San Diego’s new MLS team could have awesome name

What’s in a name? If the City of San Diego has its way, the new MLS expansion team they’re hoping for will have a unique name.

The backers of a plan to bring an MLS expansion team to San Diego have been trying to get the city pumped up for a signature gathering campaign to open the door not only for a team, but a dual use soccer and college football stadium on the former Qualcomm Stadium site. Fans were asked to submit names for the new team in a vote on Facebook, and after three rounds the leaders were gathered and sent out in a fourth round of voting.

As of this writing, in third place there are the San Diego Bad Hombres, followed by the San Diego Surf, but the team name with the most votes and a healthy 400-point lead is Footy McFooty Face.

Well, they did open it up to the public to come up with names, so…. The San Diego Footy McFooty Face.

Voting is still open. This name needs to happen.

It’s not outlandish to think of an MLS expansion team coming to San Diego. The indoor soccer team, the San Diego Soccers, is a perennial powerhouse in its league and the San Diego Surf youth club soccer program is one of the most elite programs in the country, churning out prep and college standouts every year. There’s also San Diego’s proximity to Tijuana, and the Tijuana Xolos are covered regularly on San Diego news because there is such a large fanbase in the region.

So when the Chargers left town, there was a big question about the future of the Qualcomm Stadium site. San Diego State Football needs a home, as does the annual Holiday Bowl. Former Padres owner John Moores had proposed a deal with San Diego State to make the site an extension of SDSU’s campus, with a stadium for Aztec Football, the Holiday Bowl, and an MLS team.

That plan has gone by the wayside as the proponents of San Diego Soccer City have proposed a new soccer stadium to be shared with the Aztecs, and a multi-use entertainment and residential district. They also want to include a park with space set aside to build a new stadium should San Diego get another NFL team in the near future.

Next: This week in US Soccer: USMNT roster announced

Logistics aside, the real news here is that San Diego wants an MLS expansion team called Footy McFooty Face. And that’s kind of awesome.