Last week it was Oklahoma City of USL PRO, a couple weeks before that it was also Oklahoma City FC of the NASL, and this week it's Sacramento Republic FC.
Oh, you hadn't heard? That's the official team name of the newest lower-division soccer team — this one, in the California capital — as announced on Thursday night during a friendly between Premier League side Norwich City and Dorados de Sinaloa.
There are five things a newborn soccer team must have to be considered official and taken serious these days: a name (check); a crest (check); a fanbase (check); stadium (nearing checked); and a catchy-tuned song that will leaving you humming to yourself the rest of the day (check, see above video).
Sacramento, you are now officially on my radar.
For a cool breakdown of the different parts that went into creating the team's crest, check out this page on their official website.
Falling in line with the recent trend of upstart clubs showing interest in one day reaching Major League Soccer franchise status, MLS president and deputy commissioner Mark Abbott recently spoke to The Sacramento Bee in regards to Sacramento's MLS ambitions.
"We are aware of recent community interest in securing a future MLS expansion club for Sacramento," Abbott told The Bee via e-mail. "This serves as yet another strong indicator of the league's continued growth and overall fan interest in our sport. Sacramento has always had strong support for soccer at all levels, and we will certainly monitor the USL PRO team and the plans to build a soccer stadium."
In other words: Get your stadium done, get through your first season, amass a season-ticket holder base into the fives of thousands within a couple years and put a winning product on the field. Oh yeah, that last one is on you, Preki.
