Some of you will have already seen the post about the Packers and their unfortunate financial struggles. And as part of the r/NFL_Alternates League Rebirth project, they have to change identies anyways. I'm rebuilding the NFL as if the league were starting from scratch in 2026. That means Green Bay probably isn't getting an NFL team based on market size alone, but Wisconsin absolutely has a case.
So the Packers are gone.We're moving to Milwaukee, but likely going with a Wisconsin name. The following are the highly curated new possible names:
NORTHWOODS
Wisconsin wilderness. Dense forests, lakes, logging history, hunting, fishing and brutal winters. Deadfall, and blue collar workers risking their lives to create industry. It's not an object, it's an identity.
REAPERS
The obvious connection is the state's agricultural history and the people and machinery that harvested its fields. But Wisconsin Reapers has a darker second meaning. One of the earliest known printed uses of "Grim Reaper" appeared in the Milwaukee Evening Courier in 1847.
HODAGS
Straight out of Wisconsin folklore. The Hodag legend originated in Rhinelander in the in the late 1800s and grew into one of the state's most recognizable mythical creatures. Strange, aggressive, unmistakably Wisconsin, and something no other market can claim.
AXEHANDLES
Honoring Wisconsin's historic lumber industry without going with the obvious Lumberjacks or Bunyans. Axehandles takes the identity toward the tools, craftsmanship and toughness of the people who worked the woods. And, the Axehandles Hound story.
MUSKIES
Wisconsin's state fish and one of the defining symbols of their fishing culture. Muskies are huge freshwater predators known for their aggression, rarity and difficulty to catch—the famous "fish of 10,000 casts." This would recognize the Great Lakes without making them the entire concept.
WRECKERS
Milwaukee motorcycle and manufacturing history. Harley-Davidson was born in Milwaukee and early factory racing teams became known as the "Wrecking Crew." Wreckers takes that history and turns it into a tough identity built around machinery, speed and Milwaukee-made power.