That is, they might stink. The new Chicago franchise of the WPS (Women’s Professional Soccer) doesn’t have any players yet, so it’s hard to tell if their talent deserves the pejorative term. In fact, the team doesn’t even have a name and there’s the rub.

(You tell Heather Mitts that she stinks.)

RED CARD noted the promotion’s announcement a week ago, but voting finally opened this week for the Chicago team’s contest encouraging the wise and thoughtful denizens of the Internet to vote on the name for the new team from a list provided by the team. One of the suggestions is the Chicago Stinking Onions. Naturally.

It’s hard to compete in a town where the men’s soccer squad is named after the worst disaster in Chicago’s history. (No, the MLS team is not named the Chicago Beat the Damned Hippies.) However, the ladies are out to give it their best shot with suggested names like Massacre, Riot, and Stinking Onions (a rough translation of ‘Chicago’ from the native tongue).

The team and league have to be toying with the media and hoping someone would point out the ridiculousness of some of the names and bring any possible attention to a league rising from the ashes of the WUSA, the short-lived attempt to ride the crest of the 1999 Women’s World Cup hosted in the U.S.

Cute trick promotions won’t carry the day, though. Unless the league learns the lessons from the WUSA and finds quick traction in key cities and backers with deep pockets and patience, the Chicago team might well consider the name “Chicago Rent-Don’t-Buy”.