Meet Houston 1836

Well, it's official: Houston's new soccer team will be called Houston 1836. The name was one of 13 choices in a "Name the Team" sweepstakes held earlier this year, but it's not clear whether Houston 1836 won the public vote.

1836, as well-informed Houstonist readers know, was the year the Allen brothers founded Houston on the banks of Buffalo Bayou. But the historical reference seems to be eluding many people, as the Chronicle noted today:

Eighteen-year-old Luis Gonzalez, a student at the University of Houston-Downtown campus and a fan of Mexican First Division team Chivas de Guadalajara, was skeptical when first confronted with the name Tuesday evening while at Kicks, an indoor soccer facility near downtown Houston.

After a long pause, Gonzalez was a bit puzzled.

"Where does it come from?" he asked.

[ ... ]

After a briefing, Gonzalez seemed sold on it.

"It sounds good," he said. "Once you know what it means, there's a meaning to it. It's got the number thing going. I'd go for that."

The concept of naming teams after years is popular in Europe, where they actually mean something (for example, Hanover 96, which refers to the club's founding date, 1896). Houstonist isn't going to deny that 1836 isn't a significant date in Houston's history, but it has very little to do with an MLS team, doesn't it? And it's apparently going to take a while to get people on board with the name. As Mike Hensley, who manages the KICKS indoor soccer facility in Houston, told the Chronicle: "I think once the why and the root of the name is explained, people will be excited about it." Perhaps a brief pre-game history video will be in order.

(Beyond that, as one Houstonist reader said, "'1836' has to be possibly one of the least cheerable names they could have picked. How are you supposed get excited when it takes so long to pronounce?")

The official naming announcement will be at 2 p.m. today at the Lanier Middle School auditorium, 2600 Woodhead, after which we hope to get a bigger version of the team logo. Houston 1836 will begin its season April 1. In the meantime, you can take a poll and see opinions on the name at BigSoccer.

Update: MLS reports this afternoon that the team's official colors are Raven Black, Space City Blue and Wildcatter Orange (sorta reminds us of the Texans' colors: Steel Blue, Battle Red and Liberty White). The 36ers' logo is a black star outlined in orange — excuse us, a Raven Black star outlined in Wildcatter Orange — with the team's name across the middle, a silhouette of Enrico Cerracchio's Sam Houston statue in Hermann Park above and a soccer ball and some Western filigree crap below. Space City Blue (which is reminiscent of the Oilers' baby blue) doesn't make an appearance in the logo, but an unloved, unnamed white does. Overall, it's far better than this, which turned out to be a fake. If you're diggin' on Houston 1836, order your team gear here.