We Need a Name for Our 3rd Team!

The Albany All Stars

would like to present:

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Hey folks-

Maybe you’ve heard, maybe you haven’t, we’re going to have a new team!

I grew up in Binghamton, a small city in Broome County, just above Pennsylvania. Back then, Binghamton had a local AHL-affiliated hockey team that played at the Arena (it still does, although it has morphed a few times since this story of my childhood). When I was an impressionable kid, the team was the Whalers. I have no idea how there happened to be “Whalers” in Binghamton; there certainly weren’t whales in the Chenango and Susquehanna rivers.

Even before the Whalers, (and my time) there were the “Dusters.” I remember sitting in Mrs. K’s 4^th grade class and she asked us who knew the name of the local hockey team. Then she asked us if anyone knew the name of the team before the Whalers. I had no clue. She told us it was the Dusters and that she had named them! She said there was a contest and she thought the “Broome Dusters” would be a great name for the team, and to the chagrin of her family, she submitted the name. The powers that were liked it, and for a number of years in the 1970’s, the AHL-affiliated team, which played in the Broome County Arena, was the Broome Dusters.

First of all, here I am 22 years later remembering a silly story from Mrs. K’s class and recounting it to you. So -- Hooray for the silly teachers you remember! Secondly, Mrs. K was very proud her silly-creative streak was appreciated; maybe that’s what stuck with me. I think, however, that this moment in time has stayed with me, because I was taught long division by someone who was so very cool, she named a hockey team.

Here is the point of my rambling: you too could be as cool as Mrs. K. Our new team is going to need a name. So, we are looking to you (our fans) for suggestions. The suggestions could be suggestive, scary, or funny; you name it. Perhaps you can’t come up with a name idea, but you could come up with an awesome theme or a color combination that rocks. Send us your suggestions to new_team@albanyallstars.com by 11:59 pm on September 29. If we pick your name, you could score some free tickets. Not to mention, if you are a 4^th grade teacher, your students will remember you forever. Really, naming a roller derby team is way more rockin’ than naming a hockey team.

Get your thinking helmets on. We’ve got a new team to name!

Polly Morphic, #79