Does NYCFC's ingenious publicity stunt mean 'The Pigeons' are here to stay? | OneFootball

After this, it's pretty clear New York City FC's nickname of "The Pigeons" is never going away.

In one of the better publicity stunts in recent MLS memory, NYCFC is spending Tuesday using the occasion of the Club World Cup semifinals at nearby MetLife Stadium to promote its status as the only top-flight pro club within the limits of the nation's largest city. (The New York Red Bulls play across the Hudson River in Harrison, N.J.)

And they're doing it in a manner that may represent a decisive blow in the long dispute over one of the club's unofficial nicknames, by floating a five-story, 700-pound pigeon on a barge that was scheduled to visit all five New York boroughs throughout the workday.

"With all eyes on NYC for the Club World Cup, our unofficial mascot, the pigeon, is touring the five boroughs that built us," reads a club social media post on X (formerly Twitter). "Each stop leads to our future home in Queens. This is a tribute to the city that shaped us and of what's to come."

The club has never eschewed pigeon iconography representing an unofficial club nickname that some supporters have embraced. And it has leaned more heavily toward it in recent years.

There will be a giant depiction of the very common New York bird on the edifice of one of the gates at the club's new stadium set to open at Willetts Point in time for the 2027 MLS season. And a flying pigeon is also on the badge for the reserve NYCFC II side that currently plays in MLS Next Pro.

But because of a perceived negative connotation toward the animal by some, it has never been a moniker that a sizable minority of NYCFC has continued to resist, opting instead for "The Cityzens" or "City" to share terms also used by supporters of parent club Manchester City.

Yet this almost certainly makes it tougher for those holdouts to argue against those using the moniker. Imagine the following sequence:

Maybe this won't be the decisive blow. It's sometimes impossible to predict how organic fan culture will evolve. But the club is certainly throwing more than a few breadcrumbs toward fans who are in favor of the name.