Women’s sports are on the rise in the United States, and that is no secret.
With the sudden explosion of interest in both the WNBA and NWSL — thanks to athletes including Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, Portland Thorns forward Sophia Smith and more — both leagues are adding expansion teams to capitalize on the moment.
The latest addition to the NWSL, BOS Nation FC is scheduled to begin playing in 2026 in the North America’s premier women’s soccer league. The franchise is a revival of the Boston Breakers, one of the NWSL’s inaugural teams. While the Breakers competed in the NWSL starting from the first season in 2013, the club folded after the 2017 season.
On Oct. 15, the new Boston franchise revealed its name and colors (black and green) via a marketing campaign with this tag line: “There are too many balls in this town.”
Here’s everything to know about BOS Nation’s “Too Many Balls” ad, including why the new franchise apologized for its controversial publicity campaign.
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BOS Nation ‘Too Many Balls’ ad, explained
BOS Nation’s name was first reported Monday by CBS, and the club officially revealed the name and logo Tuesday.
The team also had a website linked to its rollout, “TooManyBalls.com,” which highlighted the team’s publicity campaign to promote the new branding.
BOS Nation’s social media platforms posted a clip Tuesday officially announcing the club’s identity, reading: “It’s more than a word—it’s a legacy. Worn proudly across 23 neighborhoods and 48.4 square miles. Welcome to BOS Nation.” Several hours later, another video — captioned “Women’s Pro Soccer is coming back to Boston” — was released.
The biggest activation, however, came in the form of a one-minute video on the team’s X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Instagram and YouTube pages, with references to the five men’s professional sports teams linked to the city: the Patriots (NFL), Celtics (NBA), Red Sox (MLB), Bruins (NHL) and Revolution (MLS).
The since-removed clip featured a female voiceover saying there are “too many balls in the city,” listing “old balls, new balls, steel balls, cold balls” — and finally “goat balls,” accompanied by a cameo from former New England quarterback Tom Brady, who many consider the greatest of all time at his position.
So grateful and excited to be a part of Boston’s new @NWSL team BOS Nation FC!!
Yes – we’re talking trophies, banners, rings and balls!!@nwslboston #WeAreBOSNationFC #NWSL pic.twitter.com/ZNwxiOWrmZ— Scott Pioli (@scottpioli51) October 15, 2024
In addition to the unveiling, the team hosted a launch party Tuesday featuring the “Too Many Balls” campaign at Dick’s House of Sport in Boston. The marketing strategy also included black billboards with green lettering reading “There are too many balls in this town,” plus the date, “10.15.24.”
“Femininity isn’t part of who we’re trying to appeal to. It’s sort of irrelevant in many ways.”
But “too many balls” is a direct contradiction. https://t.co/T5Yc4LOiyF
— Alondra Hernández (@AlondraH18) October 16, 2024
As literally anyone might have expected, the campaign received negative press from the start. Fans, players and news media alike called out the publicity push for going against one of the NWSL’s core values: inclusivity.
Reactions to BOS Nation campaign controversy
One of the first players to come forward was nonbinary midfielder Quinn, who plays for the Seattle Reign. They commented on the Boston team’s Instagram video, calling the “Too Many Balls” campaign out for its erasure of transgender identities.
“This doesn’t represent the league and is such poor messaging,” Quinn added.
I couldn’t find Quinn’s original comment and thought they may have deleted it, but that turns out not to be the case. This is really something the league can’t ignore. pic.twitter.com/bMiV95q5tB
— Meaghen Johnson (@MeaghenJohnson) October 15, 2024
Another common complaint about the video was its lack of reference to Boston’s pedigree of women’s sports, with no mention of the Breakers — a franchise that dissolved in January 2018 — or the successful women’s hockey teams in the PHF and now PWHL.
Additionally, the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun recently played a sellout game at TD Garden against the Sparks. The matchup was reminiscent of the historic rivalry between the arena’s usual occupant Celtics and the Lakers, showcasing the potential of women’s sports to reach the same heights.
Of course, the nature of the entire situation is also comedic, and other NWSL franchises, attendees of the fan-fest and social media users are taking this opportunity to poke fun at the new team’s blunder. Here are some of the best reactions so far.
#TooMany? pic.twitter.com/vrbMDaCoQi
— NJ/NY Gotham FC – x (@GothamFC) October 16, 2024
If you hired me as a consultant tasked with coming up with the worst name possible for the Boston women’s soccer team I don’t think I’d even have the balls to submit BOS Nation as one of the options
I’d be like “take that one out I want them to think I took this seriously”
— Alexis Guerreros (@NotAlexis) October 14, 2024
At the NWSL BOS Nation launch party: pic.twitter.com/kSDMk0gSVv
— Frankie de la Cretaz (@thefrankiedlc) October 15, 2024
i just know somebody presented “girl bos nation” as an option at some point during this process and i just wonder how long it *stayed* on the table 😭 https://t.co/F7Grsizqa1
— Aaron West (@oeste) October 14, 2024
BOS Nation FC is the name you throw out there at the first brainstorming session to get the ball rolling. You know that no one will ever think it’s a good idea. Just a light-hearted way to start the meeting. Everyone will appreciate how you don’t take yourself too seriously. 🤯
— The Cooligans (@SoccerCooligans) October 14, 2024
the marketing department for BOS Nation is either a room full of 13 year old boys or 53 year old women, there simply cannot be any in between
— kris 🤙⚽️ (@Kristance77) October 15, 2024
I mean this with all respect:
Everything I have learned about Bos Nation feels like a giant misstep.
You can’t just pick rivals. That’s not how this works. https://t.co/dGGLQboOWA
— Meghan L. Hall (@ItsMeghanLHall) October 15, 2024
“Thanks to our brave clients for having the guts to be wildly provocative with this launch.”
The ad agency BOS Nation FC hired for this launch turned off comments on Instagram 😬 pic.twitter.com/zu9CQV9Bhl
— Alex Azzi (@ByAlexAzzi) October 15, 2024
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Why is BOS Nation name receiving criticism?
One of the other common qualms with the club is its name, a sly anagram of the word “Bostonian,” which is the term for a native denizen of the city.
After Tuesday’s launch party, the NWSL Boston Independent Supporters Association released a statement saying they “are disappointed in the choice of name and advertising campaign that the team has chosen for their brand reveal.”
“Our hope is that the team will listen to the concerns raised by its fans and thoughtfully reconsider their branding choices moving forward,” the statement continued.
pic.twitter.com/dus9BvE8Fs
— NWSL Boston Independent Supporters Association (@NWSLBostonISA) October 15, 2024
T.K. Pavlich, a member of the supporters group, was in attendance at the event. Not a big fan of the name already, per an interview with Boston.com, Pavlich is one of the many opponents of the team’s title.
Reviews have been mixed about the name, however, with some pointing at its originality and unique connection to the city of Boston. That didn’t stop a petition from appearing on Change.org titled, “Give the Boston NWSL Team a Decent Name—Rebel Against ‘BOS Nation.'”
As of Wednesday afternoon, the petition had more than 1,200 signatures and counting. But the club has not announced any plans to change its name despite apologizing for other aspects of its launch campaign.
BOS Nation response to controversy
Soon after the “Too Many Balls” publicity campaign was released, all merchandise featuring the phrase was removed from the team’s website, and the video was pulled from social media. The URL is still registered but is no longer in use.
On Wednesday morning, the team posted a statement on its social media platforms apologizing for missing the mark with the ad campaign.
“While we had hoped to create a bold and buzzworthy brand launch campaign, we missed the mark,” it began. “We fully acknowledge that the content of the campaign did not reflect the safe and welcoming environment we strive to create for all, and we apologize to the LGBTQ+ community and to the trans community in particular for the hurt we caused.
“We are proud to be part of the most inclusive sports league in the world and are committed to upholding values that define the NWSL and our club,” it continued. “Thank you to all who have held us accountable by calling for us to do better. We hear you and we will, together.”
From us to you. pic.twitter.com/ASHFHltb5n
— NWSL Boston (@NWSLBoston) October 16, 2024
