They have only recognized the history of this club because the fans have been vocal about doing so.
If nobody said anything about it these guys would wipe the metro stars from the history books.
They RELUCTANTLY recognize the history because they are forced to. And they are butthurt that there is a decent sized portion of the fanbase that identifies as Metro and not as Red Bull.
If they really cared about Metro theyd do more. If they REALLY cared theyd bring back the name and just slap their logo on everything.
Yes. They have only recognized the past because the fans have been vocal about it. Listening to their fans is a good thing, not a bad thing (even if it should have been done from the start...better late than never)
And no, they are not forced to do it at all. There was span of 6-7 years where there was barely recognized that era. They could have continued that direction. Only in recent years have they been honoring the past, to show the fans that they do care.
Edit: As I'm typing this, the official Red Bulls account just tweeted our draft pick with the caption "tfw when you're going to the Metro". AND the scarf they gave him is Red/Black with yellow trim...