A month or two ago, HBO Real Sports ran a cool segment on the Seattle Sounders of the MLS (clip above). If you're like most Oklahomans and not familiar with the franchise, you should be. They win games, sell out their stadium, and the fans cheer and chant like they're European hooligans. Plus, they get to vote every four years on whether the team retains its general manager. Can you imagine Sam Presti making one of 10 worst trades in NBA history if he had to answer to the fans? I don't think so.
When I watched the segment, the first thing that popped in my mind was that we need an expansion team like the Sounders for Oklahoma City. I think it would be a perfect fit. OKC is a sports town with loyal fans and plenty of places to build a stadium (would you rather have an outdoor soccer stadium as part of MAPS III ,or a boring convention center for no one). Also, we'd have a natural rivalry with Seattle. If we ever get a team, we should name them the Sonics.
Anyway, I'm not the only one who thinks professional soccer in OKC makes sense. Earlier this year, some group called Prodigal LLC announced they were bringing soccer to Oklahoma City this spring. Today, potential team names and logos were leaked for the new expansion franchise.
Via NewsOK:
Prodigal Soccer has moved a step closer to naming its USL PRO soccer franchise.
Prodigal, which will field the USL team starting this spring, filed five logos and team names with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.