Jeff Hunt, owner of the new Ottawa Canadian Football League franchise has released his list of five finalists for the name of the expansion club for 2014.
They are: Ottawa Nationals, Ottawa RedBlacks, Ottawa Voyageurs, Ottawa Rush, Ottawa Raftsmen
The list is pretty weak, we must admit.
It’s been no secret around the capital that Hunt is a fan of the RedBlacks name, he’s been trumpeting it anytime he’s asked about the name of the club, going on about how it ties to the city’s history of red, black, and white colour schemes for its sports teams, as far back as the Ottawa Silver Seven in the early 1900′s.
The popular theory around town is that Hunt’s choice is being surrounded with lacklustre options to make it prettier-by-comparison. I can believe that.
I did my own little digging around and this is what I found:
Of the five finalists “Rush” was registered as a domain name first with ottawarush.com snatched up by the group way back in November 2011, ottawarush.ca was then secured two months later in January 2012. This shows that Rush was the favourite amongst ownership well before the others were even considered. Following the Rush the other names were registered as domains in the following order: Raftsmen (Jan 19, 2012), Voyageurs (Nov 19, 2012), RedBlacks (Nov 30, 2012), and Nationals (Jan 23, 2013).
Nationals was registered as a domain the same day the finalist names were released, in my opinion it’s just thrown in there to round the list up to five. It was also the name of a former WHA hockey team in the city… Forget it.
The Ottawa Nationals were a WHA hockey team in the 1970s
Voyageurs is interesting and might just be my favourite of the group. It’s the only name of the five to not have the .ca version of the domain name purchased by the team (it’s owned by a local walking club) but on the flip side the .com version is the only one to point to a GoDaddy starter page and NOT a standard GoDaddy parked domain page. This could show that the club only ever intended to put a website up at this domain. The name is also the only one that really works well in both French and English. There could be something there…
Raftsmen was the second name considered by the club having been registered as a domain over a year ago, it meets the “R” requirement the club was supposedly looking for but not the “Good for French” requirement.
Rush is one of only two finalist names to have been registered as both a trademark with the Canadian government (as of Jan 22/13) and as a domain name (.com and .ca), as mentioned above it was the first name to be considered seriously by the group. It’s a fairly “second-tier” league sounding name with the only other clubs using it being members of the Arena Football League and National Lacrosse League – leagues not traditionally known for anything traditional.
The original inspiration for the RedBlacks name, the 1907 Ottawa Silver Seven
RedBlacks is the favourite among nobody but the owners themselves, which is really all that matters, fans of the Atlanta Thrashers might remember they were holding a name-the-team contest until owner Ted Turner said he liked the name “Thrashers”, that was all she wrote. I like the uniqueness of the name, I like that it’s a throwback to the days of simple names, but I hate the use of camel case… “RedBlacks”? Another example of a naming style only used by minor league teams, not a single team in a major top-tier sports league has used this method. Drop the capital B, go with “Redblacks” and it gets a little more credibility. Like “Rush” the name was registered as a trademark, albeit a month later, with the government. It’s clearly Jeff Hunt’s “new toy” name.
Call me crazy, but I’m going to go with Voyageurs on this one… there’s just something suspicious about how that website is set-up compared to the others.
UPDATE (1/27/13): Due to some overtly obvious fraudulent voting we have looked into the results and found that 119 votes for “Ottawa RedBlacks” were registered by the same user over a period of one hour earlier today. We have removed these 119 votes and other duplicate votes found with other names. The results below reflect the proper vote data and security has been improved to stop future instances of this from happening again.
Chris Creamer is the founder of SportsLogos.Net and has been maintaining it since June 1997. You can follow him on Twitter at @sportslogosnet or contact him via email at ccreamer@sportslogos.net
camly75
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 12:14RedBlacks would be the worst name in sports history
Doug
Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 10:48I disagree. It's original and better than the alternatives.
Ty
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 12:21There is nothing more Canadian on the list than RUSH!
Georges
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 12:55Ottawa Nationals would make more sense, but I do agree that Voyageurs would be more popular throughout the Ottawa-Gatineau region. Bear in mind there are francophones living in this region, especially on the Quebec side, and this name can be said in both languages, which is key. Rush is an OK name, for a CFL team. But the Raftsmen, not to mention Redbalcks, doesn't do it for me. I selected Voyageurs as the name for Ottawa, with Nationals a distant second.
John T.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 14:04Why not call them the Ottawa Federals ! It would be a logical and political fit with the city !
John T.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 14:11There are so much names with "R", that could be better... Regiment, Royal(s), Rebellion, Red Coats (my favorite, but not bilingual). All with a military and historical background ! But, if the choice is those 5 names, Voyageurs (a french name, also used in it's form in english), is the better one, but not the best choice, in my opinion !
Marcus Jackson
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 12:56I think "Voyageurs" would work in English and French better than "Senators" works.
Nick
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 12:59I don't mind Red Blacks with a space. I don't see the need for making it one word, and the camel case looks really amateur. Red Blacks > Redblacks > RedBlacks. But I voted Voyageurs because it's original and works well in French. Who cares about having an 'R' name, as long as the colours are red, black and white?
Joe
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 13:01Not only that, but in our lowercase web address/hashtag world, the capital B in RedBlacks is useless.
LordDravan
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 13:44I would suggest the Ottawa RiverJacks. It pays tribute to the logging industry and the can use the black, red and silver colour sceme easily.
Rob S.
Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 12:49RiverJacks would beat any of these choices,good idea! I wonder why they will not consider Rough Riders and Renegades.I guess they want something new.
ingmar66
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 13:49Voyageurs, or V's for short, it should be. With a white capital V on the black and red helmet.
Alex Parisi
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 14:14Is Ottawa still cool enough for a name as awesome as the Redblacks?
Josh Truax
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 14:23"Redblacks" reminds me of an equally lame college team name derived from its colors, the Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds.
AlMaFI
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 15:37I've always despised Blugolds! It reads more like blug olds. It would've been better as Bluegolds--but that sounds like a kind of fish.
Paul C
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 15:18There would be no problem with 'Raftsmen' in French. It is part of the vernacular; well, it was part of the vernacular when guiding logs down the river was an economic activity too many years ago.
JeffB
Monday, January 28, 2013 at 13:25There is a French language folk song called Les Raftsmen. So suffice it to say the Francophone population would not be complaining that the name isn't bilingual. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkHGoYeRqFM
AlMaFI
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 15:36Of these five, I think Voyageurs and Redblacks are the best. In agreement with Chris that RedBlacks is terribly minor league, with maybe the Seattle SuperSonics being the only pro example. Raftsmen and Rush are both very Arena League. Nationals would pair with Senators to represent nicknames that can apparently only be used by national capitals.
Stephan P
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 16:06I wish you had an option for "Other" because these names are pretty terrible. I can't believe the new name of the Ottawa franchise is somewhere in this list. Renegades was an awesome name. Maybe they should have played around with "Red Riders" if they are willing to incorporate a colour in the name, or "Rottweilers" if they wanted a name starting with "R"
Jackson Scofield
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 16:39" like the uniqueness of the name, I like that it’s a throwback to the days of simple names, but I hate the use of camel case… “RedBlacks”? Another example of a naming style only used by minor league teams, not a single team in a major top-tier sports league has used this method. " Seattle SuperSonics?
Warren Woodcox
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 17:03The Ottawa "Log Riders" Leave the R on the Helmet Canadian Heritage Ottawa Heritage Team song already in place www.youtube.com/watch?v=82tbm5Sr1sw
Alex Giobbi
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 17:30If they're called the Rush, will Tom Sawyer play every time they enter the stadium?
Blake
Monday, January 28, 2013 at 01:31I think they should play "The Spirit of Radio" for their theme song.
Mike HQ
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 17:55I actually really like the RedBlacks or Redblacks or whatever. Also, the name works really well in french… Les Rouge et Noirs. Sounds pretty good to me.
DTR
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 21:10I wish they would have gone with a name that reflects the military history of Ottawa. Both the Rifles and Regiment have historical ties to the area and include the all important R. Out of the suggested names I only really like the Voyageurs, but that sounds more like a soccer/hockey team than a football team. RedBlacks wouldn't be so bad if they put "and" in the middle, but I think the only reason they went with that name is because it sounds good in French.
knoper
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 23:42I think when you name a sports team after the military, it's almost cheapening the military aspect.
knoper
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 22:38CFL is a tough league to add something new, when every other nickname is 50+ years old. Voyageurs is classy enough to do it. Also bilingual friendly, and good enough to build an identity around. Raftsman is not as good, but still workable, and you can bring back the "R" helmet. RedBlacks sounds fake historical, like some of the American MLS teams, not terrible, but just seems out of place. Renegades was too bland and generic, same problem with Naitonals and Rush.
54321
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 22:55RedBlacks is terrible. First thing we'll be bombarded with on TSN is a 'Blacks' nickname (because TSN gives horrid nicknames to every single team it covers except their given names) & that won't end well. Rush sounded good when I read it rumoured, it's already grown on me. Hilarious- Ottawa can't even reboot itself a 2nd time without failing for a 3rd time.
Aaron
Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 23:59These names aren't too bad. Although I think they could've added Rebels, Rogues and Renegades to the list of names. Voyageurs sounds cool, considering they have the bilingual aspect to it. Although if they really want to preserve the R, Rush, Raftsmen and Red Blacks (Rouge Noirs) although a bit corny would be alright. In fact, either of them would eventually grow on the fans.
Stu
Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 01:09Why not call them the Ottawa Renegades??
Stephane Larochelle
Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 01:19Just one thing wrong in your article: "Raftsmen does not meet the french requirements". No big mistake, I used to say the same thing. Then my wife (who is born and raised in Gatineau accross the river from Ottawa) tells me that I don't get it because I am not from the Ottawa area (I am originaly from the Quebec city area, but living near Ottawa for the last 30 years). Apparently french people born and raised in the Ottawa area all use the word raftsmen. The area originaly had alot of people who signed up as raftsmen and the word stuck. There was (is?) a bar and a hotel called raftsmans in Hull (now Gatineau)... The regular french word is Draveurs, but raftsmen is used widely by francophones in the Ottawa area. As far as I know, this is unique to the area.
WhenOctoberEnds
Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 09:27SuperSonics was not a minor league team
Doug
Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 10:54Rush is just awful. That's a nickname used in Indoor Lacrosse (Edmonton) and the Arena Football League (Chicago - after Rush St.) Nationals is unoriginal. Raftsmen is lame. Red-Blacks is original and I don't see anything wrong with it. It essentially brings out the colors of all major Ottawa teams of the past and present - the Senators (both old and current), Silver Sevens, Rough Riders and Renegades. Voyagers works too but it sounds like a Star Trek series. I vote for Red-Blacks but Voyagers is my 2nd pick.
54321
Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 12:27Ottawa Rapids. River Rapids, using Rapids for short. Les Rapid(e)s would embrace the bilingual & R cornerstones for the region. Srsly, what a joke... Ottawa can never ever get the CFL thing right.
Aaron
Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 13:27Rapids or River Rapids would be a great name. If it can't be Roughriders, River Rapids would be a fair trade off.
Tom O'Grady
Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 20:05RedBlacks? Maybe the owner should reach out to a professional branding firm to provide him some real relevant team names?
Derek Howat
Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 23:16A name that I submitted was Ottawa Otters. I think it would fit in with the CFL, is original without sounding minor league-ish and could pass as "traditional" if one didn't know any better.
Aaron
Monday, January 28, 2013 at 08:32Ottawa Otters. Good one. Keep the alliteration train going. OTT on both words.
Marc
Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at 12:21I like the name Redblacks and I am sure somewhere the pioneers of football in Canada our smiling; perhaps it reminds me of when the game was played more in the style of rugby, or when men wore leather helmets. Whatever the case may be, I love the name Red Blacks. However, I would add that the new Ottawa franchise could be named Voyagers, Rush, or Nationals and have the moniker "Redblacks" as a second nickname. The Argos=Boatmen, Tiger-Cats=Tabbies, Pirates=Bucs, Indians=Tribe, Canadiens=Habs, etc.
Aaron
Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at 17:00Either that or Raftsmen being conjoined with the Redblacks moniker. Neat idea.
Bill A
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 05:02Pardon me Chris, this may seem like splitting hairs, but the former Seattle SuperSonics may be the only team to have used the "camel-hump" lettering. The thing is though, I cannot find anything conclusive on that. Some websites spell the nickname as mentioned above while others have it spelled "Super Sonics". Just FYI.
bob loblaw
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 15:54If we're looking at Ottawa Rush, how about Ottawa Nickelback? Or maybe Ottawa Paul Anka, Ottawa Anka. I like that one.
Nathaniel Melvin
Sunday, February 3, 2013 at 11:16The name 'Rush' would coincide with Ottawa's "Working Man".
Lavone Humphrey
Tuesday, February 5, 2013 at 07:54My Favorite but it cant be used thanks to Saskatchewan is Rough Riders but since it cant be used I like rush because it can incorporate the old Rough Riders Helmet Logo and style
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