There are still a lot of things we don't know about the team. Its players, for example. Or the date of its first game (though we do have some friendlies against MLS teams upcoming in February).
The one thing we do know that will affect how the team plays is the identity of its manager.
"Chelis" Sanchez was announced as the first manager of the Lights a few months ago. At first glance, he looks like a great fit for a Las Vegas club - he is outgoing, speaks his mind, a little eccentric, and has a background in the Mexican game that will help him connect with the city.
But how will his team actually play?
The ownership group is declaring that the Lights will play an exciting, attacking brand of soccer. That's good talk, but then again, what else are they going to say? Have you ever heard an ownership group announce that they are looking to play a stodgy, boring brand of soccer?
Actions always speak louder than press conferences, so let's take a look at Chelis's past performance to see what exactly he is going to bring to the table.
Chelis's first management job was in Mexico with his hometown club, Puebla FC. He took Puebla FC up from the Mexican second division, and used quite a few academy players in the process. And he managed to keep them up as well.
I'm not sure he was ever some kind of managerial genius, though. First of all, it wasn't exactly a story of a tiny underdog staying up against the odds - Puebla has a storied history in Mexico, and has a stadium that holds almost 50,000 people. Also, Chelis was fired twice and re-hired once by the ownership group during that spell (yeah soccer is weird that way). Overall, however, the stint was probably his most successful in management.
The big concern here is that after his first job, his record looks a bit patchy. He took over another Liga MX club (Estudiantes Tecos) in 2010, and led them to a mediocre finish. His team had the 2nd worst defense in the league - but on the other hand, it also had the 2rd-best offense in the league (helped by a certain Hercules Gomez). He was fired in June 2011, and popped up back in the 2nd division in Mexico in 2012 at Correcaminos. He only stayed about six months before resigning.
He then popped up at the infamous Chivas USA franchise. He started like a house on fire with a 3-1-1 record - but then the form took a nosedive, and he was fired at the end of an 0-6-1 run. He lasted only five months at the helm.
To be fair, we have no idea how much of that performance was because of Chelis, and how much was simply because Chivas USA was a dumpster fire at the time. There were discrimination lawsuits, the attendance was abysmal, and the team completely folded very soon after he left. I'm not sure Pep Guardiola could have saved that franchise.
Since 2013, Chelis has popped up in very short stints at Veracruz in Mexico (3 months); back at Puebla (4 months); and most recently at Venados in the Mexican second division (6 months).
Overall, it seems like the Lights ownership group has put their money where their mouth is by hiring a coach that focuses on attacking play - sometimes to his own detriment. Chelis has gone on record as saying "Games should be 7-5 or 6-4 and hopefully we’re the ones scoring six and the rival with four. People like that.” It seems like that philosophy is backed up in his teams' performance.
So we should see some goals in the Lights' inaugural campaign next year. Who knows which team will be scoring them, but at the very least, a season of 0-0 bore draws seems unlikely to be on the table.
About soccer in Sin City. Writing on a long term contract for an undisclosed fee. Mostly Las Vegas Lights FC tactics and analysis.
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Monday, December 11, 2017
Tryouts Over + USL Salary Picture
The tryouts have ended. Based on what the club have been posting, it looks like 700 people signed up and came on the first day of tryouts. That group got cut down to about 50 who returned for the second day of tryouts.
It looks like most USL teams actually conduct tryouts like this pretty regularly. So this isn't an expansion specific process.
Based on some in-depth research I have conducted (I googled "how many players are signed from tryouts USL"), it looks like at this level, there might be 2-3 players out of that group that actually sign on to the team. That's kind of cool, when you think about it, a couple of guys who just showed up to play some soccer, without agents or anything to contact the club, will get a chance to get paid to play soccer in Las Vegas.
As I was thinking about all this, I started to think about where the Lights would get all of the other players to fill their roster. And, perhaps more interestingly, what level of player will they be signing?
The USL doesn't publicize the teams' revenues or the players' salaries like MLS does, so we're kind of just guessing here based on threads I've seen about other USL teams.
Based on that, it looks like the USL doesn't have a minimum salary. And it looks like at other clubs, people have posted figures such as getting offered "up to" $2000 a month. Obviously mileage may vary, and the well-supported teams with deep-pocketed owners like Miami, Cincinnati, and Sacramento probably can afford to pay higher salaries than that (though I'm sure it is similar to MLS in that a few players make a lot more money than the rest).
So at the end of the day, my guess is that a large chunk of the Lights roster will be not so much "professional" players as "semi-professional" players - i.e. they are probably going to need jobs during the offseason to support themselves. I guess that makes sense, since that is what a lot of minor-leaguers in other U.S. sports like baseball and hockey have to do to pay the bills.
I guess what I am trying to say is this: don't be too surprised if the Lights don't go out and sign a Drogba-type player. What they will be probably be looking for are: college graduates who got overlooked by MLS; MLS and USL players who have been cut by their teams; and USL players who are looking to get a move from their current club.
All that said, I don't want to be doom-and-gloom or anything like that. There are some good quality players who don't quite make the cut at those levels, and I think the product on the field will still be entertaining even if you wouldn't recognize the names off the top of your head. At the end of the day, this is still the highest level of soccer that has ever been in this valley, so I'm looking forward to it.
It looks like most USL teams actually conduct tryouts like this pretty regularly. So this isn't an expansion specific process.
Based on some in-depth research I have conducted (I googled "how many players are signed from tryouts USL"), it looks like at this level, there might be 2-3 players out of that group that actually sign on to the team. That's kind of cool, when you think about it, a couple of guys who just showed up to play some soccer, without agents or anything to contact the club, will get a chance to get paid to play soccer in Las Vegas.
As I was thinking about all this, I started to think about where the Lights would get all of the other players to fill their roster. And, perhaps more interestingly, what level of player will they be signing?
The USL doesn't publicize the teams' revenues or the players' salaries like MLS does, so we're kind of just guessing here based on threads I've seen about other USL teams.
Based on that, it looks like the USL doesn't have a minimum salary. And it looks like at other clubs, people have posted figures such as getting offered "up to" $2000 a month. Obviously mileage may vary, and the well-supported teams with deep-pocketed owners like Miami, Cincinnati, and Sacramento probably can afford to pay higher salaries than that (though I'm sure it is similar to MLS in that a few players make a lot more money than the rest).
So at the end of the day, my guess is that a large chunk of the Lights roster will be not so much "professional" players as "semi-professional" players - i.e. they are probably going to need jobs during the offseason to support themselves. I guess that makes sense, since that is what a lot of minor-leaguers in other U.S. sports like baseball and hockey have to do to pay the bills.
I guess what I am trying to say is this: don't be too surprised if the Lights don't go out and sign a Drogba-type player. What they will be probably be looking for are: college graduates who got overlooked by MLS; MLS and USL players who have been cut by their teams; and USL players who are looking to get a move from their current club.
All that said, I don't want to be doom-and-gloom or anything like that. There are some good quality players who don't quite make the cut at those levels, and I think the product on the field will still be entertaining even if you wouldn't recognize the names off the top of your head. At the end of the day, this is still the highest level of soccer that has ever been in this valley, so I'm looking forward to it.
Friday, December 8, 2017
Las Vegas Soccer Combine + Las Vegas Roster Spot
Yesterday I posted on here about how the ownership group is doing pretty well with getting things rolling. We have a coach, a stadium, a name, a logo, and a shirt sponsor. We even have some friendly games scheduled for early next year.
We're pretty much ready to go, right? I mean, what else do we need?
Oh. Players. Right, well, I suppose those are fairly important.
All kidding aside, this Friday and Saturday the Lights will be hosting a player combine. Apparently over 700 players have signed up to try-out for the team - which means we'll have a huge squad, with plenty of rotation choices.
In reality, of these 700 players, there may be a handful (3 or 4) that actually will sign up with the team. There are going to be a few UNLV alumni, some cast-offs from other USL clubs, and various other chancers there willing to take a shot at the dream. A choice few of them will get selected and be able to represent the club going forward.
It's open to the public for those who don't already have plans, and are interested in just how a 700 player tryout will work. I, for one, hope they just use the whole field for a scrimmage of 350 on 350.
In another announcement today, the team stated that they would hold one roster spot open for a Las Vegas native (well, someone with "roots in Las Vegas," which is the same thing).
This seems like a pretty smart move. There is very little that excites a fanbase like having one of their own on the field to cheer for. Look how much the Sounders fans have taken to Jordan Morris, for example - I think he was like they're #2 or #3 most popular jersey, even with established starts like Demspey, Lodeiro, Torres, and Alonso to choose from. And I've noticed that even though he definitely had a "sophomore slump" this year, the fans were willing to give him some time, since he was a local. The same story plays out the world over, from Everton welcoming back an aging Wayne Rooney, to Arsenal sticking with Jack Wilshere for 35 years despite him never reaching his potential. Fans love to have locals to pin their hopes and dreams onto.
And, there is not much downside. The USL roster rules allow up to 30 players, and most USL clubs don't actually register that many. So, throwing a Las Vegas native onto the roster, even if he isn't good enough to play, probably isn't going to screw up the finances of the team. If thy can't find a guy that is good enough, just pick out a young guy and hope he can develop into someone better.
On that note, I think there should be someone out there from Las Vegas who is good enough to contribute at this level. Las Vegas has never exactly been a "sports town," but I'm honestly surprised that a city this size hasn't produced more professional athletes than we have. Right now we have a few baseball players (Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant), a few football players whose names escape me, and there's probably a few fighters out there.
But soccer-wise, I don't know if we've produced anybody besides the great Herc Gomez. (He wasn't born here, but he went to school here, so I'm counting it).
That's kind of surprising, given that we have a big latin community that loves soccer here, plus plenty of the traditional suburban soccer family demographic. Plus we have weather that permits soccer to be played 12 months out of the year.
Given all of these factors, I wouldn't be too surprised if, in the medium-to-long-range future, Las Vegas starts to produce some quality soccer players, now that we have a pro team to give kids something to aspire to.
Anyways, let's hope that the combine unearths a hidden Las Vegas gem, and he becomes the #2 most popular jersey sold in 2018 (behind our star signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who I'm sure they'll announce any day now).
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Signed a Coach and a Sponsor
Well, things roll on before the start of the new season. And boxes keep getting ticked off as we get closer and closer.
Coach - Check
It looks like our coach for the inaugural season will be Chelís Sanchez. While I felt like I recognized the name, I'm sure I'm not the only one of you who had to visit his wikipedia page to see where he came from and what he has done. Here, I'll save you a search:
Overall, Chelís is a solid pickup. Let's face it, being a USL team, we weren't going to pull an Atlanta and get anyone on the lever of Tata Martino. So we were always looking for MLS or former-MLS level coaches.
Chelís had a great run with a relatively small club in Mexico called Puebla about ten years ago. That is great for us, becuase that kind of coach is exactly what we are going to need as a start-up USL team. We won't be shopping on the top shelf for players, here. Instead, our coach is going to have to make the most of a limited budget and develop the talent that he has. It seems like Chelís has that ability.
The only problem, of course, is that line: "ten years ago." Ten years is a long time in soccer. And since then, he had a managerial stint at the infamous Chivas USA (though to be fair, I don't think any coach could have found success at that franchise).
Color me quietly optimistic about this one.
Shirt Sponsor - Check
The big news this week is that Zappos is going to be the main shirt sponsor in 2018. The league being what it is, we have no idea how much money is involved. But when it comes down to it, it's really great just to have a sponsor at all - a lot of teams at this level across the world don't ever get shirt sponsors.
And there really isn't a better option than Zappos. Barring one of the casinos coming in (which I'm not sure would be allowed in the U.S. because most leagues don't want anything that could be connected with gambling), Zappos is one of the only major companies headquartered here in town. Plus, not only are they headquartered here, they are right downtown, like only a few blocks from the stadium. And since a lot of the events they have held so far have been at Zappos headquarters, so it makes a lot of sense.
Players - Ummmm...
Well, they are working on it. Word is that over 700 players signed up for the trials. So hopefully out of those 700 they will sign some squad players to make a solid baseline. Don't expect a lot of stars to come out of that.
In fact, I wouldn't expect any signings to be people that the average soccer fan would recognize. But we'll just have to wait and see.
Coach - Check
It looks like our coach for the inaugural season will be Chelís Sanchez. While I felt like I recognized the name, I'm sure I'm not the only one of you who had to visit his wikipedia page to see where he came from and what he has done. Here, I'll save you a search:
Overall, Chelís is a solid pickup. Let's face it, being a USL team, we weren't going to pull an Atlanta and get anyone on the lever of Tata Martino. So we were always looking for MLS or former-MLS level coaches.
Chelís had a great run with a relatively small club in Mexico called Puebla about ten years ago. That is great for us, becuase that kind of coach is exactly what we are going to need as a start-up USL team. We won't be shopping on the top shelf for players, here. Instead, our coach is going to have to make the most of a limited budget and develop the talent that he has. It seems like Chelís has that ability.
The only problem, of course, is that line: "ten years ago." Ten years is a long time in soccer. And since then, he had a managerial stint at the infamous Chivas USA (though to be fair, I don't think any coach could have found success at that franchise).
Color me quietly optimistic about this one.
Shirt Sponsor - Check
The big news this week is that Zappos is going to be the main shirt sponsor in 2018. The league being what it is, we have no idea how much money is involved. But when it comes down to it, it's really great just to have a sponsor at all - a lot of teams at this level across the world don't ever get shirt sponsors.
And there really isn't a better option than Zappos. Barring one of the casinos coming in (which I'm not sure would be allowed in the U.S. because most leagues don't want anything that could be connected with gambling), Zappos is one of the only major companies headquartered here in town. Plus, not only are they headquartered here, they are right downtown, like only a few blocks from the stadium. And since a lot of the events they have held so far have been at Zappos headquarters, so it makes a lot of sense.
Players - Ummmm...
Well, they are working on it. Word is that over 700 players signed up for the trials. So hopefully out of those 700 they will sign some squad players to make a solid baseline. Don't expect a lot of stars to come out of that.
In fact, I wouldn't expect any signings to be people that the average soccer fan would recognize. But we'll just have to wait and see.
How Well Supported Will the Lights Be?
Las Vegas seems like a popular place to be nowadays. At least if you are a professional sports team.
Within the span of just a couple of years, we are going to get an NHL team, a USL team, and an NFL team. That's a ton of new sports coming to the city. And Las Vegas hasn't exactly been a sports town historically. We've had a minor league baseball and minor league hockey team (each of which have gone through name changes/ownership changes). And of course there is the UNLV football team, which hasn't exactly set any records for success either on the field or in its support. The UNLV basketball team has probably been the most well-supported team in the city, and again, aside from a few glory years, they generally land closer to "decent" than "great" on the success spectrum.
So I am probably not the only one that finds it a little odd that all of a sudden three professional teams have decided to jump into the market.
Not that I'm complaining, of course. But it does beg the question of how well the teams are going to do. Specifically, one wonders about the Lights, since they will definitely be the smallest addition, and won't have near as much hype as the Golden Knights, let alone the Raiders.
But hey, as a USL team, the Lights won't have to draw the same crowds as either of the other two new arrivals. So what will the Lights have to do to really be a success in the USL (in off-the-pitch terms)?
Well, at the lower-league level, the main thing the team has to get right is getting people in the door. Unlike in the top tier of sports, where the TV money drives the business, lower league teams rely on tickets to pay the bills. So let's see what the Lights' competitors are going to be doing on the attendance front. Here are the attendance numbers for 2017 for the USL:
Within the span of just a couple of years, we are going to get an NHL team, a USL team, and an NFL team. That's a ton of new sports coming to the city. And Las Vegas hasn't exactly been a sports town historically. We've had a minor league baseball and minor league hockey team (each of which have gone through name changes/ownership changes). And of course there is the UNLV football team, which hasn't exactly set any records for success either on the field or in its support. The UNLV basketball team has probably been the most well-supported team in the city, and again, aside from a few glory years, they generally land closer to "decent" than "great" on the success spectrum.
So I am probably not the only one that finds it a little odd that all of a sudden three professional teams have decided to jump into the market.
Not that I'm complaining, of course. But it does beg the question of how well the teams are going to do. Specifically, one wonders about the Lights, since they will definitely be the smallest addition, and won't have near as much hype as the Golden Knights, let alone the Raiders.
But hey, as a USL team, the Lights won't have to draw the same crowds as either of the other two new arrivals. So what will the Lights have to do to really be a success in the USL (in off-the-pitch terms)?
Well, at the lower-league level, the main thing the team has to get right is getting people in the door. Unlike in the top tier of sports, where the TV money drives the business, lower league teams rely on tickets to pay the bills. So let's see what the Lights' competitors are going to be doing on the attendance front. Here are the attendance numbers for 2017 for the USL:
| Team | Average |
| FC Cincinnati | 21,199 |
| Sacramento Republic FC | 11,575 |
| Louisville City FC | 8,654 |
| San Antonio FC | 7,207 |
| Rio Grande Valley FC | 6,989 |
| Phoenix Rising FC | 6,122 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 5,888 |
| Reno 1868 FC | 5,443 |
| Ottawa Fury FC | 5,415 |
| Richmond Kickers | 4,537 |
| Saint Louis FC | 4,494 |
| OKC Energy FC | 4,257 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 4,037 |
| Col Springs Switchbacks FC | 3,379 |
| Charleston Battery | 3,100 |
| Bethlehem Steel FC | 3,064 |
| Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 2,592 |
| Portland Timbers 2 | 2,568 |
| Orange County SC | 2,451 |
| Harrisburg City Islanders | 2,431 |
| Real Monarchs SLC | 2,211 |
| Rochester Rhinos | 2,181 |
| Charlotte Independence | 1,600 |
| Orlando City B | 1,186 |
| LA Galaxy II | 1,174 |
| Toronto FC II | 1,148 |
| Seattle Sounders FC 2 | 1,095 |
| Swope Park Rangers | 1,050 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC II | 896 |
| New York Red Bulls II | 575 |
WEEKLY AVERAGE 4,284 |
There is immediately a pretty obvious pattern here - the "II" teams don't have as much attendance as the others. Which makes sense, since those teams don't have to make a go of it on their own. There value is to be a development team of the major MLS franchise, so thy are subsidized by the MLS team.
So for the standalone USL teams, the weekly average attendance is more like 5,678. The median is about 4,500 (10 teams fall below 4,500; 10 teams get attendances above 4,500).
So let's say that if we want the Lights to be at least average in the league, we want to be shooting for at least 4,500 people to show up to each game.
Is that possible in Las Vegas?
The Lights will be playing at Cashman Field, which, with a capacity of over 9,000, clearly has enough room to allow crowds that would push the Lights into the upper echelon of the league, attendance-wise. But will that many people come?
According to the internet, our resident minor league hockey team draws about 4,500 fans per game (they play in the Orleans Arena, which is a similarly sized venue to Cashman). And the current residents of Cashman field, the 51s, do a little-bit-but-not-much better, averaging around 5,000 fans per game this last season.
So, if the soccer team can at least match the hockey team in terms of historical turnout, they should be able to at least hang with the competition in the USL. If the Lights can leverage a few things in their favor - such as riding the crest of the World Cup excitement in 2018; maybe bringing some latin flavor to the team to connect with that large population in the city; tapping into the sections of Las Vegas that are already soccer-mad; keeping ticket prices low enough to attract more people, etc. - then it is conceivable that we could do even better than the hockey and baseball minor league teams.
Fingers crossed that the team is smart about building its fan base his upcoming year.
Monday, September 25, 2017
Las Vegas Lights Logo Nominees
Last week I shared some thoughts on the team naming process. Overall, I thought it was a solid choice.
Now, we're all here waiting for the ownership group to go through the logo proposals. I'm assuming they are going to do the same community vote thing - but they may just decide to go ahead and choose one directly. I know they have been posting a few of the proposals on Twitter to get some feedback from fans. Let's take a look at a few of the proposals:
The Sign
I found this one on Reddit. This one is a hard pass for me. It's basically just that "Welcome" sign that everyone out of town loves, but I personally find pretty tacky. I think its the little circles around the letters that get me. It just looks - bad.
Grade: 3/10 - Basic copy of the sign, not enough difference
Inverted Sign
Another Reddit one. I actually like this one quite a bit, even though it incorporates that tacky sign that is posted on everything (probably because it flips the sign vertically, which I like, and eliminates the worst part of the sign, the "w-e-l-c-o-m-e" letters in little circles). I've always been a fan of narrow vertical logos, and the "LV" in Las Vegas just lends itself perfectly to overlapping letters like this.
Grade: 7/10 - but if you incorporated the yellow and blue colors the owners seem to be going with, it could go up to 8 or 9.
The Shield
This one was posted on the Las Vegas Lights twitter feed, so obviously they are giving it some thought. I like this one a lot - I've always liked logos that have some sort of symbolism to them (even if you have to explain it all in an infographic like here). It avoids the welcome sign, which is nice. And you can't go wrong with a nice shield shape. Finally, the icing on the cake is the diagonal stripes - I love a good sash, and maybe with this kind of a logo we could have a sash on they jerseys.
Grade: 8/10 - Wouldn't mind having this one at all.
Vertical Stripes
Two choices that the club put up on the Twitter feed. It's not bad. i definitely like the second option over the first (I've always found the soccer ball to be just a touch of overkill - we get it, it's a soccer team). The only downsides I see to this one are 1) they went pretty heavy on the starbursts, one would have been plenty, and 2) the vertical stripes, while cool, would probably mean that we are going with striped jerseys, which are ok, but I've never liked them all that much.
Grade: 5/10 - Too much stuff
The V for Vendetta
I'm really not sure what is going on here. It's a V, for Vegas, obviously. But where's the L? And what are those little flying multi-colored balls for? I don't really get this one, the logo is decent, I suppose, but I really don't get any sort of sense of "Las Vegas" or "soccer" from it at all.
Grade: 3/10 - No connection.
The Overachiever
I mean, how could we not choose this one?
Grade: "A" for effort
So, looking at my grades, I think (aside from the obvious choice being the last one), if I had to choose now, I'd go with the shield proposal. But if they make a few tweaks to that inverted sign, without adding too much to the logo, I think that would be my first choice.
Let me know what you think on Twitter.
Now, we're all here waiting for the ownership group to go through the logo proposals. I'm assuming they are going to do the same community vote thing - but they may just decide to go ahead and choose one directly. I know they have been posting a few of the proposals on Twitter to get some feedback from fans. Let's take a look at a few of the proposals:
The Sign
I found this one on Reddit. This one is a hard pass for me. It's basically just that "Welcome" sign that everyone out of town loves, but I personally find pretty tacky. I think its the little circles around the letters that get me. It just looks - bad.
Grade: 3/10 - Basic copy of the sign, not enough difference
Inverted Sign
Another Reddit one. I actually like this one quite a bit, even though it incorporates that tacky sign that is posted on everything (probably because it flips the sign vertically, which I like, and eliminates the worst part of the sign, the "w-e-l-c-o-m-e" letters in little circles). I've always been a fan of narrow vertical logos, and the "LV" in Las Vegas just lends itself perfectly to overlapping letters like this.
Grade: 7/10 - but if you incorporated the yellow and blue colors the owners seem to be going with, it could go up to 8 or 9.
The Shield
This one was posted on the Las Vegas Lights twitter feed, so obviously they are giving it some thought. I like this one a lot - I've always liked logos that have some sort of symbolism to them (even if you have to explain it all in an infographic like here). It avoids the welcome sign, which is nice. And you can't go wrong with a nice shield shape. Finally, the icing on the cake is the diagonal stripes - I love a good sash, and maybe with this kind of a logo we could have a sash on they jerseys.
Grade: 8/10 - Wouldn't mind having this one at all.
Vertical Stripes
Two choices that the club put up on the Twitter feed. It's not bad. i definitely like the second option over the first (I've always found the soccer ball to be just a touch of overkill - we get it, it's a soccer team). The only downsides I see to this one are 1) they went pretty heavy on the starbursts, one would have been plenty, and 2) the vertical stripes, while cool, would probably mean that we are going with striped jerseys, which are ok, but I've never liked them all that much.
Grade: 5/10 - Too much stuff
The V for Vendetta
I'm really not sure what is going on here. It's a V, for Vegas, obviously. But where's the L? And what are those little flying multi-colored balls for? I don't really get this one, the logo is decent, I suppose, but I really don't get any sort of sense of "Las Vegas" or "soccer" from it at all.
Grade: 3/10 - No connection.
The Overachiever
I mean, how could we not choose this one?
Grade: "A" for effort
So, looking at my grades, I think (aside from the obvious choice being the last one), if I had to choose now, I'd go with the shield proposal. But if they make a few tweaks to that inverted sign, without adding too much to the logo, I think that would be my first choice.
Let me know what you think on Twitter.
Pro Soccer to Las Vegas!
Well here we are. Mere months away from professional soccer coming ashore in our very own town of Las Vegas.
I'm not going to lie, I thought this prospect was done and dusted after that vote a couple of years ago to prevent a soccer specific stadium from going up. It may not be an MLS team with a specific venue, but we can all be happy that some level of pro soccer is coming to town.
As of right now, we know the name and the location of the team, but everything else - from the logo, to the players, to the manager, to the color scheme - is still up in the air.
A few thoughts on the team name:
It was done through a controlled voting process. Nominations were taken from the community at large, vetted by the owners, and then they sent out a shortlist of six for the community to vote on. The six (if I remember correctly) possibilities were: Las Vegas FC, Las Vegas Action, Las Vegas Silver, Club Vegas, Viva Vegas, and Las Vegas Lights.
To be honest, I thought it was a pretty paltry list of options. There was the traditional stodgy "FC" option, then a parade of downright embarrassing choices (looking at you, Viva Vegas and Club Vegas).
At first I wasn't too high on Las Vegas Lights, but the more I think about it the more I like it. It's a very "American" choice (as in not a FC Las Vegas or SC Las Vegas). But hey, that's fine, we are in America after all, so it matches with the American sporting tradition. And if you are going to go with the [City Name] [Mascot] format, there are certainly worse options.
To be frank, it's probably the best name of a sports team in town. I'd much rather have "Lights" than the "Golden Knights" (what does that have to do with Las Vegas?) or the competitor for worst-team-name-in-history, the Las Vegas "51s."
So, at the end of the day, the Las Vegas Lights was a solid choice. Well done to both the general public and the ownership group for choosing something decent.
Next in the pipeline is the logo. Again, they are calling for suggestions, and we have to assume they are going to do the same vetting process and community vote for the logo. I've seen a few of the proposals so far, and some of them look pretty decent. I'll probably take a look at some of them in the next post.
Until then
I'm not going to lie, I thought this prospect was done and dusted after that vote a couple of years ago to prevent a soccer specific stadium from going up. It may not be an MLS team with a specific venue, but we can all be happy that some level of pro soccer is coming to town.
As of right now, we know the name and the location of the team, but everything else - from the logo, to the players, to the manager, to the color scheme - is still up in the air.
A few thoughts on the team name:
It was done through a controlled voting process. Nominations were taken from the community at large, vetted by the owners, and then they sent out a shortlist of six for the community to vote on. The six (if I remember correctly) possibilities were: Las Vegas FC, Las Vegas Action, Las Vegas Silver, Club Vegas, Viva Vegas, and Las Vegas Lights.
To be honest, I thought it was a pretty paltry list of options. There was the traditional stodgy "FC" option, then a parade of downright embarrassing choices (looking at you, Viva Vegas and Club Vegas).
At first I wasn't too high on Las Vegas Lights, but the more I think about it the more I like it. It's a very "American" choice (as in not a FC Las Vegas or SC Las Vegas). But hey, that's fine, we are in America after all, so it matches with the American sporting tradition. And if you are going to go with the [City Name] [Mascot] format, there are certainly worse options.
To be frank, it's probably the best name of a sports team in town. I'd much rather have "Lights" than the "Golden Knights" (what does that have to do with Las Vegas?) or the competitor for worst-team-name-in-history, the Las Vegas "51s."
So, at the end of the day, the Las Vegas Lights was a solid choice. Well done to both the general public and the ownership group for choosing something decent.
Next in the pipeline is the logo. Again, they are calling for suggestions, and we have to assume they are going to do the same vetting process and community vote for the logo. I've seen a few of the proposals so far, and some of them look pretty decent. I'll probably take a look at some of them in the next post.
Until then
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