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When the new AFL Gold Coast franchise announced in September last year they’d have no nickname, it left the door wide open for future suggestions. Ten months on, I thought I’d explore the topic.
At the time of that announcement, Gold Coast chairman John Witheriff commented, “During the process we received a lot of feedback from the community. One part of the process involved voting on nicknames. There was no clear favourite with the people who voted.”
Witheriff added, “Some of the world’s great sporting teams and brands are synonymous with the cities they come from. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea are just a few.”
And while that is bold, the reality is this isn’t Europe, this is Australia where everything and everyone gets a nickname.
And this is Australian Rules footy where it’s a tradition to have a nickname, be it in the AFL, VFL, SANFL, WAFL or the Woop Woop country league.
Kids love the nicknames as well as the mascots which come with them, which is always a handy merchandising avenue for clubs.
The problem back in September was the monikers which were voted on, the Marlins, Stingrays, Ironmen, Rays and Guards, simply were uninventive and average, and basically not popular as they didn’t capture the public’s imagination.
But Witheriff did also say, “We will be the Gold Coast, GC or whatever the fans choose to call us. Nicknames evolve over time.” So indeed the door is wide open for future suggestions despite the initial Gold Coast FC branding.
But from those original monikers suggested by the Gold Coast it seems they are after something which identifies with the region and it’s people. And obviously they’ve chased something with that ocean or beach theme and that’s probably the big key prerequisite for Witheriff and co.
Back in September, Witheriff also commented, “We wanted something unique in the AFL and this has never before been done in the league.” And while Gold Coast FC is unique, perhaps an original nickname is essentially what he’d prefer.
Of course, there are the typical nickname requirements too, of being something threatening or powerful, for example the Brisbane Lions rather than the Brisbane Kittens. Also you want something catchy, which rolls off the tongue.
So I took the liberty to explore some Gold Coast FC online fan forums and talk to some of the dwellers on the glitter strip and hear a few suggestions.
Some of the funnier ones I heard included the Gold Coast Grommets, which if you didn’t know is a young surfer. Obviously it’s got the beach theme along with the connotation that Gold Coast’s list will be rather youthful too, in the wake of their draft priority years. But perhaps Witheriff may think not.
Another one, was the Gold Coast Grannies due to the large retired population which reside up on the Gold Coast, although that wouldn’t really instill fear into opposition sides.
There was also the Sharks (which won’t happen due to copyright issues with the Southport Sharks who play up there) as well as the Waves, which is a tad lame. The Tsunamis was another idea thrown at me, but I didn’t think it sent the right message in the wake of the Boxing Day tragedy of a few years ago.
But the best suggestion which I could come across was the Gold Coast Torpedoes.
Of course, it has the beach and ocean connotation, it is very original (I can’t think of any Australian or American franchises with the title), it’s powerful and scary (for want of a better term) and it’s marketable for merchandise and mascots.
But what I like most about it, is it has that AFL footy relation with the famous Aussie rules kicking technique, which gives the name an edge (again, for want of a better term).
But it’s all about what is popular, so what do you think?
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