moose
Years ago
Not sure if this has been picked up on a previous thread but heard on the ABC news this morning that West Sydney Razorbacks are planning to change their name to Sydney Spirit. Any confirmation?
NPBHS
Years ago
Yeah it does sound like the name of a womens team. The word spirit implies that girlish nature.
Nick
Years ago
I wish they'd stop trying to accommodate kings fans and become a team for all of Sydney. kings fans aren't going to jump onborad their enemies. Besides the kings could even come back next year or a new sydney team might be made with the re-doing of the nbl teams in 09/10.
Sturty6ers
Years ago
It sounds more of a soccer name. Spirit, Glory, Honour, Righteousness, Valour etc etc....
Nick
Years ago
Amazing I know but there are still some Kings fans, and I was reffering to all 14 of them :P
they may as well call themself "spirit fingers" i'm sure that'd help them win games
skip
Years ago
They should get the jump on the AFL and beat them to the name Celtic/s.
I read an article on the weekend suggesting that is one of the favourite names for the new Sydney AFL team.
Beantown
Years ago
Heard the same thing too Skip. I'd love to see the NBL screw the AFL by nicking the Celtics name!
Just wondering if anyone has any idea why people in West Sydney might like the Celtics name? Lot of Scots and Irish out there?
I'd like to see West Sydney really move west too. No point trying to build a reliable customer base with the fickle inner Sydney crowd. There is just way too much competition for their entertainment dollars.
I reckon they'd have more success trying to build a core supporter base in the outer suburbs, especially if they make a big effort to get involved in local communities, encourage young kids to play ball and keep prices cheap for families to get to the games.
Qlder
Years ago
They wont get Celtics.That's why T'ville are Crocs now not the originally named Suns,because Phoenix was going to sue them.
skip
Years ago
I think the AFL reasoning behind it is
1) The irish connection. There are currently 9 Irish players listed in AFL squads and we obviously play them in the International series too.
2) The name shares a lot of success. Boston Celtics, Glasow Celtic, etc.
3) The colours arent being used.
twenty four
Years ago
The AFL are considering it because the Gaelic Athletic Assoc have put the idea to them. They want to be part of the AFL, and the team would bring in some more Irish players and it would supposedly open up a new TV audience for the AFL in the UK.
Not really just a superficial idea, there is some reasoning behind it. Which I doubt the NBL could say they have.
Qlder, I highly doubt Boston could do anything about the name Celtic(s). It's more of a term, not just a catchy nickname. The Scottish Soccer team have used it for much longer than them anyway.
Black Dracula
Years ago
Sydney Spirit...heh.
What would be truly hilarious is if they called themselves 'Sydney Pride' hahha...
Jordan
Years ago
Sydney Spirit?? Jeez, I dunno ...
Surely there is a risk that this will not only fail to entice ex-Kings fans fail to jump aboard, but upset/alienate existing razors fans aswell? Very risky.
And on the AFL bit, I can see how those reasons for celtics make sense, but surely u'd want a name that the local community can embrace?? Not much good if they're fan base is in the UK and they only get 5000 to home games!
"Not much good if they're fan base is in the UK and they only get 5000 to home games!"
Maybe not intially any good for the new Sydney team, but for the AFL in would be a massive breakthrough. And I'm pretty certain the AFL would be quick to provide any financial assistance that a new Sydney team might if that were the case.
sydsixersfan
Years ago
So what will the mascot be??? A bottle of vodka??
Big Marty
Years ago
Oh well... the name change is official. Let the bollocking begin.
Apollo86
Years ago
Well done to West Sydney for taking a positive step for basketball - can't imagine Port Power doing the same in the AFL if the Crows fell over!!!
However the name - Sydney Spirit - pretty limp!!!! Locally in SA -Sabres, Bearcats, Flames all are imposing names. Hell even the old Sydney Supersonics name was better. At least the Sixers have a link to our state's heritage ( ahh perhaps the Sydney Convicts - could have the basketball on a chain round their leg as an emblem.!!!!) Rum rebellion - spirit???
Seriuosly the NBL needs a good presence in Sydney - who would have thought both the Bullets and Kings would go. Sad day for the NBL.
Does anyone recall the Nunawading Spectres getting some grief on a tour of the US as their Spectre emblem was misinterpreted as something to do with the KKK and not a ghost?
???
Years ago
THAT tag belonged to the Bruce Palmer led North Melbourne Giants!
Giacontigers
Years ago
The biggest issues about West Sydney is that they never played in West Sydney?
If the NBL got the Razorbacks location right then they would be still around. The whole name change to Sydney Spirit was a terrible idea to begin with.
I really do hope the West Sydney Razorbacks come back into the league soon. Start a 3,000 to 5,000 stadium in West Sydney rather then the Harbour city which has no relevance to West Sydney.
^^^^
Exactly, the with the giants afl, started in Blacktown and moved east. If the afl dollars weren't there there’d be gone.
West Sydney has a lot going for it, there's 3 million people out there, majority of very good people, yes at present it’s under a cloud of covid that was started in the eastern suburbs.
Giacontigers
Years ago
I wished the Phoenix owners could of gambled bringing back the Razorbacks. I really liked the Razorback brand, colours, mascot and what they mean as a team to West Sydney community.
Does any teams in Sydney still use the State Sports Centre?
I think the GWS Giants Netball team plays some games at the old ('Pigpen').
Spirit wrecked West Sydney, but I did watch some of their games. They had a great start to the season but sadly got bankrupt and couldn't even pay any of the players.
If they stayed as the Razorbacks they would of made some noise with their young core players like Matty Knight and Damian Martin. Then they had some good vets like Jason Smith, Julian Khazzouh, Anthony Petrie, Liam Rush and Rhys Carter. Sad we lost many of them midway through the season. They definitely would of made finals if we could’ve kept them all, but the name change wrecked the teams identity.
Giacontigers
Years ago
I watched a few of Spirit's games online. They had a solid team and were in the top-6 for most of the season. Blagoj Janev was a great local pickup when they lost many of their players. Blagoj’s first game against the Breakers was solid.
Nachos95
Years ago
Wow it's been 13 years since West Sydney changed their name to Spirit.
Kings never wanted to support a team that was already West Sydney. If they stayed as the Razorbacks they would of existed a bit longer. With their high population now in West Sydney it could work. The Razorbacks, Kings games were hot tickets at the Dome.
Kings v razorbacks was one of the best if not the best grand finals series ever.
West Sydney will have a team once covid is over. But don't get your hopes up that the new owners will go with Razorbacks?
Since LV has taken over the league he has only brought back the Brisbane Bullets. Changed the iconic Melbourne Tigers to a soccer team name United, had a chance to bring back Magic or Dragons but decided to go with a new franchise. Then the NBL couldn’t even get Devils naming rights. JackJumpers sounds so wrong for a club.
LV doesn’t give a dam of the past teams. He almost got rid of the Illawarra Hawks to just "The Hawks."
If any past NBL teams come back like the Cannons, Falcons, Crocodiles, Razorbacks I will be shocked. The league keeps moving on.
Giacontigers
Years ago
I read one of the first articles when the NBL were talking about having a ninth team in the league. They mentioned that the NBL wanted to have 3 Victorian teams. It sounds crazy but it was mentioned.
Wouldn't mind if Larry could resurrect the Tigers and give their history back from United. United v Tigers would be the biggest Rivalry in Melbourne.
Phoenix v United is getting better, but they play each other too often which is becoming a problem. Great semifinals series last season though. 3 times a season would be enough.
NBL needs enough teams to make sure every team plays each other 3 times a season. Make the Cup separate competition.
KET
Years ago
Three vic clubs makes sense if we are talking 12 team league
Giacontigers
Years ago
Who would be the 11th franchise?
Canberra, Newcastle, Wellington I can only think of. West Sydney Razorbacks would be a smart choice.
Be good if the Breakers could change to Auckland. No need for New Zealand when Wellington join. Auckland Breakers has a nice ring to it.
I heard Auckland is one of the most expensive cities to live in the world.
Be good if they could bring back a franchise in Newcastle. There's a high participation rate of basketball there. The woman’s program are getting great players from there. Surely the new stadium will be good enough for a new NBL franchise.
You would think they would bring back the Hunter Pirates. It covers the whole Hunter region. Even though Newcastle Falcons would be the right choice, but seriously the new NBL owners won’t go with Falcons. Small area and Falcons is already taken by the English rugby team which are also called the Newcastle Falcons.
Pirates didn’t have much of a chance while in the league, because the NBL owner then Rick Burton was so determined to have a team in Singapore. We all know how they turned out?
The Pirates first season was terrible, but their next two seasons were good, making the playoffs and having import who won the NBL’s MVP, that was impressive. If Pirates stayed around they would of made the playoffs again, because nearly all of the Slingers players were from Hunter. The Singapore idea was way too early. Now with the NBL being one of the most exciting leagues around the world. You would think the Singaporeans would be more appreciated having a strong team. Rather then average NBL players which Singaporeans had no clue who they were. Would of been better if ABA was made in 2006 so then Singapore could focus on their players development. Say after covid and the ABL being around since 2006. They would have more players at a stage to play NBL level. Then just mix other players full of the best players from Asia. Singapore is a good city to live in. Players would like to play in Singapore. Sad it never worked out but again way too early!
KET
Years ago
Making playoffs doesn't mean anything if you don’t have the crowds sponsors investment etc.
What was that like?
I know the the Slingers had 6,000 or more at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in some of their bigger games.
2009 they had preseason game against a Filipino team. It was on a Sunday which the Filipino's have their day off. Most are workers as maids there.
They had a crowd of 10,000 since Filipino’s love their basketball. Philippines would be a smarter choice but the travel wouldn’t make sense. Unless they play all home games then play in Australia for the second half of the season. That’s what the Slingers should of done to safe Monday on travel.
Dave Marshall
Years ago
Let's just say the Pirates didn't have very much cash in the bank to live on while they built up a good relationship with sponsors and fans.
The ABL was actually created after the Slingers exited the NBL to give them somewhere to play where they wouldn't rack up so many frequent flyer miles.
Nachos95
Years ago
Sponsors killed the Hunter Pirates. They couldn't find a major sponsor and Singapore was almost the same. Only differences is that Singapore still exist. Air Asia and CLSA were the Slingers big sponsors.
Perthworld
Years ago
I know the the Slingers had 6,000 or more at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in some of their bigger games.
Nachos95
Years ago
That explains it.
Singapore would of been better experiment in the near future. After covid is gone. Could be 3 to 5 years from now.
Pretty sure the Spirit hold the record for 900 to an NBL game.
Why not consolidate the current league instead of expansion. Hawks lucky to survive, only because money got pumped in and brought in BG. And can't keep chopping and changing teams in Melbourne, start to support a new team then they're either gone or some bastardised new team starts. And why did Kings fold? Sure they had the shonky Firepower owner, but for a huge city, attendance was pitiful in comparison. And for all the nostalgia of Falcons, Cannons etc, bums on seats matter unless you have an incredibly rich owner that knows they're going to lose money and won't have creditors already knocking on doors.
Just wait till the NBA player/owners work out what they've gotten themselves in to and work out their new toy isn't like a luxury yacht, just money pits.
Don't forget the Brisbane Bullets. Their main sponsor was ABC learning which also got broke during the Financial crisis. Crazy to think two powerhouse clubs couldn’t compete in the next season. Bullets were reigning champions (2007). Then Sydney had 27-3 record in 2008.
League was an absolute mess during that time. Even though I was a club supporter at that time. I did like the league having 13 teams.
I could see what the league was visioning. Lots of mini rivalry’s in that season.
Crocodiles v Taipans
Blaze v Bullets
Kings v Razorbacks
Dragons v Tigers
Adelaide v Perth
New Zealand v Singapore
Wollongong v Kings/Razorbacks
It was the worse time having the Financial crisis.
Gold Coast Blaze only got to verse Brisbane for one season before going broke. There was definitely a rivalry between those teams.
Homicide from Townsville had some good games against Gold Coast. Was a funny game when Homicide got fired up.
proud
Years ago
I think we have some areas for expansion and as much as I like the idea of Geelong, Canberra or even bringing back the Tigers, I like the idea of somehow having a North West Melbourne Giants team that can play some matches in Melbourne but also in Bendigo and Ballarat. It would be great seeing South East playing North West and really trying to get their own supporter base.
As for West Sydney or Newcastle, we should make it happen once we have the infrastructure in place then seek out more sponsors and owners.
I understand that we should hold back from adding new teams but we also need to strike whilst the NBL is hot, we need more (stupid) NBA players that both put their money into the league and that can help bring in the best talent they can and if they want a new toy then hopefully the work they have done in the community can mean there are buyers out there.
The talk of having duds on the bench isn't something I believe in, when we lose talent such as Luke Jackson, Hugh Greenwood and Bradtke to the AFL as opposed to having more roster spots with more salary cap to attract those basketball juniors.
The duluting of talent is a concern but at the same time, would Deng Adel have delivered what he did last season for the Hawks as he could have for the LaMelo Ball and Sunday Dech Hawks that were dreadful and he would have seen far more consistent court time.
Interesting Northwest Melbourne Giants could work in Victoria. Silly name which is too long like Phoenix, should be Magic.
Phoenix should of gone with Southeast Phoenix (two words) and Northwest Giants (two words).
Nachos95
Years ago
NBL has to consider bringing back at least one franchise back.
Newcastle Falcons/Hunter Pirates, Canberra Cannons, West Sydney Razorbacks, Geelong Cats, Gold Coast Blaze.
KET
Years ago
Geelong (super)cats in some sort of alliance with the AFL side or the AFL side part of an ownership consortium would be good.
The others don't seem viable. NSW is a nightmare for sports - they just don’t show up. Kings have probably captured much of the potential crowds in nsw as it is. They have the benefit of a whole swarthe of Sydney - west Sydney market has been captured on that. Outside of Sydney you’re not going to get people to games in Newcastle.
Canberra questionable - don’t really know what it’s like there these days. Is the infra there? Crowd potential?
Gold Coast forget about it.
Second NZ team would be the best option IMO.
No to a second WA team.
Second WA team could work. WA people love sports in general. Don't worry they will still show up even if it isn’t the Wildcats.
Brisbane should play more games down the freeway. See how many people will show up. I liked when Melbourne United played at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. They didn’t play there last season.
I never really liked the Supercats brand. Would be better if Geelong Football Club could work with the NBL. Geelong Cats would be much better.
If Newcastle's new stadium is good. NBL should consider having an NBL team back in the Hunter Valley.
Why? It has failed so many times. A stadium makes no difference to the lack of support.
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