If people are embarrassed by the Bradford connection I'd suggest it's they who need to change, not the name of the club.

Why? Because we can see the realities of the state that this once proud city has degenerated to?
If you are happy to be associated with how things are then that's fine but i want better than that.

There is much truth there.

Major sponsors, in the national sense, don't have the same perception as locals anyway, nor do they read the T&A. Any business worth its salt will look at any prospective new area, see what's missing, and see an opportunity [inot[/i a reason to disengage and that attitude is likely to be one of the biggest reasons they became successful in the first place.

Some of the emotive nonsense in here about how Bradford is so much worse than everywhere else is laughable to anyone who moves around the country and keeps their eyes open. Sure Bradford has problems; so does [ievery[/i large urban area, have a wander round Gipton, Belle Isle (what a misnomer, beautiful island, indeed) or Osmandthorpe all in that area, slightly to the east, that people have a "much better perception" of.

The one probably 'unique' problem is the stalled shopping centre in the city centre, that apart we are little different from other similarly sized areas in the south, London, midlands or north; all have boarded up shops, beggars in the streets, massive drug crime figures, 'dodgy' red light areas, unemployment, poverty and deprivation. We are not alone.

Well said.

Most of the negativity and bitterness in Bradford seems to be 'internal' and based on divisions (perceived or otherwise) of race and class.

Yes, I agree. Though it's not been articulated there does seem to be a slight 'whiff' in the air.

Okay so after reading through 4 pages of this here goes.

1. There are a lot of people who are obviously unhappy about Bradford, I am probably one of them. To be honest I hate the place, it's a dump, full of immigrants and atm is a shi*hole.

2. However I am proud of my Bradford roots even at 16 years old the name 'Bradford Bulls' is the one I grew up with. Most of you will remember 'Bradford Northern'. And at 16 years old even I know that Bradford needs something to revitalise the place. Why can't that be a successful rugby (and football) teams?

3. Which brings me to point 3. If we can all get behind our local football and rugby teams. They might actually start to get better. I mean 10,000 a game is great but lets all try push for outstanding and get 15,000-20,000 a game. In both sports? Let's give Bradford something to shout about! So I hope that they both get together and have a season ticket for £250 which allows you into ALL City and Bulls home games.

Find another team then. Seriously. This one represents Bradford, as was stated above the door when you came in.

maybe a fair point for those with an interest in attending both sports. as long as the joint ticket is an extra option and you dont expect those of us with no interest in bradford city to fork out nearly twice as much for a bulls season ticket.

Yes I meant as a joint venture for people interested in both mate. I obv don't expect Bulls Fans to pay so much if all they are going to see is the Bulls.

No it's not. If it were, why would that be a problem?

Bradford city centre may be a dump compared with many neighbouring towns and cities but it's not as if it's the only city in the country to have fallen on hard times.

I'd be against changing the name. The club is one of the good things about the city and as a Bradfordian I would say losing the "Bradford" part of the name would be like selling out and betraying my city when it's having a tough time. If others are comfortable with that then I'm shocked.

Because Tigertot, if you look at the Bulls crowd, there are very very little Asian/Eastern European fans if any so we need to try tap into them and try make them come watch the Bulls. It kills around 3 birds with one one stone. It improves crowds, gets another race/ethnicity involved in rugby league and ultimatley may make Bradford a better place.

I remember discussing this in about 2007/2008ish.

I don't come from Bradford and don't have any particular loyalty to the city so therefore I don't have any emotional ties to the name Bradford.

However... I would hate to see the club changing it's name for anything as cynical as a marketing ploy. The club were Bradford when I started watching them... it's not like I thought 'oh, I'll just ignore the Bradford bit...' or they mis-represented themselves! By all means focus on the Bulls part because it is very marketable and synonymous with the success we had, but... unlike Wigan (who had that remarkable spell of success) or even Leeds (who talked the talk despite not really walking the walk until they became 'Rhino's'), I don't think the 'Bradford' part sells itself in the Rugby League and especially the none RL world in the same way.

To be honest, you can't judge a city on what the local rag says - like all papers they tend to highlight the negative and, being a local paper their focus is purely on the city! Being an outsider and not a reader of the T&A (except the sports page on the website) the image I have of the city is of an incompetent council rather than a city that's any better of worse than any other. You have to remember that both new shopping precincts in Leeds were put on hold including one that, like Bradfords, had already started but unlike yours it at least looked like it was under way rather than being the now infamous hole so didn't get the bad press. Wakie also has the same situation I believe. I don't know whether Bradford will ever rid itself of the image it gained due to it's large Asian community and 1980's standups but it's up to the City to portray it as a negative thing and the club to exploit this largely untapped fanbase.

Lose the Bradford and, as has been mentioned, you leave yourself open to re-location. But the same could be said even if you keep the name if someone's wallet was big enough. You lose the sense of identity that makes local rivalries what they are. You lose the positives that a successful team can bring to a city. I know there are those on here who think the council should do more for the club but, to be honest, that's not what it's there for. Like any politician or political body I would fully expect them to jump on the back of any success but there job is running the city, not a privately owned sports club (in the same way the Leeds Council refused to loan LUFC money to buy back Elland Road)

Being from Bradford, i feel very strongly about keeping the name. The club represents Bradford in a positive light, and i would be disappointed if the 'Bradford' tag was dropped. The main argument with being against the Bradford name is that it connects us with a run down city with poor counseling etc. However, we are not the only club with a team in a city that has hit hard times. I would mention some but wouldn't want to offend. If we call ourselves Northern Bulls, this does nothing but cement Bradford's place as a second rate city, when infact by keeping the Bradford tag we can highlight the positives that Bradford has to offer and with Economic look and better political initiatives we can see Bradford vibrant again (Hopefully). I am sure the Non-Bradfordians here can accept the view that most of us Bradfordians have with our club and city, however poor both might be at the moment, long may that not continue!

Bradford's Bouncing Back, is it not?