Naming pro softball teams sounds dreamy if you’re a namer like me who loves fastpitch softball. I’m thrilled about the new league Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) launching four new pro teams. But I don’t love team names: Bandits, Blaze, Talons, and Volts.
As a softball and general sports fan, the names leave me uninspired (in an inspiring era in pro women’s sports). And as a naming professional, they leave me wondering who exactly chose these names and why? What about them hit the mark (aka brand positioning)?
Basically, why do these names bug me so much?
It left me with one option: Step up to the plate to answer this naming conundrum. What follows is my best guess at how these names came to be, along with a greater appreciation for the challenges of naming in sports.
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