The Portland Fire Episode: The History, the (Controversial) Name, and Season 1 Predictions

The Portland Fire megasode is here! There was so much to discuss we had to bring on two expert guests. We spoke with Bill Oram, an Oregonian columnist, about the history of the team, why we think the name really misses the mark, Oregon's prominent women's basketball culture, a deeper look at coaching staff picks and somehow, much more! We reference Oram's popular column about his opinion on the team's name, here: https://www.oregonlive.com/wnba/2025/06/portlands-wnba-owners-had-one-job-dont-name-the-team-after-the-disaster-destroying-our-state-bill-oram.htmlNext, we spoke with Portland branding expert, Kate Sokoloff. She gave her professional reaction to the name and overall branding (spoiler alert: they could've done better). It's not all negative though! To end the episode we went through all 15 WNBA names/logos and had a rapid fire analysis of each. Fun fact: Did you know the Portland Fire was the only WNBA team to have folded before every making the playoffs? To follow along with all the images we mentioned, follow us on social media @homestanspod Thank you so much to Bill and Kate for sharing your expertise with us! What do YOU think of the Fire's name and logo?! Please let us know in the comments!