Before the roaring crowds, the championship banners, and the jerseys worn like second skins, there was a moment-a meeting room, a newspaper contest, a back-of-the-napkin idea-when someone decided what a franchise would be called. Branded pulls back the curtain on those defining moments, tracing the surprising, quirky, and deeply human origins behind the names and identities of America's most iconic sports teams.
From nicknames born out of civic pride to logos shaped by regional folklore, from accidental legends to deliberate marketing strokes of genius, Dan Kost reveals that a team's brand is never just a logo or a color scheme-it's a mirror held up to a city, an era, and a culture. Some names honored local history. Others sparked controversy before the ink was even dry. A few were chosen almost by accident and became immortal anyway.
Branded is more than a sports history book. It's a story about identity-how communities decide what they stand for, how those decisions echo across generations, and why, on any given game day, millions of fans feel something almost tribal when they pull on their team's colors.
Whether you're a die-hard fan or a curious observer of American culture, Branded offers a fresh lens on the teams you thought you already knew.
