At least St. Louis’s MLS expansion team didn’t copy the naming traditions of its early 20th-century predecessors, who excelled in the U.S. Open Cup and produced numerous U.S. national team players while taking their club names from local department stores, breweries and funeral homes.
Instead, the new club—which will take the field in 2023—followed the current and apparently inescapable trend of giving American soccer teams derivative, European/British-style names. St. Louis City SC on Thursday became the fourth “City” in MLS—although Kansas City and New York City do have the word in their proper names—falling into line with all the other FCs/SCs, Uniteds (and one Real) in a league full of branding copycats.