The name Loggers came easy enough in La Crosse. Can the public come up with the softball version, as deadline nears?

The Loggers mascot is iconic for the city of La Crosse. A logging town at one time. Lumberyards and saw mills.

Imagine being the one responsible for coming up with that name.

You could be. 

Next summer, the Loggers baseball team will have a softball equivalent. And they’re still taking submissions until Friday for potential team names at LaXSoftball.com.

Co-owner of both the Loggers and the soon-to-be-named softball team, Dan Kapanke, said he’s gotten about 300 names so far.

“At this point — I haven’t seen them all — but not one of them has jumped out at me and said, ‘That’s it!,’” Kapanke said Monday on La Crosse Talk PM. “When we did the Loggers in ‘03, it kind of came to this, this and then Loggers and ‘That’s it!’”

The funny thing about coming up with Loggers, though, is the name didn’t so much jump out at them as much as they dug it up.

La Crosse Talk PM airs weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find all the podcasts here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk PM wherever you get your podcasts.

“When we built the stadium there, we had to go down so far and we hit logs and sawdust underneath the ground,” Kapanke said. “It was a staging area for logging. And Loggers fit real well. And, we’re looking for something that’s kind of unique for softball.”

Finalists will likely be named Monday, though Kapanke didn’t say how many that would be. After that, a vote will happen from the top names. Kapanke did say they might extend the contest if needed, but they can’t wait too long.

For anyone thinking “Lady Loggers” or the “Loggettes,” don’t bother with those submissions. Surely everyone would love some female connection to the city and its history. Kapanke was into that idea, too, but added he just wants the best name..

“We want that connection, maybe with ‘La Crosse,’” Kapanke said. “Some way, somehow. I don’t know what that is.

“We’ll take them all. I know  something’s going to click eventually that’s going to say, ‘That’s it.’ It’ll come. We’ll be patient. We don’t want to make a mistake. We’ll do it right. Something history, La Crosse, fits into the Coulee Region here — whatever that might be. It’s out there. We’ll find it.”

Name That Team Timeline:

• Team Name Suggestions Open Until: November 3
• Top Names Announced: November 6
• Top Names Voting: November 6 – 10
• Team Name Announcement: TBD

Submission/Contest Rules:

• If the winning name is submitted by more than one person, the winning submission will be randomly selected by a drawing held by the La Crosse Softball management.
• All information must be accurate in order to qualify.
• One entry per email address.
• La Crosse Softball management reserves the right to market, develop and use in commerce, any name submitted by a contestant.