My (?) Nets

ESPN's Seth Everett asks a very interesting questions:

"Should the upcoming Nets team be called the New York Nets or the Brooklyn Nets when they move to the Atlantic Yards?"

For me, a native Brooklynite, the answer is simple. While I understand the potential financial benefits of naming the team New York, the stigma of having the only professional team in the US named after a region of a city is too great. I mean, c'mon, everybody knows Brooklyn. There's a sense of pride and history that goes with the name. I'd automatically be more interested in rooting for the Nets just because the name gives them more of an identity.

I wouldn't go overboard and rename the team Brooklyn Gothams (a la Houston Texans), but I do think after all the political hoopla that went into bringing the Nets to Brooklyn, if it isn't named for the borough- watch for more uproar on this already controversial move.