For a moment there, it seemed like the Beloit Snappers were gonna be history. Thanks to low attendance numbers, a charming but woefully out-of-date stadium and the MLB's takeover of the minor league system, the Snappers were on a list of more than 40 teams at risk of getting the axe.

But the beloved minor league team now has a new owner, a shiny new stadium, a new lease on life – and now a new name and look: the Beloit Sky Carp.

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The team announced last September that it was holding a fan-based search for the new name, resulting in five finalists: Cheese Balls, Polka Pike, Supper Clubbers, Moo or Sky Carp. Thankfully, Beloit landed on the least embarrassing and ridiculous of the bunch: Sky Carp, a Midwestern nickname for geese. 

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According to the in-depth write-up from the logo-obsessed experts at SportsLogos.net, the team landed on Sky Carp not only because of the quirky term's supposed locality – a huge trend in minor league baseball at this moment – but because it showcases a non-migrating bird that "loves a spot and decides it’s not going to leave," which leads into the once-tenuous team's new motto: "#HereToStay."

The SportsLogos.net piece goes far deeper into some of the choices behind Sky Carp and the new look – admittedly a lot of brand-speak, but there are some fun details. The scarf around the goose's neck in the main logo, for instance, is because the geese don't migrate during the winter while the wrench in its webbed feet (or in its bill in the alternate logo) represents the famed manufacturing company Fairbanks Morse based in Beloit.

Another Easter egg is the goggles in the other underwater alternate logo, a tribute to Beloit's Bessica Raiche, the second woman to perform a solo flight in the country back in 1910. 

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Considering how much I feared this rebrand based on the finalists – and how attached I was to the Snappers, the first minor league team I ever saw and a name attached to so many personal memories – the Beloit Sky Carp moniker and look ... is not too bad!

Of the five finalists, Sky Carp was easily the best option (besides, of course, just sticking with Snappers), and even if you don't like the new name, the resulting logos and jerseys are pretty snazzy, having personality without feeling too much like the generic, off-the-assembly-line, borderline-insulting "personality" that many "kooky" minor league rebrands can have. (Just ask the New Orleans Zephyrs, who changed to the Baby Cakes at the request of no one – and now no longer exist.)

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The only thing I'm particularly hesitant about is how much it heavily borrows from their MLB affiliate, the Miami Marlins. I prefer it when minor league teams get to be their own thing and have their own identity – but the color combo strangely fits pretty good with the Sky Carp concept, and the B logo, kind of an alternate universe Marlins symbol, looks different enough to stand on its own as a nifty emblem. And it's certainly got more freedom and creativity than such original team names as the Iowa Cubs or the Oklahoma City Dodgers. 

In the end, I'll miss the Snappers – and who knows, maybe they'll bring it back if this name goes over as poorly as an actual carp trying to fly. But at first glance, Sky Carp might just win me over. And as I always say, winning makes everything look better – so we'll see how the name and look sticks when Beloit takes the field again next spring.

For the upcoming schedule, more information and the fan shop for new gear, visit the Snappers' Sky Carp's website.