Yes - the El Paso Buzzards, a few years ago, changed their name to the Cow Pattys (spelled with a y) to gain attention.
Attendance did increase, and the team made money by auctioning off the Cow Pattys jerseys when they changed their name back to Buzzards. However, it ultimately was not enough to save the team, which folded after the owner got into some legal trouble.
Hey, good excuse for a couple stories about the Buzzards from when I lived in EP.
First, they at one point had a goalie with the last name "Potty". We loved the cheer "Let's go Potty".
Second, at one of the very few games I went to, some drunk fans behind the visitor's bench were throwing popcorn, drinks, etc. over the glass. Being the high quality arena you might expect for minor league hockey in El Paso, the visiting players didn't take long to figure out that the glass behind them came out, so they took it out and pulled the fans into their bench area. The fans got a pretty good beating before security could get down there. That was probably more entertaining than the game.
