Ay Carumba!

"Hey that's not Pancho Villa!"

The Houston 1836 (formerly the San Jose Earthquakes), appears to have a little PR situation on their hands and they haven’t played a second of soccer in Texas yet. It seems that the name, a tribute to the year Houston was founded, isn’t a big hit with the Hispanic demographic.

What’s the big you ask? Well, the Hispanic demographic is something the team had hoped to win over. Texas has a large Hispanic population, so the picking should be easy right? Well, not when the founding of Houston itself rekindles the fact that Texas seceded from Mexico.

The fact that the 1836 also incorporates the image of Sam Houston into the team logo doesn’t sit well with many Mexicans. Houston’s defeat of Santa Ana still chaps some hides, but the marketing department of the recently relocated franchise forgot Marketing 101: never piss off a demographic with your brand.