It must be half term.

I am not only concerned about names. The names are just a manifestation of what I think is wrong. I don't support any particular club (there are none where I live!) but I do support RL. A few weeks ago I went to the Thursday evening game Widnes v Hull (Widnes were well beaten) I joined the 3000 there in a stadium two/thirds empty, I felt I was at a funeral! I don't think the fact we have not beaten Australia in a Test series would have had impact on the attendance. But the game was being televised that evening live by Sky and for whose benefit? England (soccer) have not won the world cup since 1966 but it does not stop city, united and Liverpool et.al. having full houses most home games.

But your opening statement was this.... Names.... Brief mention of Sky..

Cruncher gave you a full and fair list of things that need addressing...

You've answered your own question as to why it's done, PR/Marketing. That along creating an individual identity. You only have look at some of the teams that have it, Leeds, Wigan, Hudds, Bradford all have recognised football clubs in the top flights whereas the likes of Saints and Wakefield don't.

These names don't seem to be an issue for the likes of NRL or NFL and other American sports. If you don't have Giants, Yankees, Mets, Rangers, Knicks, Red Bulls then whats to make those sporting clubs of New York individual, should they all be called New York and nothing else.

Small point - When we went to Superleague, Sky insisted all clubs had such a name and all founder SL clubs did.
Bradford Bulls
Castleford Tigers
Halifax Blue Sox
Leeds Rhinos
London Broncos
Oldham Bears
Paris St German
Sheffield Eagles
St Helens Saints
Warrington Wolves
Wigan Warriors
Workington Town

Wakefield Trinity also added WILDCATS to their name so I’m not sure why you think some clubs don’t have it, my understanding is that they do!

I'm not sure what this response is supposed to mean, or who it's aimed at. I neither said nor implied that I wanted any of this.

But from your contributions in general, your main quibble seems to be with Sky. Well, you won't get an argument from me on that. I think they're doing a terrible job.

Not posted on here for about 6 months but i will break my sabbatical for the sake of this post. Harlequin, if you would like a reasoned debate about a certain subject then you need to post about it rather than witter on about team names etc. FWIW i hate the Americanization (is that a word?) of the clubs nicknames but it is what it is. You are dealing with (some) educated and sensible people here, If you want a discussion about something may i suggest you introduce yourself and then start firing questions out in a proper manner.

Dear BRW, although that might be the case at the onset of SL you will find Halifax, St.Helens and Oldham have dropped their disneyfied suffixes. St.German is a district of Paris and Workington Town is their original name.

Have you got any genuine point to make or are u just intent on posting for posting sake? I’ll not be responding to this pointless thread any more, enjoy your sport.

The user who started a thread about glorified Disney names, and has a username that isn't his own name.

How ironic.

As The Printer and others pointed out the American style nicknames were (and are) a marketing tool some worked, some didn't. St Helens never had one as they have always been the Saints anyway. Paris St Germain was the brand in itself due to association (whether or not the two clubs were actually linked) with the soccer club of the same name so a soubriquet would be pointless. Halifax's choice of name was appalling and was universally hated so having failed in its purpose was dropped. Oldham Bears went bust and a new phoenix club was formed called Oldham Roughyeds (the historic nickname) IIRC that club also went bust or close to it hence now being Oldham RLFC, it isn't (technically) the same club. Hull dropped their (also disliked just as with Halifax Blue Sox) Sharks nickname following a merger with the original Gateshead Thunder club.

Some clubs seem to have chosen well and have marketed their nicknames well like Leeds Rhinos, Bradford Bulls (the business may have been poorly run for a few years but the brand is a good one and is still very recognisable) and IMO Warrington Wolves. I don't like our nickname and always refer to the club as simply Wigan but kids seem to like the Warriors branding and the stuff that goes along with it. I do however see its usefulness in identifying and promoting our club as opposed to confusing them with the Latics.

Wakefield don't have it now. St Helen's has always been St Helens. But look at both those areas. Do they have a Wakefield Athletic or St Helens United playing in the top tiers of football, no. If they did then just St Helens and Wakefield on its own probably would need that something extra to individualise themselves.

When someone asks me if I'm a Leeds fan they're always usually referring to Leeds United. If I say I'm watching the Leeds game this weekend and they ask who the opponents are and I say St Helens or Castleford or Catalans they look confused and say oh sorry thought you were on about football. Whereas if I say I'm watching the Rhinos or I'm a Rhinos fan it gives us the individual identity away from Leeds United.

Dear CW, I did not doubt for one minute that I was dealing with sensible and educated people and who love RL. But just exactly how do I introduce myself? If you look at the Harlequin icon location it might give you a clue where I come from. The reason I focus on names is because I don't accept that we have to accept this Americanization. If only these disneyfied names were nicknames, but they are also part of their official name and most seem ludicrous. I try to imagine Man Utd changing its official name to Manchester Red Devils Utd it would not happen because of history/tradition reasons. Their fans would burn Old Trafford down first! but we in RL seem to accept this process as progress. Kind Regards.

Football doesn't need it in this country because they are the number 1 sport way ahead of RL. I've noted a number of reasons why some clubs have it and why it works for them, your argument for not having them is that you personally just don't like them....not much of an argument at all or reason to change them.

Is this fella who is asking the marketing questions about RL the new CEO in waiting (the one who's just left Everton)?