SALT LAKE CITY — It sounds like a macho compliment, and players for the new Salt Lake football team can definitely take being called stallions that way.
That's also officially their name, too.
The Alliance of American Football announced Tuesday the mascots for the four teams in the Alliance West Division, including — drum roll — the Salt Lake Stallions.
The other three: Arizona Hotshots, San Antonio Commanders and San Diego Fleet.
The AAF previously introduced the teams in the Alliance East: Orlando Apollos, Atlanta Legends, Memphis Express and Birmingham Iron.
Here's how the league describes the relevance of the Salt Lake Stallions' name:
The name Stallions honors the spirit of the region and the rumbling presence of horsepower, inspired by the Bonneville Salt Flats where world land speed records have been set and broken for decades. A stallion is a powerful, fast and muscular horse, reflective of the power and conditioning required of professional football players.
The Salt Lake Stallions colors — sky blue, royal blue and silver — are inspired by the reflection of the vast blue sky off of the Great Salt Lake and the silver tips of the Wasatch Mountains. The logo is inspired by car hood ornaments and automotive indicia that adorns some of history's fastest and most famous cars. Speed, power, performance and muscle — this is the Salt Lake Stallions.
As previously announced, the Stallions will be coached by Dennis Erickson and will play their home games at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
"Last week we proudly released the names and logo packages of our Alliance East teams and the reception was absolutely electric across all four markets. We strongly believe that was due to the fans playing such a critical role in the selection process and working with each city to understand their suggestions and ideas," Charlie Ebersol, founder and CEO of The Alliance, said in a released statement. "Today we release the names and logos of our Alliance West teams with enthusiasm and pride as we give our final four teams their identity within our league. I can't wait to start seeing fans wearing their team colors and joining our Alliance."
The eight Alliance teams will have 52-player rosters and play a 10-week spring schedule, beginning Feb. 9, 2019.