Search For My AFL Team, Part 2

In my previous post about finding a new AFL team to support, I eliminated 7 teams on the basis that they were in the league during the heyday of my Red Dogs. Eight teams remain vying for the prize of becoming "my AFL team." I have given a lot of thought on what the next criterion should be and it always came back to the same thing - I can't support a team whose name and logo are a joke. Choosing a team because their logo is cool may not be the best criterion, but I certainly don't want my friends mocking me for my choice of a team (having this silly blog and pretending that readers care about my selecting of an AFL team is reason enough). So with this in place, let's take a quick run through the teams and decide if they survive for another week.

Alabama Vipers - This is one of my favorites. The Vipers name gives the vibe of "don't eff with us" and allows for a natrual rival with the Arizona Rattlers. The color scheme is solid and crips. Decision: Keep

Bossier/Shreveport Battlewings-I once supported the NY/NJ Knights of the World League of American Football as well as the NY/NJ MetroStars of MLS. I hated the hyphenated name, but dealt with it since they were actually recognizing NJ as part of it. No team in any sports should be subject to this. There is no way I support a team from Bossier/Shreveport. (Luckily my decision has been made before even getting to their stupid name.) Decision: Dump

Jacksonville Sharks - Sharks are the king of the ocean and the biggest predator to man (probably not, but sounds cool). In other words, a perfect football name. They also have a great color scheme that is tough to mess up. The only negative is that they have the same name as the team in Any Given Sunday. Decision: Keep

Milwaukee Iron- A big negative is the resemblance to the late 90s Detroit Pistons logo. However, as my buddy D-Lib noted, "It's a blue-collar sounding name. And Milwaukee is a blue collar town, so it fits". I tend to agree. And while the style of play in the AFL is too cute for Woody Hayes or Bo Schembechler, the guys doing the work in the trenches still determine the game. Decision: Keep

Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz - At first glance this appeared to be a perfect fit because of how close it was to the Red Dogs. However, the 'z' on the end of the name combined with the hokey looking logo makes it a name that no one can take seriously. Decision: Dump (I couldn't do that to my Sonics' friends)

Spokane Shock-A little history lesson - the Shock were named after a 1960's Continental Football League team named the Shockers. I like the historical element, but lets face it, the Shockers would have been the 2:1 favorite favorite had they gone with it. Unfortunately they shortened and gave the franchise the same name as a WNBA franchise. Decision: Dump (sorry, not even the local element helps)

Tulsa Talons-This is definitely the most ambivalent of all the names. Its a bit too cutesie for my taste and the team is from Tulsa. combined those two make me just want to yawn. Decision: Dump

Utah Blaze - There are two reason why I'm not entirely sold on the name as a whole. First of all, what does a Blaze have to do with Utah? Second, the name just doesn't roll of your tongue smoothly. All that being said, it does reminds me of the old Birmingham Fire which happened to be my favorite World League of American Football team (yep, too WLAF references in one posting. Beat that, Simmons). That is a major plus. Decision: Keep

So there you have it. I eliminated four more teams this week. That means that I will be throwing my support behind either the Alabame Vipers, Milwaukee Iron, Jacksonville Sharks or Utah Blaze.

I know this is riveting, so stay tuned...