Albany NLL reveals finalists for new team name

The National Lacrosse League team that recently relocated to the Albany, New York, currently known as Albany NLL, announced three finalists for its new team name: Albany Attack, Albany Black Arrows, and Albany FireWolves. The final name will be decided by fans, who can now vote for the official team name and identity at www.AlbanyNLL.com.

The team revealed it received over 1,000 submissions online. The top submitted names by fans, along with those chosen by team executives and owners, will now be put up for a fan vote to help determine the team’s name, logo, and branding ahead of its inaugural season.

Fans can vote a maximum of one time per day for their desired team name. The poll will close on Sunday, March 14 at 12 p.m. Once the voting is complete, team owners and executives will then select the final team name, and begin working on team logos, colors and other branding elements surrounding the selection. 

“After announcing that the team was relocating to the Capital Region only one week ago, receiving over 1,000 submissions for the ‘Name the Team’ contest in that short amount of time is a great sign of the support we are already receiving and of things to come,” Albany NLL President George Manias said.  “The fans submitted some great options in conjunction with our owners and executive team, and now we are down to our final three. We encourage fans to vote and pick their ideal option as we would love their input through this process.” 

The team name and identity will be revealed at an event that will be open to the public and media (New York State COVID-19 restrictions and rules will apply). The date and location of the event will be announced at a later time. 

If a name is chosen that a fan submitted, the individual who first submitted that chosen name will win a prize pack from the team, including two season tickets for the inaugural 2021-22 season, a signed team jersey, memorabilia, and an on-field recognition at the home-opening game at the Times Union Center. 

Personally, I think the Albany Attack is the best name of the bunch given its ties to Albany’s original NLL franchise and the fact that I need to see a team adopt those electric blue and navy jerseys.

That being said, I actually suggested Albany Arrows as an option if the team decided they wanted a name without ties to the New England Black Wolves or Albany Attack. Adding “black” to the name kills the alliteration and makes the name lose a bit of its luster for me, but it’s clear that ownership wants to still honor their Black Wolves roots in some capacity, so I could live with it.

As for FireWolves… well if you’ve heard any of my Waterdogs rants, you know that I hope Albany NLL avoids that name.

Which of the three final names do you like the best? Let us know in the comments or on social media.