It did not quite last a month. Houston's Major League Soccer team "1836" is looking for a new name. It appears that there was widespread opposition to the moniker from Houston's Mexican-American community because of the historical connotation of the year 1836.
"Many Hispanics have voiced their dislike for the controversial name, claiming it carries an anti-Mexican sentiment and lends itself to be a divisive tool among Houstonians.
Although 1836 was meant to symbolize the year Houston was founded, it also has links to other significant events some Mexican-Americans might find offensive. Those include Texas' independence from Mexico, the Battle of the Alamo and the defeat of Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican army at the hands of Gen. Sam Houston in the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas Revolution. The logo, a star with "Houston 1836" emblazoned on it, depicts a silhouette of Houston riding a horse.
"We believed, and many people still do, that 1836 was a great name because it symbolized the founding of the city, and we thought people would rally around that," Luck said. "But obviously we hit a bit of a raw nerve within the Mexican-American community."
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