Jay GreesonAs many of you know, there's a civil war coming.
No, this has nothing to do with red or blue states.
We have a soccer fight on the horizon in the Scenic City.
The decade of canoodling for the Chattanooga FC is about to be challenged. The professional United Soccer League issued Chattanooga a franchise, much to the chagrin of the CFC founding fathers.
To make matters worse for the CFC folks, Sean McDaniel, the former CFC exec, has signed on to be the general manager and president of this new soccer team.
Understandably there are a lot of folks - including many in the passionate CFC supporter group known as the Chattahooligans - who are not pleased with this.
Chattanooga can't support two soccer franchises any more than we can support two aquariums, two minor league baseball teams (or ballparks for that matter, but that's a story for another day), two entertainment districts or even one history museum.
To be fair, the new club will have professional players, meaning they are paid for their soccer services. The CFC has been operating more on a college-sports hierarchy in which the players certainly get benefits and opportunities, but everyone still tries to figure out how we can call it amateur athletics for the players while the folks in power cash checks.
So that's the back story, with one more wrinkle. The future for each of these teams is tied to the future home for both. Is Finley Stadium - known to soccer fans as Fort Finley for the last decade - able to host both teams? Would the overlapping schedules work?
That's hard to know with no clear options for another venue that would be willing to sell beer - and let's be honest, friends, soccer matches without beer are as friendly as power lunching with two IRS agents.
So here we are. And this piqued my interest this morning because of the creative social media idea from McDaniel and Co. to have the public weigh in on potential names for the new United Soccer League team.
Well, we're all about helping newcomers, right? Let's give this a swing, with a couple of caveats.
First, let's work with the knowledge that the springboard to success is embracing the family experience as well as the hooligan factor. So let's strike the Cup Checkers, Club Foot, or Sons of Pitches (which really could be awkward with the Finley situation). Deal? Deal.
Also, we're going to need hometown connection, especially since this group is coming to town under the ownership of some real estate dude from Utah. And while the lone Utah professional team is called the Jazz, let's try to stay true to Chattanooga. Deal?
Now if you have other suggestions, you can go on social media - @ChattanoogaSocc on Twitter or @ChattanoogaProSoccer on Instagram - and play along. Know this though, the comments on social media from the upset CFC fans are, well, shall we say, passionate.
> Apparently soccer names often use initials, like FC for Futbal Club, and since it would be easy to play to the politics of our region, may we suggest the Chattanooga TC (Trump Cards) or the Chattanooga ICE (Interesting Chattanooga Events) or even the Chattanooga PP (Protest Protestors). That would generate a lot of national attention, friends, although that ICE one may hurt the team's ability to recruit internationally.
> The Tomahawks. Not only do you get the historic connection, the immediate connection to Fort Finley and the chance to tap into the summertime love for the Atlanta Braves, but maybe Jeff Styles could be the celebrity spokesman. He's had some free time here of late. (Post-game party after a win on the street between Finley and Southside Social could be called the "Road Rave" after all.)
> Maybe try a national and international approach. Chattanooga Marco Pele, with homage to the most famous soccer player ever. Chattanooga Man Chest Hair United (with the team playing shirtless, for the ladies), in reference to the most famous club ever. Possibly Liquor Pool FC (get a couple of downtown beverage suppliers involved) or even the Chattanooga Cristianos and Latter Day Saints, that way it's a tip of the visor to the most popular player in the world (Cristiano Reynaldo) and the Utah roots of the ownership. Never mind the goodwill generated by the clear attempt of the newcomers to offer an olive branch of compromise.
> Finally, the sponsorship possibilities of the Moon Pies or the Bugs (Love ya, VW) or the As(phalt) Kickers or Chew-Chewers or the Hot Wingers or, well, you get the idea, are tempting. But we think a partnership with the folks in Dalton - Shaw Industries potentially - while renaming the team the Chattanooga Carpet Baggers could be a winner for both sides.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6343.