Maybe out of the frying pan, possibly into the fire

On the news that Houston 1836, Houston's new MLS franchise, may be changing its name soon: So far, Houstonist isn't convinced. KHOU reported yesterday that the team's name will be changing under pressure from local Mexican-Americans — though 1836 represents the year Houston was founded, it was also the year Texas defeated Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and won its independence from Mexico. Apparently, that so offends some Hispanics that they feel like they won't be able to support the team.

Though several people and groups criticized the name, it was County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia who began talks with Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the '36ers. And it was Garcia who said Tuesday that the name will be changed — or did she? As Garcia told KTRK yesterday:

"We had a direct conversation with the owner. He made a commitment to strongly reconsider a name change very soon," Garcia said. "It was close to (a sure thing) enough for me to feel confident that the name is going to be changed."

Garcia was more direct with the Chronicle, telling the paper that AEG "committed that they would be [changing the name]." There's a pretty big difference between "a commitment to strongly reconsider" something and a commitment to actually do it. We wonder if Garcia revised her account of her talks with AEG to try to force the company's hand? After all, county commissioners don't lie, do they? MLS spokesman Dan Courtmanche was pretty vague about the issue in an interview with Fox Sports, saying the league has had to "look closely at changing the name."

As for the team's new name, if it changes, the Chron reports "Lone Star" is a strong contender. That confuses Houstonist, too: The lone star on the Texas flag had its origins in the flags of the Long Expedition of 1819, the Austin Colony of 1821 and early flags of the Republic of Texas (the same republic that won its independence in 1836). Popular legend holds that the lone star originally represented Texas' opposition to the Mexican Constitution of 1824 — the constitution that, in large part, sparked the Texas Revolution. So doesn't the lone star represent Hispanic oppression just as much as 1836? It'll be interesting to see if Garcia approves of "Lone Star," considering she said last week that the team's new name should be "free of controversy and embraced with enthusiasm by all segments of the community."

As we watch this unfold, we can't help but agree with a San Jose Mercury News reader: "I'll take a wild guess and say that this move will turn off more fans than it generates."