# Best and worst sports team names based on their location **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 23, 2019, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383 "2019-05-23T01:01:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/61 "2019-05-23T21:48:34Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > And the Nets is a good name for a basketball team, particularly one in a city that has the Mets and the Jets (who obviously were aware that Jets rhymes with Mets, even being the dumb jocks that they are). I still think the Islanders should change their name to the Islets. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/62 "2019-05-23T22:14:40Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > How about the Nashville Predators? Doesn’t that word have disturbing connotations? Chris Hanson should do the play-by-play for them. The Mariners were mentioned as a great name for Seattle, but the SuperSonics was another great name since Boeing is from and in the area. Sounders is a good name for their soccer team (after the Puget Sound). As much of a Seahawks fan I may be, I don’t recall ever seeing one in the area (”seahawk” is another name for the osprey). I assume they’re around somewhere since most coastal areas worldwide have them, but they’re certainly not prominent. We get plenty of bald eagles and of course seagulls are freaking everywhere (and pigeons). ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/63 "2019-05-23T22:22:03Z")
I just thought of the Seattle Pilots, who, despite having terrible uniforms, were appropriately named as a nod to the aircraft industry’s influence in the area. Then they moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers, which was even more fitting for their new home. Seattle’s current baseball team name, the Mariners, is OK but could work for any coastal city really. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/64 "2019-05-23T22:31:32Z")
Astros started out as the Colt 45s for 3 years. Astros came from the space industry in the Houston area. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/65 "2019-05-23T22:47:27Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > San Diego Padres I know the name is historically appropriate, but it’s not exactly an image to strike fear into an opponent. (Unless maybe they are there to give Last Rites.:D) ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/66 "2019-05-23T22:53:34Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Astros started out as the Colt 45s for 3 years. Astros came from the space industry in the Houston area. As did the Houston Rockets, although I am not sure any actual rockets are made there. But the Johnson Space Center is there, so close enough. Texas also had the Dallas Cowboys and San Antonio Spurs. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/67 "2019-05-23T23:16:53Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Ditto on the Memphis Grizzlies. > [@RickJay](#): > > God, how did I forget the Grizzlies? There are no grizzly bears in Tennessee, or anywhere east of the Mississippi, unless they’re in a zoo. The Grizzlies were originally founded in Vancouver, British Columbia. And there are indeed grizzlies in BC. However, there was no good reason to keep the name when they moved to Memphis. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/68 "2019-05-24T00:58:27Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > The Grizzlies were originally founded in Vancouver, British Columbia. And there are indeed grizzlies in BC. > > However, there was no good reason to keep the name when they moved to Memphis. Except Grizzlies are awesome and terrifying forces of destruction. Then again, they could have renamed them the Memphis Cash, after Johnny Cash. And then had a dollar sign as a logo. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/69 "2019-05-24T01:12:58Z")
‘New York Jets’ made sense when they played near the flight path of planes landing at LaGuardia Airport, just a couple of miles east of Shea Stadium. It doesn’t work as well in East Rutherford, which is just ‘sort of close’ to Newark Airport. That’s not even counting the "New York"part of their name. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/70 "2019-05-24T01:23:43Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > But there is already a team called the New York Rangers, and a much older one than the baseball club, one of the oldest teams in the NHL. There was a minor league baseball team known as the [Dallas Rangers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Rangers), which is how the relocated Senators got its new name. The president of Madison Square Garden, who happened to be named Tex Rickard, obtained an NHL franchise, and while the team was supposed to be named the Giants, it soon became known as [“Tex’s Rangers.”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_New_York_Rangers) The NY Rangers are thus in the running for the worst geographically named team. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/71 "2019-05-24T02:31:13Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > The president of Madison Square Garden, who happened to be named Tex Rickard, obtained an NHL franchise, and while the team was supposed to be named the Giants, it soon became known as [“Tex’s Rangers.”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_New_York_Rangers) > > The NY Rangers are thus in the running for the worst geographically named team. You’re just repeating the 9th post. > [@EllisDee](#): > > Google says both teams are named for the same thing: > > Founded in New York by Tex Rickard in 1926 as an expansion franchise, the team was given its name by the New York press, which nicknamed it “Tex’s Rangers” (a play on the phrase “Texas Rangers”). > > So yeah, that should definitely qualify as a name that isn’t particularly appropriate for the location. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/72 "2019-05-24T02:38:04Z")
The NY baseball Giants and FB Giants shared the same stadium, the Polo Grounds, for 30 years 1925 to 1955 . The baseball Giants owned the stadium. ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/73 "2019-05-24T08:34:53Z")
The expansion Charlotte Bobcats, who have since taken back the Hornets name, got a lot of flack over that name because their owner’s name was Bob and many assumed this was no coincidence. It really was a far more appropriate name for an NC team than Panthers, which pointed out earlier don’t live that far north. To me it was one of the better names, who cares if it fed that owner’s vanity or not? Then the New Orleans Hornets concurrently became the Pelicans which isn’t an impressive name; given the 4 other options on the table, it was the best choice though. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/74 "2019-05-24T10:58:57Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > How about the Nashville Predators? Doesn’t that word have disturbing connotations? Not with that logo. [The story](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville_Predators): > [@](#): > > On September 25, 1997, Leipold and team president Jack Diller held a press conference where they unveiled the franchise’s new logo, a saber-toothed cat (_Smilodon floridanus_).[13] The logo was a reference to a partial Smilodon skeleton found beneath downtown Nashville in 1971 during construction of the First American National Bank building, now the UBS Tower.[14][15] > > Once the logo was unveiled, the franchise held a vote among fans to choose a name. Three candidates were culled from 75: “Ice Tigers,” “Fury” and “Attack.” Leipold added his own submission to the vote, “Predators.” On November 13, Leipold revealed at a press conference that his submission had won out and that the new franchise would be known as the “Nashville Predators”. What a surprise, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/75 "2019-05-24T13:20:30Z")
New York Knicks which is short got Knickerbockers, a nickname for people from New York City. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/76 "2019-05-24T14:26:03Z")
zimaane: > [@](#): > > As did the Houston Rockets, although I am not sure any actual rockets are made there. But the Johnson Space Center is there, so close enough. It is appropriate for a Houston team, but ironically, it was not so named because of Houston - the name was simply retained when the **San Diego** Rockets re-located to Houston. Kind of like the Pistons, which was pointed out earlier in the thread. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/77 "2019-05-24T14:53:31Z")
No love for the New Jersey Devils? They’re named after the [Jersey Devil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Devil), named after some sort of legendary 18th century monster that lived in the New Jersey woods. That’s an awesome name if there ever was one… As far as bad names go, I always have hated the corporate sponsor names like the New Orleans Shell Shockers, sponsored by Shell Oil, or Bayer 04 Leverkusen, sponsored by Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Although the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters name is kind of amusing- they’re sponsored by Nippon-Ham, which is a meat packing, but the name sounds like the team fights pigs or something. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/78 "2019-05-24T15:23:14Z")
Ok, I find it funny how many people have posted about the Chicago Bears/Cubs, and not said a single word about the Detroit Lions/Tigers. Really? :rolleyes: In answering the OP’s question, I think it’s silly to point to mascots that are animals. Animal mascots/nicknames are chosen primarily to imply ferocity/dangerousness. While it’s possible to pick a local animal for this purpose (see: Arizona Diamondbacks), most animals picked don’t have any such association. You’ll find teams that are Panthers/Jaguars/Cougars in lots of places in the US that have no members of either the Panthera or the Puma genuses. A similar situation exists with respect to names like Wolves, Bears, Eagles, etc. One of the most common nicknames in America is the Bulldogs, which is equally “out of place” most of the places it’s used. For much the same reason, you’ll find mascots/nicknames based upon the view that the Amerind fighter was fierce, so we have Indians, Warriors, Braves, etc., often in places where there were few if any war-like Amerind tribes. Cue the similar theme of Knights, Cavaliers, Pirates, Raiders, etc. So to me, the only nicknames/mascots that are “worst” for their location are names that have a specific connotation OTHER than ferocity/toughness/danger and don’t fit the location. The Utah Jazz are probably the classic example. If the Minnesota North Stars had kept “North” in the name when moving to Dallas, that would be a similar example. But picking on teams that had names that were **originally** excellent, and are out of place simply because of a franchise move is taking the low-hanging fruit. What names exist that meet my criteria, but aren’t the result of a franchise move, just some bad name-picking? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/79 "2019-05-24T15:34:00Z")
I’ll throw in one college team that only works because of the sound of school’s name: The UConn Huskies. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383/80 "2019-05-24T17:00:14Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I’ll throw in one college team that only works because of the sound of school’s name: The UConn Huskies. We have Huskies here too (at the University of Washington) and I always think of a bunch of fat guys. Which is either awful or awesome depending on your perspective. Similarly, their rivals, the WSU Cougars make me think of older women going after young studs. So when we have the “Apple Cup” each year in football with the Cougars and Huskies, I think of ladies and their chubby boy-toys. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-sports-team-names-based-on-their-location/834383.md?page=5)