are on the drive, too. if you went with a person, he'd be a western cowboy guy with a lasso. For color it's primarily brown, with green, evoking dusty trails and pastures

Catalysts/Distillers - industrial, black and blue. some sort of equipment as the logo. there's a lot of cool stuff you can take from a refinery. this is basically an updated, more industrial and futuristic take on Oilers. The Oilers logo was a country derrick with nice geometry - a refinery is more jagged and silhouetted. That's what I picture.

Mammoths - a mammoth with a football helmet, what else? but seriously, the size of those tusks will make the Rams wish they stayed in Missouri.

Coachmen - mascot/logo is a pioneer from the 1800's. rustic, tough figure, bearded/scraggly. look up "wagon trail" for the imagery if you're not familiar.

Levellers - trickier, but i think a shovel or drill type machine as logo works. the Levellers are sort of villains so play that up

Galleons - definitely use a ship. your ideas are good. I see the sails full and the ship leaning into the wind with gunbarrels blazing. Aqua blue like the water in the Caribbean.

Stonecutters - right, a stonecutting tool. offwhite, like the colors of DC buildings. some lighter shade of blue as contrast.

I like your originality and rationale even if I don’t like all of your name choices.

You seem to be going with an old timey historic feel for all your names. That’s cool. To each their own. It’s the anti modern day approach but it speaks to your personal tastes. That’s the thing with naming and branding. It’s subjective.

Old world historic figures are fine. They are a dying breed but it’s cool to pay homage to history. No bootleggers or old prospectors in your team names, although it’s pretty close.

From hearing and reading up on Oliver Luck. He is a huge history buff but I am not sure if that will be reflected in the team names.

Some old time historic figures like a coachmen can make for funny mascots. I can picture Lee Corso wearing one of your team names mascots heads.

[greensoup]

Look at currently successful NFL names that aren't animals:

Patriots
Cowboys
49ers
Packers
Vikings
Buccaneers
Steelers


These names are all in the same vein of what I'm doing. Historical references to their local community in some way. I'm not sure what Browns are, the Titans is a terrible name, and the Chargers and Raiders are a cool names but don't have any local connection (helps when moving team around haha).

[GDAWG]

Look at currently successful NFL names that aren't animals:

Patriots
Cowboys
49ers
Packers
Vikings
Buccaneers
Steelers


These names are all in the same vein of what I'm doing. Historical references to their local community in some way. I'm not sure what Browns are, the Titans is a terrible name, and the Chargers and Raiders are a cool names but don't have any local connection (helps when moving team around haha).

The Browns were named after it's founder Paul Brown, the legendary NFL coach.

[LeoNY]

Look at currently successful NFL names that aren't animals:

Patriots
Cowboys
49ers
Packers
Vikings
Buccaneers
Steelers


These names are all in the same vein of what I'm doing. Historical references to their local community in some way. I'm not sure what Browns are, the Titans is a terrible name, and the Chargers and Raiders are a cool names but don't have any local connection (helps when moving team around haha).

Sometimes when an owner makes the call. It comes down to that person’s personal preferences. The Browns were actually named after Paul Brown.

The Chargers name came to be because the owner liked hearing fans yell Charge at college games.

The Rams were named after the Fordham Rams team that was a powerhouse way back when.

[Tank55]

Look at currently successful NFL names that aren't animals:

How are you defining success?

[Firecop]

Sorry but cannot get into Levelers for a Seattle team; although I do appreciate your out of the box thinking. I guess all I can say is if you have to explain a name, there's a good chance it wont catch on. Thst said, a lot of good possible names have been thrown around here and I hope the XFL has paid attention. They have to get it right the first time and can ill afford a huge misstep.

[greensoup]

the thing about Levellers is that you don't have to explain it in Seattle, nor to anyone. It sounds like people who flatten others people - that's what half of football is. I know there is a person above who says they're from Seattle and didn't get it, but they must live under a rock (pun intended). The Denny Regrade is a famous piece of local history and people from the Seattle area are generally aware of the cities interesting early history of tearing down hills, filling in the coast, then raising downtown up 15 feet. This is all fine, but the main reason I like the name is that it's an original idea. Seattle always gets cornered with some generic maritime cliche because it's named by people who are not from there. They deserve a sports franchise name that gets at something more real about the city. The SuperSonics was a good example of this and I believe the great name/character of that team is one reason they're so fondly missed. Aviation is no longer the dominant industry there and after Boeing moved their HQ to Chicago I don't think people are too fond of playing it up. There aren't any football-sounding terms within the computer software/networking world that came to mind, and rain puns are overdone.

Like I said above, I se the Levellers (still haven't really sorted the spelling out) as a villain. They're the XFL's Raiders, but with a local touch and probably a better team this season.

[greensoup]

Look at currently successful NFL names that aren't animals:

How are you defining success?

Did you ned someone to clarify the brand identity of any of those teams, or was the name alone sufficient?

[Tank55]

Yes, I am asking for clarification.