Today, Chicago NISA kicked off their fan-voted bracket contest to name their club, appropriately named Moniker Madness. Over 400 names were submitted by fans and were culled down to 68, which will be voted on over the next month. In a long Zoom call available to the public, Peter Wilt and Night Train Veeck offered all the options and gave back stories for each choice. I broke down my best and worst from each regional (which were also named by the fans).

Dan Ryan Regional

Best

Chicago Raccoons (16) - Submitted based on the story of Raccoons that lived in the upper deck of the Chicago Fire. I don’t typically like mascoty-names, but Racoons would be a rad nickname for a club, even if they went with something else for the name. Say you go with Chicago AC and your nickname is the Racoons. If this doesn’t make it, I think there should be a supporter club with this name.

Chicago Athletic Club (4)- Strong suggestion that would allow for potential connections beyond the sport of soccer. Also, Chicago AC is a nice change from the same damn FC/SC that we see everywhere, including the rest of NISA.

Chicago Haymarket (5) - That’s a badass name, it’s my pick of this region. Connections to labor, violence, and completely original from the other mickey mouse names on this list. LOVE IT.

Worst

Chicago Rhythm (15) - This is a garbage name, originally proposed by NIKE when Chicago Fire was created in MLS. Not even sure why it’s on this list. Get it out. NOW.

Chicago Bronze (11) - Absolute trash. I HATE it.

Chicago 2020/2021 (8) and (9) - Not sure who submitted these, but it’s trash.

Edens Regional

Best

Point Chicago (1) - Love the historical/geographical connections. I like the non-traditional naming convention, which makes it stand out from the rest of the NISA teams.

Chicago Municipal (5) - I actually like this a lot. It’s different, but sounds similar to soccer naming conventions. Even if it’s not. It would be entirely unique in the American soccer scene.

Atomic Chicago (10) - Oh my god, this is a bad ass name. It’s gimmicky yes, but can you imagine how badass the badge would be? I think you could do all sorts of great merch that has connections to the atomic age. I like this a lot. Don’t focus on the bomb (yes, I get it) but focus on the energy/discovery aspect?

Worst

Chicago Blues (15) - Like, name your club AC or FC or SC and then let Blues be your nickname. I HATE that American soccer has to be so super obvious (saying the quiet part loudly). Let a team have a nickname that isn’t on the badge, please.

Chicago Towers (14) - This is trash. Goofy name. This should be a nickname for your CB pair, not the name of your club.

Chicago Wind (7) - This is so obvious and irritating and entirely inline with the generic clubs of every other league. This is NISA, kick ass and do something different! Granted, I’d like to write the headline “DCFC breaks Wind.” So maybe I do want to vote for this?

Eisenhower Regional

Best

Rise Chicago (13) - I don’t usually like these kinds of names, but this one did it for me. I like the modifier before the city name, which is non-traditional. It would also make for some great merch and definitely inspire fans of the club.

AFC Chicago (12) - Here it is. You go by AFC Chicago and I get to call them the Racoons on the side. It also avoids the same tired FC/SC convention that EVERYONE else uses. I’m for this choice and will definitely vote for it.

Chigagou (8) - The original and indigenous name of the Chicago area, which apparently means “onion fields.” It’s a cool call back to the people who originally settled the area, but also sounds like a bad ass nickname for a soccer club.

Worst

Chicago Swingin’ Possums (17) - All joking aside, this is a stupid name and not worthy to put on a soccer club. As Peter Wilt described it on the call, it’s more “appropriate for minor league baseball.” And that’s a great way to put it. I know at least one person pushing this jokey, goofy name, and my response to him and anyone else picking this name, is why saddle a club’s potential fans with this terrible choice? Because you don’t have to cheer for them? Ugh.

Chicago Goats (3) - Again, I hate “mascoty” names and this is very mascoty. I’ll admit it does seem to fill a gap with the other major Chicago animal teams: Bulls, Bears, Cubs. So maybe I’d be soft on this, if it makes it through.

Chicago Seven (11) - This is confusing because 11 players play at a time, which already has a club with that name (which Peter helped found), Indy 11. Chicago Seven sounds like a disaster of a match with 4 red cards.

Kennedy Regional

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Best

Dusable Chicago (2) - Love the connection to history and black culture. If Wilt is to make Chicago NISA incredibly successful, he needs to connect to a diverse city - this would be a great first step. It’s also a great change of pace from the normal soccer conventions.

Chicago Stockyards (4) - Sort of love this. I think you need to remove “s” and just be Chicago Stockyard. Lot’s of implications of “slaughtering” competition, etc. I’m for that. It’s different, it’s catchy, it’s very Chicago.

ALT Chicago (6) - Not sure if ALT or Alt, but either way, I like the connection to the rebellious history of Chicago labor and political organizations. This idea is what I’ve pushed in multiple podcasts - lean into the political, standout from MLS and their generic boring clubs. I’m all for it.

Worst

Chicago Tavern Style (16)/Chicago Dish (17) - Pizza? Seriously? Sigh. To me this is the name in a user-created franchise option in a mid 90s football video game. That is to say that I hate it.

Chicago United (14) - The most tired American naming convention. We took something that made sense in other parts of the world (clubs joining together - UNITING) and perverted the heck out of it. We slap it on every club regardless of history or reality and it’s become so tired and overused that it’s basically a joke now.

Chicago Knuckles (10) - So we’re naming clubs after Sonic the Hedgehog characters now? Just joking, I get the historical connection but I still hate it.

Hope you enjoyed my breakdown of the best and worst! Follow Chicago NISA on their social media to participate in the voting, which goes live Monday. Love what they are doing here.

- Dan Vaughn