How about Ottawa Rustlers? Big R on the helmet. Many seem to want that.
Go for it. :thup:
[url=http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/rss/article/1243426]http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/r ... le/1243426[/url]Every dream needs a name, and it's time for Moncton's Canadian Football League franchise to get one too.Let me get the football rolling by submitting my proposal of a classic name that reflects both the CFL’s history and the spirit of this region: the Moncton Rough Riders
The Atlantic Roughriders can work too in the spirit of regional support, and besides who is rougher than Atlantic Canadians?
I know what you’re thinking, and yes it’s true there is already a team named the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and up until 1996 the CFL boasted another similarly named team in the Ottawa Rough Riders, and they could soon return to the circuit.
It may seem crazy and stubborn to try to the name out east, but those qualities are a matter of survival for fans of a league where craziness and stubbornness have always loomed larger than even the CFL’s oversized fields and balls.
And talk about putting Moncton on the map, as they say. Such a brazen statement would force every newscast from CNN to Al-Jazeera to report on the eccentricity of a 10-team league with three teams of the same name.
Beyond the novelty factor there are several historic and business reasons why the Moncton Rough Riders, or Atlantic Roughriders, is the right choice.
Chiefly, it guarantees new regional rivalries from the start, something that is crucial to building a sustainable fan base especially in a city as proud and competitive as Moncton.
Let’s face it, our squabbles with Halifax seem to be turning out quite lopsided in our favour these days, so why don’t we take it easy on those guys and invite them to join us in laying down the gauntlet at the feet of the good people of Ottawa and Saskatchewan?
Who better to start a rollicking rivalry with than the rabid fans of Saskatchewan where football is a religion?
They should be easy to provoke since they are likely still a bit sore about being taunted by Ottawa fans about the fact that the our nation’s capital’s Rough Riders existed first.
Heck, Saskatchewan fans will probably end up filling half the seats of the Stade Moncton 2010 Stadium.
Because if there was one thing missing from the first ever CFL regular season game played in Atlantic Canada here on Sunday, it was the lack of animosity.
Both the Argonauts and Eskimos were so friendly towards Moncton that it was hard for local fans to drink the “Haterade” with so much love in the air.
A name war would easily make that rivalry happen, and not just with Saskatchewan.
Ottawa is scheduled to have its team reinstated in 2013, and you have to believe that football fans in that city would rather turn out to support the Rough Riders - one of the most successful clubs in CFL history - than the Ottawa Renegades, who folded in 2006 after four years of existence.
That’s double the animosity, double the rivalries, and as the gum advertisement says, double the pleasure.
Before dismissing the validity of a double Roughriders league, and the possibility of a triple, we must consider where these team names came from, and how those origins connect with Moncton, with New Brunswick and in turn with Atlantic Canada.
The two teams originated in separate leagues that eventually fused into the Canadian Football League, so there is sort of reasonable explanation for all of this. The Ottawa Rough Riders had the name first, as early as the 1890s, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders grabbed it during a two year interlude around 1925 when Ottawa’s club temporarily changed its name to the Senators.
Once Ottawa reclaimed its name, and the two leagues were mashed together, nobody wanted to give up their name, and for good reason.
There are a few explanations for why people in Ottawa and Saskatchewan grew so fond of the Rough Riders and Roughriders name.
One is that both teams draw their roots from the Canadian contingent that fought either with Teddy Roosevelt, or in parallel with his troops, in the Spanish American War in Cuba.
Roosevelt’s volunteer troops, who ranged from cowboys, to miners, hunters and Ivy Leaguers, were famously known as the Rough Riders and the Canadian contingent was known for being extremely effective on the battlefield. As the story goes, when the Canadian troops returned to Canada from Cuba many settled in Ottawa, and the rest moved further West to the prairies.
The Rough Rider name would be historically appropriate for a New Brunswick based team because of the time Teddy Roosevelt’s niece Eleanor spent here on Campobello Island in the Bay of Fundy with her husband President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The Roosevelt International Park continues to welcome thousands of visitors each year and is the most vibrant symbol of the Roosevelt family in Canada.
Furthermore, Eleanor Roosevelt collaborated with New Brunswicker John Humphrey to write the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The other theories on the name also have some natural Moncton links.
Some say the Ottawa team was named after the log rollers on the region’s rivers. With Moncton’s Petitcodiac River waging an historic fourth quarter comeback, the name couldn’t fit much better.
Still, another story says the Saskatchewan team is named after the elite Northwest Mounted Police corps of expert horsemen who broke the wild broncos used by the force.
Moncton is well served by the Mounties today, and this would be another way of acknowledging that.
Now some may say that picking a team name is putting the cart before the horse, but it’s never too early to start working on a dream . . . or its name.
Two teams in a nine team league is a joke, if you do not like the name Renegades, think of somwthing else.
I still want to rename them.............
OTTAWA
INVADERS
How serious are you? 'Cause there’s currently a team in the area using that name.
Yeah, really: http://www.ottawainvaders.ca/. You’ve got your wish.
Now let’s get back to naming our CFL team the Ottawa Rough Riders; the ONLY name that truly fits.
Name the name team the Ottawa Express!
Team colors would be purple and orange! Purple helmets, purple jerseys, white pants, all trimmed in orange!
If not Rough Riders, it should keep the 2 R theme. Something like Red Raiders. Raiders Rouge pour les Canadiens français. The uniforms could be a modernized version of the ones from yesteryear. What would be wrong with that? Renegades is probably the best of the single R names, so long as you look past their prior shortcomings.
What about Cavaliers? Upsides are that it's in keeping with the theme of the Roosevelt's Rough Riders horse regiment, after which some claim the Ottawa Rough Riders were named, and (I think) it's the same in French and English. Downside is that it doesn't start with the letter R.
Should the new franchise really stick with the “R” theme, though? Rough Riders, Renegades, Red Raiders… if the new owners are going to go with a fresh name, why stick with an “R” name that will never be as good as the original? Rapid Riders, Red Raiders, Ruffians, Rangers… none of these “R” names are better or even as good as Rough Riders. They said they want a fresh name, so I think they’ll go with something completely different.
At first I was thinking Trojans, because the Ottawa Trojans played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union in the late 1940s, so there is some historical connection there. The main problem with it is the similarity in theme with the Ottawa Senators, and I think it would be better to carve their own identity.
But I’m liking Cavaliers, it’s the first name I’ve read out of the many many many names suggested that I think could work that has a real strong feel to it. Like PiCat said, it keeps with the army regiment theme (even if the Rough Riders were supposed to be log rollers or something) and it is bilingual with the word loosely translated to the French word for “knight.” Again, I think it’s an upside that the name doesn’t start with an “R.” The only downside I see is that the Cleveland Cavaliers already exist, but since Al Davis doesn’t own them, I don’t think anybody will be suing Jeff Hunt.
I don’t think the similarity in themes is much of an issue, to tell you the truth, especially in light of historical connection that you mention. That Trojans team ended up merging with the Rough Riders so the connection is quite strong.
I am in total agreement with your position of trying to force the R into all this. If they want a new name, then get a new name. Don’t claim to go new then bend over backwards to remind us of the old.
Renegades.
Two teams named roughriders in a 9 team league sounds moronic, Renegades is a whole lot better. I would like to see the logo changed a bit, maybe a renegade beaver would be a better logo.
Yeah, 'cause the whole beaver thing was not at all moronic. :roll:
So you’re saying that the CFL has been moronic right up to about 8 years ago? You’re not very old are you?
This discussion would be a lot more interesting if all those with an opinion knew the history behind two teams having the same name. Ottawa had the name first by many years over Sask.
Interesting that you presume that all those arguing against using an old name that is too close to an existing name don’t know what they are talking about :roll:
Why don’t you guys get it. THEY FOLDED not once but TWICE. That gives up any nostagila rites that they may have HAD. If they have to have that name to survive, then guess what. FOLD number 3, is 3-4 years away. Move on, be thankfull that you are getting another chance to come into the league and don’t be so devoid of imagingation, as any Arrow head would say. Get over it and find a new beginning. Do you think any F…ng pro league in any sport today would let a perrennial FOLDER take the name of an existing team upon re-entry. DUHHHHHHH :roll: Only if Avro Levign is running it, IMO.
The Montreal Alouettes folded twice. The fact that Ottawa franchises have folded twice doesn’t have an impact on any “nostagila rites” they have. I kind of doubt that a nickname will have any impact on a team folding or not.
Interesting that you presume that I’m presuming. I’ve read many of your posts,rpaege, and find you to be a reasonable person. I didn’t say anyone arguing against using the Roughrider name didn’t know what they’re talking about. MAYBE, I’m against using the old name too! Calling the league stupid or moronic for having two teams with the same name labels the people who watched for decades with two Roughrider teams. Now, add in the fact that a great many don’t know why this happened and haven’t bothered to find out why, yet have an opinion for or against, and you may see my point.
You’re the one who doesn’t get it, Tale. It’s not taking the name of an existing team. Ottawa fans have no interest in the name “Roughriders”, nor does the organization, that I know of.
Rough Riders is a different name. Why is this so hard to grasp? It’s not an opinion, it’s a fact. Different legal entity altogether. If a veto exists, it’s BECAUSE they are two different names. Edmonton would not need a veto to prevent the name Eskimos from being used but they legally own it. Saskatchewan does not own Rough Riders therefore at some point asked for veto power against it.
Oh, and there’s no such thing as losing nostalgic rights, either. 