PWHL Team Names Don't Need To Be A Nightmare When They Can Be A Night Mare

When the Northwoods League baseball organization expanded this summer to include a four-team women's softball division, it didn't take long for the excitement from players and fans to reach a fever pitch similar to what occurred in season one of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).

Unlike the PWHL, however, this particular inaugural campaign for aspiring collegiate women athletes needed only "a few months" to successfully create and market nicknames and logos in keeping with the lifestyle and culture of each of the four inaugural team cities of La Crosse and Madison, Wisconsin; Minot, North Dakota; and Mankato, Minnesota.

That's all the time frame needed to go from a blank slate to the first-year squads coming alive with what Northwoods League Softball President/Commissioner Kathryn Reynolds, in an interview with The Hockey News Women's, referred to as "remarkably quick and to the credit" of all those involved in the process.

Even the softball team in Madison -- which joined the new division a little later than the other three entrants -- was 'saddled up" and ready for first pitch in June with a rapidly produced yet highly popular Night Mares nickname and logo.

When the PWHL initially trademarked nicknames for its six teams -- Sound (New York), Wicked (Boston), Superior (Minnesota), Echo (Montreal), Alert (Ottawa) and Torch (Toronto), the news was predominately met with disfavor and calls to reconsider across social media and in the respective markets.

Reynolds said no thought was ever given to playing season one with generic names such as those used by the PWHL.

"We wanted community and social media engagement first and foremost," Reynolds said. "I can't tell you what the secret sauce was that created (the chosen names) but they came up with so many good ideas. That's why we put it out there in the communities and let them have a say."

Such was not the case in the PWHL, which chose the initial team nickname selections internally and with no fan input. The public outcry led to the league deciding to go simply with PWHL New York and so on for season one.

That will change very soon. At the PWHL draft in Minnesota back on June 10, league officials cited August as the month when the announcement of final nicknames and logos will presumably be made.

When the final choices were revealed by Northwoods League Softball, the reaction was swift and extremely positive, Reynolds emphasized.

Along with the Madison Night Mares, the other winning selections were La Crosse Steam, Minot Honeybees and Mankato Habaneros. Again, all nicknames were carefully considered based upon the area's personality, history and culture.

"Every (nickname) has some kind of nod to where the team is located; something that ties the team to its area," Reynolds explained. "North Dakota, for example, is by far the highest producing honey state in the country and thus the Minot Honeybees. The other names were created along similar types of thought."

Then, in a matter of months, the teams created their conceptual artwork and designs that lead to the branding and merchandising that had fans proudly wearing their favorite team's caps, visors, t-shirts and the like by opening day in June.

"The sales have been and continue to go extremely well. I Know in La Crosse, the merchandise sold out on opening night; and in Madison they have a really big team store and it was buzzing with people making purchases," Reynolds said.

In fact, as she traveled around the division and visited every field to watch a game or two, she was amazed with how the fans repped the merchandise and how the players loved to look up in the stands and see all the repping.

"I think overall through attendance and social media the nicknames and logos have been very well received," Reynolds said. "The fans young and old are rockin' the colors and their smiles tell the story."

Reynolds has a special place in her heart for the many instances when she sees little girls and boys cheering on their favorite teams and players that, similar to the PWHL, could not have happened before these inaugural seasons.

"It's really special to me to see the young people have new role models in these communities, and to aspire to be like them one day" she continued.

The 16 available spots on each of the four softball rosters quickly filled up over the spring as collegians from across the country seek to enhance their skills either with aspirations to reach the Athletes Unlimited pro softball level or simply become better athletes for their next season at their respective schools.

And, also like the PWHL, there is talk of Northwoods League Softball expansion in the very near future as there is simply not enough playing availability for all those women collegians wanting to be a part of the division.

Northwoods League Baseball, which operates under a similar footprint, includes 26 teams in four divisions throughout the Midwest area of the United States.