蜜柚直播鈥檚 professional sports scene has been raided by both Cowboys and Indians, infested by Sidewinders, Gila Monsters, Toros and Roadrunners, blessed with Padres and soaked by a Monsoon.
There have been Fireballs and a Flame. The Scorch, whatever that is, burned fast 鈥 and then burned out.
That 蜜柚直播 has such a long list of names is what makes Thursday鈥檚 announcement of its new Indoor Football League team 鈥 the Sugar Skulls 鈥 so unique, with bonus points for local flair.
Heck, it beats the Scorpions or any of the number of Southwestern clich茅s suggested over the last month.
鈥淚t was your typical animal, the weather, the desert, the wild, wild West,鈥 team founder and co-owner Kevin Guy said Thursday, when the name was unveiled at the Mercado San Agustin Annex just west of downtown.
People are also reading…
鈥淲e wanted something unique. We wanted to honor 蜜柚直播 and the people of 蜜柚直播 because we really felt like it was part of the culture.鈥
Leah Rhey of Sahuarita suggested Sugar Skulls as part of a name-the-team contest. She won two season tickets.
Sahuarita鈥檚 Leah Rhey suggested Sugar Skulls as part of the name-the-team contest, beating out more than 1,000 other entries 鈥 including Tacos and Chimichangas. Rhey has long loved 蜜柚直播鈥檚 All Souls Procession, and thought the event鈥檚 most iconic logo 鈥 the sugar skull 鈥 would look good on a helmet. For her creativity, she won two season tickets to the team鈥檚 inaugural season. The Sugar Skulls open their season at 蜜柚直播 Arena in March. The eight-on-eight indoor game is played on artificial turf using the same dimensions as a hockey rink. The Sugar Skulls will share the arena with the 蜜柚直播 Roadrunners of the American Hockey League.
The team鈥檚 colors are black and gold 鈥 鈥淢exican marigold,鈥 Guy corrected 鈥 with maroon accents. The primary logo depicts a sunglasses-wearing skeleton, a sombrero on his head, wrapping his bony hands around the team鈥檚 wordmark.
A secondary logo depicts a skull flanked by guitar necks; it鈥檚 reminiscent of the 1995 movie 鈥淒esperado,鈥 a name the team also reportedly considered, and bears a resemblance to the logo used by the old AFL鈥檚 New Orleans VooDoo. (There may be a reason for that; Sugar Skulls executive director Mike Feder used to run the VooDoo). The Sugar Skulls will wear that logo on their helmets.
The team has launched a website, , and is also on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The Sugar Skulls have been taking season ticket deposits since 蜜柚直播 was granted an expansion franchise last month. Marcus Coleman, former defensive coordinator of the Iowa Barnstomers, was recently named the team’s first-ever coach.
蜜柚直播鈥檚 addition to the IFL is part of what the league hopes is a gradual Western expansion. The Sugar Skulls have a natural rival in the 蜜柚直播 Rattlers, the Phoenix-based team that has dominated arena football for decades. Complicating and intensifying matters is the franchises鈥 shared lineage. Guy is the Rattlers鈥 longtime coach, and plans on staying with the Phoenix team for at least a few more seasons. His wife, Cathy, is running the 蜜柚直播 franchise.
Sugar skulls, or calaveras, have been ubiquitous in Mexico since the 18th century. Sugar skulls featuring the names of departed relatives are traditionally placed as part of a family鈥檚 ofrenda 鈥 offering 鈥 during the Day of the Dead. Locally, it鈥檚 most connected to the procession. Every November, tens of thousands of 蜜柚直播ans paint their faces, dress up and parade through the Barrio Hollywood and Menlo Park neighborhoods to honor their deceased loved ones.
By any name, sugar skulls are identifiable to most 蜜柚直播ans. And for those who might be confused by the sweet-sounding name?
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what Google鈥檚 for. You can Google it,鈥 Guy said with a smile. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e going to have to explain it to anyone in 蜜柚直播. 鈥 It鈥檚 all over the place in 蜜柚直播.鈥
Feder, a longtime 蜜柚直播an and veteran sports executive, said he wants indoor football games to be 鈥渁 reflection of the sugar skulls tradition of celebrations, honor and festivity.鈥
Thursday鈥檚 fiesta was a good start: The announcement came complete with stilt-walkers wearing white facepaint, fire machines and, of course, newly minted merchandise.
Sugar skulls are 鈥渁 tradition that dates back hundreds of years,鈥 Feder said, 鈥渁nd we will treat the name with the dignity and the respect that it deserves while hopefully establishing some new traditions.鈥
