A Chance for a Rebrand

With the announcement of the return of the XFL in 2023 after being bought by the Rock and others. It is not known if the XFL will keep the 8 teams they had before the Covid shutdown in 2020. 7 of the cities have NFL teams and only one city doesn’t have an NFL team. So I have decided to take this plan to the next level for the next year of the XFL. Every other professional sports league in North America has a minor league system whether it is the Minors in MLB, the AHL, ECHL, and CHL in NHL, the D league in NBA, or tier 2 in MLS. See where I’m going with this? The NFL had NFL Europe however they cut it off after 16 years. NFL Europe had teams in North America under the World League of American Football or WLAF. I decided to make the XFL similar to what NFL Europe or WLAF was. That of a minor league system to the NFL. I have 32 cities with team names and parent organizations or in other words NFL teams. The key part of this is that all cities are US-based cities, not International cities such as Toronto or London. I have also checked the metropolitan population of each city to make sure that they are at least the size of Green Bay. Without further ado, here are my picks for XFL teams and their NFL parent team

1. The San Diego Sharks NFL Team the Chargers. Ok, ok, look. I know I hated that the Chargers moved out of San Diego too so having them as the parent team may look bad on the part of the Chargers, but San Diego would get a football team again. The name comes from the sharks off the beaches.

2. San Jose Sabercats NFL Team the 49ers. This pairing makes all the sense in the world to me. The 9ers are based out of San Clara which is part of the San Jose area. It would also have made sense to put this team in Oakland, but I think the Raiders salted the earth there. The Sabercats' name comes from an AFL team that was once there so merchandise would be easier copyrights however could be tough.

3. Saint Louis BattleHawks NFL Team the Chicago Bears. Look I’m from the other big city in Missouri and I know that the STL had its heart ripped out when the Rams moved. Chicago is as close as Kansas City and with a city later on the list you will see why da Bears have Saint Louis rather than Chiefs Kingdom. The name is the same as the XFL team we saw the last season of play bc it's a kick-ass name, to begin with, and the city embraced the team and the team name.

4. San Antonio Defenders NFL Team the Houston Texans. Football is a religion in Texas which is why this is the first of 3 teams I have from Texas. The name was a no-brainer due to the history of the Alamo and the stand that was made by the defenders. Houston isn’t closer to San Antonio than Dallas but don't cry for the boys because...

5. Austin Marshals NFL Team the Dallas Cowboys. Fitting with the wild west theme of Dallas we have from the neighbors to the west the Marshals laying down the law. Austin is the capital of Texas and has a big football following that you may have heard of the Texas Longhorns based in Austin Texas.

6. Sacramento Surge NFL Team the Los Angeles Rams. The name is from the old WLAF team the city had in the 90s. The city already has a basketball team even though the team shouldn't have moved there in the first place and the A’s are looking to move there so why not add a football team. I chose the Rams because they were the last team in California. I don’t have much to say about the pairing.

7. Portland Lumberjacks NFL Team the Seattle Seahawks. I’m still surprised that only the NBA and MLS are in Portland. It's about the size of Kansas City. The name came down to what is in Portland and well I ripped off an idea from the soccer team there, the Timbers. The Pacific Northwest is in my opinion an untapped area for sports teams so why not have the only other team in the area support them?

8. Boise Mustangs NFL Team the Denver Broncos. Idaho is a smaller area for a sports team, but except for the Steelheads in the ECHL, there are no professional sports teams from Idaho. The name comes from Boise State, the Broncos.

9. Salt Lake City Pioneers NFL Team the Las Vegas Raiders. How does SLC only have an MLS team?! They’re the same size as KC, granted the KC Metro is bigger than SLC’s metro. The name is based on the Mormons who moved to Utah. The Raiders moving to Vegas was the reason why Denver lost out on Salt Lake. Las Vegas is just barely closer by 9 miles.

10. Oklahoma City Bison NFL Team the Pittsburgh Steelers. Oklahoma City, like a lot of cities on this list, has untapped potential with only the Thunder being in the market. I don't have much for this pairing of city and NFL teams, as well as the next three as the major cities without major teams, were farther west than the NFL teams were. I chose Bison for the thundering herds that passed over Oklahoma.

11. Des Moines Reapers NFL Team the Philadelphia Eagles. I guess Wilkes Barre-Scranton could host a team, but their combined population is 18% of the total metro population of Des Moines so in this case, size does matter. I chose the name Reapers because of the farmland in Iowa and the reapers that gather grains, not the one dressed in a robe although that could be cool too.

12. Arkansas Rattlers NFL Team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. My first thought was to give Tampa Bay a team called the Macho Men or the Savages in honor of Macho Man Randy Savage and have the team based out of his home city of Sarasota. However, because we can’t have nice things in life I chose an area except for minor league baseball and some college teams. Arkansas has not had a lot of sports teams period. plus the south is a big market that is not that well tapped into besides the big four cities New Orleans, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Miami. No, I don’t count Texas in that grouping because they are their own thing. As for the name Rattlers or Copperheads, it depends on which sounds cooler there are a lot of water snakes in Arkansas.

13. El Paso Bulls NFL Team the Indianapolis Colts. Poor Colts I could not find a team close enough for them so they won the lottery out of the four teams without a city close to being put in the holy land of football. El Paso is a major Texas city built on farming and mining with a fighting spirit. And what better to show this spirit than the Bull.

14. Omaha Cyclones NFL Team the Minnesota Vikings are back on track now with a region begging for more than the Storm Chasers who are the Royals Minor league team. Minnesota may be the 2nd favorite team in the area behind the Huskers of Lincoln Nebraska who are by far the favorite and have sold out every home game for the past 56 years. There are a lot of Tornadoes in Nebraska that would only be fitting to name the team after that.

15. Wichita Warhawks NFL Team the Kansas City Chief. When I decided to do this project this was the first pairing I made, Wichita is to Kansas City like New Jersey is to New York. Wichita is the little brother and rival to any team that Kansas City has in the same league as them. The team name is as close as I could think to get to the Chief's name without an Indian Tribe name. The logo could be depicted as a hawk or similar to the Utah Utes logo, but I’m getting ahead of myself with that.

16. Milwaukee North Stars NFL Team the Green Bay Packers. In the same state, both are small markets but both turn out to support their teams. The perfect match for the XFL smaller market with no other football other than the NFL Sponsor in the area. The Team name is based on the former Minnesota North Stars hockey team in the NHL.

17. Jackson Devils NFL Team the New Orleans Saints. The light and the dark both must exist in this world, kinda poetic that way isn’t it. Mississippi has no Pro Sports team and this would be a great entry point for the state to prove itself. I could have gone with an animal, but it just seemed too good to pass up on this connection. It is a match made in both heaven and hell.

18. Rochester Bulldogs NFL Team the Buffalo Bills. Western New York would have two teams to root for this way, one in the fall and one in the spring. Rochester is the 3rd biggest city in New York behind Buffalo. New York has one more team still to come if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. The name needed to be something dirty and gritty to suit the football field and a Bulldog is just that.

19. Columbus Glory NFL Team the Cleveland Browns. Do I have to say anything here? Two Ohio cities are separated by 275 miles. Columbus is the capital of Ohio they already have the Bluejackets from the NHL whose minor league team is in Cleveland call this returning the favor. The team name is the same as the WLAF team previously and it also sounds cool.

20. Louisville Redbirds NFL Team the Cincinnati Bengals. Only 100 miles away from each other (the same distance that Indy and Cincy are from each other) this jewel of the south has only had minor league or semi-pro teams and football beyond the collegiate level is unheard of. Louisville can prove itself to be a great sports city. The team name is based on the University of Louisville are the Cardinals.

21. Hartford Machine NFL Team Baltimore Ravens. Hartford had pro sports teams here but they moved to Carolina to become the Hurricanes. The name is based on the large part that the Industrial Revolution played in Hartford.

22. Orlando Rockets NFL Team the Jacksonville Jaguars. With only Magic and soccer to their name in sports, it is a wonder how this city does not have one of the big two (Football and Baseball). Jacksonville got this one by default as Tampa has Arkansas and Miami has the next team. The Rockets' name is based on the space center nearby. I could have gone with the Orbit, Wizards, or Gators but. I think with a good color scheme it could be pulled off.

23. Fort Lauderdale Blue Angels NFL Team the Miami Dolphins. With a Metro Population of 9 million people and nothing else in South Florida, it was easy to pick this city. Yes, the Metro is shared with Miami, but that makes it an even better pick. The Dolphins would have easy access to the team to scout players, plus any undrafted talents would want to take their talents to south beach. The name is based on the Blue Angel Corps stationed in Florida

24. Huntsville Red Wolves NFL Team the Atlanta Falcons. THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AND AUBURN! What else is there to say? Football rules in this state, while not on the level that Texas worships football, it is still a major part of the state and why not have it in the biggest city and the capital of Alabama. Atlanta would get this in my opinion, The State of Alabama and Georgia are neighbors. The name Comes from the Red Wolves that were once in the area.

25. Columbia Cannons NFL Team the Carolina Panthers. South Carolina has played second fiddle long enough they hosted the Panthers when the team began to play games and they proved to be pretty reliable. Why not put it in the Capital of South Carolina. The Panthers are right up the road from Columbia. The name is based on the many battles fought in South Carolina.

26. Memphis Steamboats NFL Team the Tennessee Titans. Let me dream, ok, Tennessee as a state may not get a second football. Memphis sits on the Tennessee-Arkansas and Tennessee-Mississippi borders while Nashville is the center of the state. The Titans played in Memphis when they first moved out of Houston. The name is based on Steamboats that floated the River or you could call them the Kings after Elvis.

27. Richmond Freedom NFL Team the Washington Football Team. This city has so much history in it much like that of DC and with these two so close to each other it would be a perfect fit. The name is based on the history of Virginia as the last major battle of the Revolutionary War was fought in Yorktown Virginia giving the Americans their Freedom.

28. Grand Rapids Renegades NFL Team the Detroit Lions. Grand Rapids is not one of the cities I want to visit, but I think it would be a perfect fit for an XFL team. They have had indoor Football teams before by the name of the Rampage which is a great name and I would love to have the Rush as a team name, but I feel that the Renegades as the name sounds better, As for why the Lions well every other team in Detroit has their minor league team in Grand Rapids and I’m not joking the Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons all have their minor league teams in Grand Rapids.

29. Providence Power NFL Team the New England Patriots. Already the NFL parent team’s reputation would lend some great talent, coaching, and scouting to this team against another city that is known for being the home of one city’s minor league teams this time it is Boston as the Bruins have the Bruins in Providence, plus Foxburgho is between Providence and Boston. I’d call them the Power for alliteration and also because the power over the Northeast holds in America.

30. New Jersey Knights NFL Team the New York Jets. sorry, Philly and Baltimore it made more sense to me to give this team to the Jets as they play in New Jersey already. New Jersey and New York Combine to hold 13 pro sports teams behind California has 19. Why not put some more in New York-New Jersey? The Team name is that of the old WLAF plus the name Knights is behind only Rebels and Law in my opinion in names that should be used by pro teams. Ok and the Bandits.

31. Albuquerque Lancers NFL Team the Arizona Cardinals. Ah yes back to the desert and with a Metropolitan population of almost 2 million people, this would be the second sports team in New Mexico that is not college. Arizona got this one based on them both being in the southwestern United States. The name sounded cool because the Spanish explorers in the 16th century in New Mexico and calling them the Cactus sounded wrong.

32. And finally Syracuse Freeze NFL Team the New York Giants. See here is the second New York team making it 3 total teams in NY and NJ. The Giants were the last team left standing in New York so they got Syracuse. Albany is just smaller and it came down to a coin toss but maybe you guys want to see Albany get this one. The team name is based on the harsh cold winters the city has and it isn’t much else I could think of that was not oh so generic there.