Elaine Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 hey guys- as mentioned by steve, the xtreme had a press conference today and announced 6 signings: http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/2004/01/14/313095-cp.html players announced that have signed officially: amy walsh, véronique maranda, josée bélenger, marie-eve nault, patricia bourcier (haven't heard from her in awhile! glad to see her name involved) and kelly hemsley. so the xtreme has one ottawa player thus far .. marie-eve. looking foward to hearing more. elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 They should fire whoever decided upon that name, as well as the spelling of it. "Xtreme" indeed. Ugh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bxl Boy Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Official presentation of the team (source: Canadian Press) The Montreal Xtreme, a new franchise in the W-League, was launched Wednesday along with the first six players signed to the women's soccer club. The Xtreme is among a dozen expansion franchises for 2004 in the 36-team W-League, which became North America's top league for women with the demise of the eight-team WUSA circuit. "It's a big day for women's soccer in Quebec," said head coach Alexandre da Rocha as his players tried on their new blue and white game shirts. "This will allow our best players to play at home." Rocha said former Canadian national team midfielder and captain Amy Walsh "will be key to our success in the first season." Walsh, 26, has played 56 times for Canada. She also played for Atlanta in the WUSA league in 2001. "I signed with Ottawa last year but then decided to stay here and play with my sister in the Quebec League," said Walsh, who also works as a high school soccer coach. "This is great. "Now we don't have to go out of the province to find a great training environment." The club also signed midfielders Veronique Maranda and Marie-Eve Nault, defender Patricia Bourcier and forwards Kelly Hemsley and Josee Belanger. Nault, 21, played in the W-League for the Ottawa Fury last season. Belanger and Maranda played on Canada's Pan-American Games team last year, while Hemsley played in the 1999 Pan-Am Games. The Xtreme, with 31-year-old David Craig as owner and president, begins its 14-game schedule at home on May 23 against the Toronto Inferno. Montreal was placed in the North Central Division with Toronto, Ottawa, the Sudbury Canadians and the Rochester Ravens. The W-League has two other Canadian teams, the Vancouver Whitecaps and Edmonton Aviators, in the Western Conference. The Xtreme will play at the 2,500-seat Catalogna Soccerplex. Craig said he needs to average 1,200 spectators per game to break even, but said he is committed to keeping the team for at least five years. A previous Montreal-area franchise, the Laval Dynamites, folded two years ago. "If we stay as organized as we are and if we listen to the community, we'll be successful," said Craig, whose club hopes to maintain close relations with the Montreal Impact, one of the most successful teams in the men's A-League, and the Quebec Soccer Federation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbin Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca They should fire whoever decided upon that name, as well as the spelling of it. "Xtreme" indeed. Ugh! Ummm... is it French? </duck> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Nice fact-checking, Canadian Press. Calgary has a team, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 I posted this on impactsoccer.com, here's the gist of it: - They have copied the name and logo of the LA Xtreme of the defunct XFL. - Of all the logos to copy, this one looks like an Xtreme swastika, imho. - They need to average 1,200 in an out-of-the-way park where the Dynamites would get supposedly 200-500 people in 2002. - THEY COPIED AN XFL TEAM!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT????? (Needed repeating). Bush-league from the start. Welcome to Canadian soccer. Seems like no one seems to want to follow the example from the only succesfull female Canadian team, the Whitecaps. Why, exactly??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 I also don't like "Xtreme", but other than the Whitecaps, Aviators and Canadians, all the other Canadian (and many of the American) are going with the collective noun (Inferno, Fury, Calgary Wildfire, Heat, etc.). If you mean, Daniel, that the Montreal Team should have the same name as the A-League team (a la Aviators and Sounders), they really can't do that as they don't share an organization. The Ottawa Fury (finalists last year, and ,as hosts, this year)) may dispute your contention that the Whitecaps are "the only succesfull female Canadian team". Besides, the Aviators and Canadians (which are plural nounz) are gonna kick butt in the W-League this year! And, Gianluca, "Xtreme" ain't French (extreme is the same as in English, with an accent added) it's just ersatz cool (like Auckland's "The Football Kingz", NZ's entry in the Australian league). At least it's an attempt, like Impact, to avoid a unilingual name, which is an excuse the "Wildfire" don't have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Man Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 The Ottawa Fury averaged about 1,000 per game last year. Went to the final four and run a very successful SYL program, whose player and parents attened most home games in droves. This after 3 years of drawing about 300 per game, before they added the youth teams. The Inferno draws about 78 per game it seems. So I wish the Extreme (what was the name of Montreal's Pro lacross team?)well, but 1,200 in Lachine sounds very hopeful especially if your star player is an aging former NCAA and national team mid-pack player from 2001 ish. I bet they avearge about 250 when all is said and done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 I wouldn't be surprised if you were right, G-Man. I did not know that the Fury averaged 1,000. I'll add them to the Whitecaps if that's the case . The lacrosse team was called (I had forgotten for a moment, tells you something about their lackluster presence), the Express. Finally, this owner (we can't find a background on this guy) is sounding a LOT like the Impact owners that bailed in 2001... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 [xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbin Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 quote:Originally posted by beachesl And, Gianluca, "Xtreme" ain't French (extreme is the same as in English, with an accent added) it's just ersatz cool (like Auckland's "The Football Kingz", NZ's entry in the Australian league). At least it's an attempt, like Impact, to avoid a unilingual name, which is an excuse the "Wildfire" don't have. Sorry, but I have to own up here, Beachesl... it was me who made the stupid French comment. I do realise that it's just psuedo-cool, but I'd rather think of it as a linguistic problem than that it was a cool, rational decision. Anyhow, I hadn't thought of the unilingual angle, although I'd rather they used an actual, you know, word, if that was their aim. I imagine "Xtreme" in Finnish would be roughly as sensible... Allez les Rouges, M@ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Sorry for sounding cynical (just having fun on the name thing). I think that having so many Canadian W-League teams with so many great women athletes is just awesome. There is genuine passion in those girls's eyes, no matter what the jerseys look like! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket Robin Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Ooh XFL. Maybe they could wear names on their uniforms like "She Hate Me". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbin Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 quote:Originally posted by beachesl Sorry for sounding cynical (just having fun on the name thing). I think that having so many Canadian W-League teams with so many great women athletes is just awesome. There is genuine passion in those girls's eyes, no matter what the jerseys look like! Nah, no worries. I was just riffing on the central Ontario ignorance. Montreal--they're a hockey team, right? Etc. But I agree--the more women's teams the better. It's really promising for the game. Allez les Rouges, M@ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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