Ranking NWSL teams by how gay the name is

The NWSL is one of the gayest sports leagues in the world, with legends like Megan Rapinoe, Ali Krieger, Tobin Heath, and Quinn helping establish the league, and current stars like Christen Press, Marta, Debinha, and Tierna Davidson continuing to lead the way.

The league's games are also a haven for queer people, with pride flags, butches, queer kids, and trans support everywhere the eye can see! Going to an NWSL game is basically like going to lesbian heaven.

But what fans really want to know is, what team name is the gayest? That's where we come in with our expert analysis!

So without further ado, these are all the currently named NWSL teams ranked in ascending order by how gay the club name sounds.

15. Chicago Stars

According to a social media rumor, the team name was changed from the Red Stars in 2024 due to "new ownership's belief that the team's name had a political connotation they didn't like." We don't know if there's any truth to that rumor, but there is nothing gay about trying to distance yourself from communism.

14. Gotham FC

New York City is pretty gay, but when we hear this nickname we think of Batman, who unfortunately, is very straight.

13. Racing Louisville

While walking fast is definitely gay, we don't know about running. Gay rights aren't a race, we're all trying to get to the finish line together.

12. Houston Dash

Similar to Racing, the Houston Dash implies a lot of running and racing, something we're not sure gays are that into.

11. Boston Legacy

Boston Legacy is definitely gayer than the club's original name, Bos Nation. While Bos Nation was an anagram of "Bostonian," the new name Boston Legacy is an anagram of "Bent Cool Gays."

10. Angel City FC

Angels are pretty gay, with most depictions of them traditionally looking like twinks, muscle daddies, gorgeous femmes, or – if you're into the biblically accurate type – the kind of unspeakable horror that kinky queers love to put on a "hear me out" cake.

9. Portland Thorns

Flowers have long been used as a symbol for women's sexuality, and by invoking the "thorns" of a rose, Portland promises its sexuality and womanhood comes with an edge to it. If that's not gay, we don't know what is.

8. KC Current

There's nothing more current and now than queerness. The current generation is always the queerest, and so is this team name.

7. San Diego Wave

Who doesn't love a nice day at the beach? We know gays sure do!

6. Seattle Reign

Reign invokes both images of queens and female rulers, and a nice stormy day, two things queer women are known to love. Plus, queers can't resist a good pun!

5. Utah Royals

Gays love Royals! Whether it's the Lorde song, drag queens and kings, pillow princesses, the band Queen, or King Princess, we love our royalty!

4. Bay FC

The Bay Area has been a haven for queers for decades. All you need to do is say the area's name and immediately most people will think of gay culture.

3. North Carolina Courage

For better or worse, it takes a lot of courage to be gay. From fighting for our rights in the '60s and '70s to the battle for marriage equality, to the current attacks on trans youth, we've always needed plenty of courage to keep us going.

2. Washington Spirit

On the original Gilbert Baker Pride flag, the color violet represents "Spirit," so naturally, the Washington Spirit would be one of the gayest team names in the league.

1. Orlando Pride

Of course, nothing is gayer than Pride! We name our month after it, it's the flag we wave around, it's what we have in spades. Plus, with those gorgeous purple kits, the Orlando Pride is about as gay as a sports team name can get.