This weekend, the Beloit Snappers' sister team, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, unveiled what appears to be its newest alternative nickname: the "Pensacola Crabzilla". It's named after one of its ballpark sandwiches, which combines crab, shrimp, pork belly, mac & cheese and all sorts of other great stuff.

Alternative nicknames are of course the latest trend sweeping minor league baseball, as teams search for new ways to create merchandise revenue. In fact, Wisconsin's only other affiliated minor league team, the Timber Rattlers, recently won MiLB.com's Alter Ego Challenge with its "Udder Tuggers" brand.

All of this is a lot of fun, and a great way to build some extra excitement around the local team. But here's the problem: it creates brand confusion. If you want everyone across the Fox Valley and beyond to know the name "Timber Rattlers", it can throw off the casual fan when they hear "Udder Tuggers". Did the T-Rats move? Is this the same team or some D-list independent ball club? And what do cows and rattlesnakes have to do with each other anyway?

Or another potential issue: what happens if fans begin to like your alternate name more than the original one? Do teams stick with the old name then... or will they start doing complete name rebrands once or twice a decade now? Doesn't seem like the best way to grow fan loyalty or present yourself as a stable local business if the name is constantly changing.

We've tried to build on the alt ego craze (and address some of these concerns) with our River Rockers idea. Right off the bat, the team already has several different characters ready to go: in addition to keeping Snappy, the other names proposed by the organization (Cheeseballs, Moo, Polka Pike, Skye Carp and Supper Clubbers) could all be turned into members of the band. Unique merchandise could be made for the individual mascots (just like Milwaukee's Famous Racing Sausages), and the team could take the field as the “Beloit Cheeseballs” or “Supper Clubbers” on special nights once a month or so. 

The other advantage to River Rockers is the team name could stay the same for the next 100 years... but the brand still stays fresh because the band lineup is always changing. Just like Van Halen or AC/DC, the River Rockers could swap in new members when the existing ones start to go stale. For example, in 2022 or 2023 the band could dump Skye Carp or The Polka Pike if it wanted in favor of "Whiskers the Ironworker", "Roy the Raptor" or "Kitty Hendricks". Or if, God forbid, disco ever makes a comeback, the "Turtle Village People" or "Saturday Night Beaver" could join the band! The possibilities are endless!

But unlike with other minor league clubs, "River Rockers" gives the organization flexibility to do whatever it wants for years to come, without upsetting its overall brand identity. Every new character the team comes up with can still fit nicely into the River Rockers universe. They are only limited by their imagination.