Lionbackers.com

The prospective ownership group of a tenth CFL franchise announced Friday evening that a future team in Atlantic Canada would be named the Atlantic Schooners.

Happy they choose this name over the Storm. Did not like the name the Storm. Schooners way better. Seems in a few years this team will join the CFL.

I had always assumed it would be the Schooners until I heard the name Storm a few weeks ago. Storm seems like a more menacing name, which is not unique but is generally better for sports marketing and merchandising.

Whatever the team is called, I’ll have to plan a long road trip one of these years. I suspect the Lions and Schooners will be regular Labour Day weekend opponents, regional rivalry or not.

It certainly drew a big cheer here at the Schooners Down East Kitchen Party. Usually the Schooner party starts out a bit slow and doesn't start filling up until 8 or 9. When I arrived at 5:15 tonight it was packed with fans of every CFL team all there in anticipation of the announcement. I'm guessing easily in excess of 2000. They gave the honour of making the announcement to John Ryerson who has been emcee, organizer and ringmaster for the Schooner Kitchen Party since they started it as a GC event I think in 2004. Very fitting.

Glad that they didn't pick Storm as it sounds like a 1990s wanabe major but are really minor, sports team.

Yeah, Storm would have been criticized along the same vein as the Colorado Avalanche. A natural event that leads to loss of life that sort of thing. Stupid I think but you know it would happen. Schooners is a good name.

Footnote to my earlier post:

I ran into John a little while after he made the announcement. I detected a bit of emotion when he made the announcement on stage. I congratulated him on everything and asked him if he was close to shedding a tear. He said yes he was close. The two guys heading the new ownership group called him up to recognize what he had done over the years organizing the Schooners Kitchen Parties. Then they asked him to make the announcement. Until somebody whispered into his ear seconds before they handed him the mic he did not know Schooners had been chosen.

It's a good name as would have been Storm for me.

I don't know if it's taken or not but I always thought the Atlantic Force would have been a good name. Like the Jets, it could have been seen as a play on the Air Force or the force of the mighty Atlantic.

Or they could done the Mighty Atlantic Force lol like the Anaheim Ducks once were

I would have been happy had they chosen the Maritime Bandits, as would all Terry Gilliam fans everywhere.

I was hoping it would be "Storm" for two reasons. One, it 's a cool team name and fits "Maritime" and two, just to hear the Mosaic Stadium in-house DJ play The Doors' "Riders On The Storm."


DH

I would not have selected Schooners. Yes there is there is nostalgia for that nickname, but that is from 1983. The people who were excited (and ultimately disappointed) about the Schooners almost coming to fruition 35 years ago are all in their 50s and 60s now. The fanbase the future franchise needs to cultivate were not even born in 1983. The Schooner name means nothing to them.

What do you do with Schooner for a logo? A stylized "A" and a ship? Sound familiar? You need shirts and hats and jerseys that young people will want to wear. Especially for a small market team where merchandise sales will be important for the bottom line.

Farhan said the potential new team is looking to hire a football type guy - and in my view, the rabbit in that department was OTT hiring the Als Desjardin as GM.

Those outside of the area might not know the schooner name, I'm guessing that the locals including kids do know.

Is there a worse name than RedBlacks and a worse symbol than the saw blade and the lumberjack shirts?

For me, no but fans etc don't seem to much care as their team has got out of the gate playing well.

For me the RedBlacks name is crazy and signifies nothing but an odd colour mix.

IF the RBs score and there is a TV shot of the crowd, the immediate image that comes to my mind and leads to a laugh goes to the Monty Python and "I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay...."

Belize City Lion wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 24, 2018 7:35 am

I would not have selected Schooners. Yes there is there is nostalgia for that nickname, but that is from 1983. The people who were excited (and ultimately disappointed) about the Schooners almost coming to fruition 35 years ago are all in their 50s and 60s now. The fanbase the future franchise needs to cultivate were not even born in 1983. The Schooner name means nothing to them.

What do you do with Schooner for a logo? A stylized "A" and a ship? Sound familiar? You need shirts and hats and jerseys that young people will want to wear. Especially for a small market team where merchandise sales will be important for the bottom line.

Sorry BCL, I'm going to disagree with you here. If the term Schooner won't resonate with fans then neither will Storm. The Schooner has a strong historical presence which still prevails to this day. Even those who don't make their living from the sea probably has someone in their family history that did. They are very proud of their heritage and the Schooners are a good solid name. It's not going to be controversial and frankly makes much more sense than say the "RedBlacks" which lacks any kind of resonance for most folks. Logo is always a tough one. What would you do with "Storm" a wave of some sort, maybe lightning and wind? Hardly unique to the Atlantic coast. All names will have pros and cons. What is more important is that we actually get the team up and running and playing. I am going to love the East Coast/West Coast rivalry on Labour Day.

Through Ryerson's work with the Kitchen Party the Schooner name has been kept in the forefront of CFL fans for many years. Based on the reaction at the announcement I think anything else would have been met with a mix of stunned silence and perhaps even booing. In terms of marketing there of course will be a logo, team colours and mascot to be added. As we've witnessed with Ottawa much can be done with even an inane nickname like REDBLACKS. They took that and built a persona for their fans revolving around the colours, plaid and linking it to the lumberjack and milling history of their old Rough Rider name. Don't sell the Atlantic Schooners short on what they will be able to do now that they have a name.

Atlantic Schooners

Atlantic Storm

Either would have been fine.

I like Schooners as a nickname.

Let's not forget about the Bluenose Schooner.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluenose

Schooners is the logical name. Everyone in the Maritimes knows what it is and can identify with it.
Nothing better than a name that represents the city/region. Much like the New Orleans Pelicans. Those without a clue mocked the name, yet it is a purrfect representation of the Big Easy beyond what tourists know. And far more logical than the Utah Jazz (!).
As for the Schooners, the logo will likely be great. It is, after all, a legendary name and vessel. Just look at our dimes.
As for the Ottawa CFL team, I refuse to refer to it as anything other than Rough Riders (always two words).