Red Bull New York. New York Red Bulls. New York/New Jersey Red Bulls. New Jersey Red Bulls of New York. "There's no law forcing them to put NJ in the name" "Zoffinger's agitating for state legislation." "Screw you, George Zoffinger"

Plus ca change...

The whole affair, the spectacle of getting-attention-for-all-the-wrong-reasons is just so, so, so, so typical of this franchise.

I have to be honest - the sudden flare-up of enmity at George Zoffinger and the NJSEA resonates very little with me. I couldn't care less. It's not like anyone's suddenly finding out Zoffinger is a nitwit, a double-dealer, or a vampire who lives on the blood of tenants like the Metro. That's always been the case and will be as long as we're under his thumb. While I've got no love for him, if anything, I think Jerseyites fighting to have their state represented is proper and just (the problem, of course, is that this isn't a grassroot Jerseyite movement - this is a guy trying to make political hay). Regardless, message boarders sniping about a "state inferiority complex," and how NJ ought to just shut up and be "NY" are wrong. Every argument I've read about "New Yorkers coming to games and spending money," as if that was good enough, has proven extremely flimsy. This is about more than a few tax dollars. The cause is just, even if the guy pushing it is a leech.

That said, lets say the Jersey contingent wins. What then? New York/New Jersey Red Bulls is a stupid, clunky name. As is every jarring permutation you could come up with.

But then, so is anything with "Red Bulls" in it, anyway.