First look at Houston's MLS team logo?

Remember how a naming contest is supposedly planned for Houston's MLS franchise? Well, have a look at this:

The attached photo was allegedly snapped at MLS headquarters by a bike messenger and then released on a popular message board for American soccer fans. If it's not a hoax it appears the club will be named Houston Republic F.C. with orange/gold, light blue, white and black as part of the club's new colors.

The '1836' in the shield represents the date Texas achieved independence from Mexico, which seems to be a weak attempt at creating history for the club that had created its own rich tradition for ten years in California with two MLS Cup titles in a three-year span.

Houstonist isn't one to take a photo supposedly snapped by a bike messenger as gospel, but if there's some truth to this report, it raises a very important question: Why is our soccer team going to have such a sucky logo? The locomotive in the alleged Houston Republic FC shield seems to be a stylized version of the locomotive in the City of Houston seal, but in the soccer version it seems to be floating above some water (Buffalo Bayou? Galveston Bay?). There's also what looks like a rainbow made of railroad tracks.

As for the "1836," it's also the year in which Houston was founded — but it's still an odd choice in connection with a sports team. We don't think anyone will be fooled into thinking the franchise started in 1836, although that seems to be the impression the logo tries to give.

But back to the other issue: the name. "Houston Republic FC" isn't horrible, but it does have slightly odd connotations. It's not as bland a name as FC Dallas, but it's not nearly as good as — well, as a lot of things.

Yup, a naming contest seems like a better and better idea. Now if we can just convince the management to hold a logo design contest, too ...