This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
With the possible exception of the Catzz, Utah's indoor football teams have been given names that reflect the danger and ferocity for which the sport is known: the Utah Rattlers, the Utah Warriors, the Utah Blaze.
Owners of the state's latest foray into second-tier professional football have promised "a new era of fandom" in which viewers — serious-minded or not — call the shots.
The result is that Salt Lake City's Maverik Center may soon host Utah Teamy McTeamFace.
"If the fans want Teamy McTeamFace, then we're going to be the Utah Teamy McTeamFace," said Sohrob Farudi, founder and CEO of Project FANchise, which announced in April that it intends to field the Indoor Football League's 11th team in 2017 at Maverik Center.
As of Tuesday afternoon, voting on a team site shows that Utah Teamy McTeamFace is a close second behind Utah Stormin' Mormons. The field of 160 submitted names will be whittled to 10 in a week, when each fan will be limited to one vote on the finalists. The winner will be announced June 3.
Rules say the name has to be "PC and PG," leading to unresolved internal debate about the viability of "Stormin' Mormons," Farudi said.
"Clearly, we are not out to offend anybody," he said. "I think, to me, that one is probably in the gray area."
Zaniness is not the norm in IFL team names. The other names are Cedar Rapids Titans, Billings Wolves, Green Bay Blizzard, Colorado Crush, Iowa Barnstormers, Nebraska Danger, Sioux Falls Storm, Spokane Empire, Wichita Falls Nighthawks and Tri-Cities Fever.
But Utah's franchise vows to be anything but normal. Once fans decide the team's name, they will then choose its colors and its mascot.
Owners have raised more than $50,000 through crowdfunding, with more than 40 people paying $65 to become scouts and 10 paying $450 to become an assistant GM. Three ponied up $750 to help warm up the quarterback before a game, and one paid $500 for the right to run through the field in a tight bathing suit.
"The response has been great," Farudi said. "It's exactly what we were hoping for."
IFL players are paid $250 per game, plus room and board during the season, which runs from February through July.
Farudi anticipates that "50 percent" of players and coaches will say "there's no way in heck I'm going to allow fans to decide my fate," but that many others will appreciate the exposure that may come from the unique degree of fan input.
Utah hasn't had an indoor team since 2013, which saw the dissolution of the Arena Football League's Utah Blaze.
Twitter: @matthew_piper
Tribune reporter Steve Luhm contributed to this report.