Best and worst sports team names based on their location

[Telemark]

@Atamasama

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.

It’s still better than Beavers and Ducks. Or maybe it’s the same thing.

[Bijou_Drains]

Miami Hurricanes is a good name for their location. But Tulsa Golden Hurricane does not fit. they are in tornado area, not hurricane area.

[robardin]

@bump

No love for the New Jersey Devils? They’re named after the 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…

Such a pity they’ve never signed Miroslav Satan

[dalej42]

Chicago Fire. I’m so glad they haven’t done the phoney European naming convention yet, and the Chicago Fire was certainly an important part of Chicago history.

Worst: New York Red Bulls, really allowing a sponsor to name your team. I know it’s done in Japan, but it sucks. Also, Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas and all the stupid European names that MLS teams have adopted.

[Wheelz]

There are a few team names that, while not necessarily bad, are perhaps a little too “on the nose” and thus make one think they could have done better. I submit:

Houston Texans
Colorado Rockies
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Capitals

[Atamasama]

There’s the Oakland Athletics, which is even more generic than “Oakland Baseball Players”.

Probably my least favorite team name in any professional sport is the Cleveland Browns. The team’s mascot is a guy’s last name. I get that he should be honored but not as a team’s name. Why not have a team called the Lombardis or the Lambeaus? (Because those would also be dumb.)

[Slow_Moving_Vehicle]

@Wheelz

The Dodgers and the Lakers are two interesting cases. While both names were definitely more geographically appropriate to their original locations, the teams have become iconic enough that I associate their names more with the teams themselves than the original definitions. They have appropriated the meanings in my mind.

In other words, I hear “Lakers” and I think of basketball, not lakes. I hear “Dodgers” and I think of baseball, not folks darting across trolley tracks. I guess it’s just me, but that is decidedly not true of, say, “Jazz” or “Grizzlies.”

To expand on that, the Lakers were originally the Minneapolis Lakers. In Minnesota, “Land of a Thousand Lakes”. “Trolley Dodger” was a nickname for residents of Brooklyn, the Dodgers’ first home.

@Covfefe

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.

I like the Hornets’ nickname; it’s appropriate to the history of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Possibly.

@Atamasama

There’s the Oakland Athletics, which is even more generic than “Oakland Baseball Players”.

Probably my least favorite team name in any professional sport is the Cleveland Browns. The team’s mascot is a guy’s last name. I get that he should be honored but not as a team’s name. Why not have a team called the Lombardis or the Lambeaus? (Because those would also be dumb.)

Hey, you take that back! The Browns have the most unique and distinctive nickname in the NFL! I’ll bet you’ve never heard of the Cleveland Rams, have you?

As for the Athletics, the name comes from their origin as an amateur team of the Athletic Club of Philadephia.

[cochrane]

@DSYoungEsq

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?

Our University of Arizona athletic teams are called the Wildcats, which fits since there are plenty of bobcats around Tucson, as well as the occasional cougar, and once in a while, even a jaguar.

Not a team name, but a mascot: D. Baxter the Bobcat for the Arizona Diamondbacks. It fit when the stadium was called Bank One Ballpark, aka “The Bob,” but not when the stadium was renamed to Chase Field.

[Atamasama]

@Slow_Moving_Vehicle

Hey, you take that back! The Browns have the most unique and distinctive nickname in the NFL! I’ll bet you’ve never heard of the Cleveland Rams, have you?

Sure I have, I find early/pre-NFL history fascinating. I know about the Decatur Staleys also (today they’re the Bears) and the Chicago Cardinals (now in Arizona), the only founding NFL teams still in the league. The Rams moved to LA, then the Browns became the Cleveland team. Before the Rams, Cleveland had the Indians/Bulldogs and the Indians/Tigers. That old history is fun to read about.

Browns is still a lousy name though.

As for the Athletics, the name comes from their origin as an amateur team of the Athletic Club of Philadephia.

Sure, and the elephant on their uniforms comes from 1902 when the team was accused of being a “white elephant” by the New York Giants manager. They took the logo in defiance and have worn it since. That story is awesome and I wish they took it on as their official name (they’d be the Oakland Elephants today).

[kenobi_65]

@Atamasama

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.

One of my all-time favorite newspaper headlines was from a 1990 Seattle Times article, covering the results of a women’s basketball game between Washington and Oregon:

“Husky Women Subdue Ducks”

[Jeff_Lichtman]

The name “San Jose Earthquakes” is geographically appropriate.

[Slow_Moving_Vehicle]

@Atamasama

…

Browns is still a lousy name though.

Pistols at dawn, sir!

[Acsenray]

I used to think that a team should be named for the actual political jurisdiction in which its home field is located, but I’ve changed my mind about that.

A team should be named for the city (not state or region) that represents the historical cultural/social/economic center for its fan base.

So, not the 49ers shouldn’t be renamed for San Jose. San Francisco is the cultural/social/economic center for the 49ers’ fans, so the team should be named after San Francisco, not San Jose, and not some god-awful wishy-washy term like “Bay Area.”

That whole region is San Francisco, regardless of how local governments draw their petty lines. And on the east side of the bay, it’s Oakland, but San Francisco still trumps Oakland. So if the Warriors moved from San Francisco to the east bay, they could choose to change to Oakland Warriors, but they could keep San Francisco Warriors.

Similarly, Los Angeles Angels is perfectly good.

Were I dictator, I’d mandate —

Minneapolis-St. Paul Twins
Dallas Rangers
Phoenix Diamondbacks
Tampa Rays
Denver Rockies
Boston Patriots
Phoenix Cardinals
Charlotte Panthers
Minneapolis-St. Paul Vikings
Tampa Buccaneers
Nashville Titans
Oakland Warriors
Indianapolis Pacers
Minneapolis-St. Paul Timberwolves
Los Angeles Ducks
Phoenix Coyotes
Raleigh Hurricanes
Denver Avalanche
Miami Panthers
Minneapolis-St. Paul Wild
New York Devils (New Jersey doesn’t get a name of its own for any place within the orbits of New York or Philadelphia)
San Francisco Sharks
Tampa Lightning
Las Vegas Golden Knights (No abbreviated forms)

[Acsenray]

Come to think of it, I’d also consider making relocated teams change their names, such as —

Oakland Athletics (Athletics belongs to Philadelphia)
San Francisco Giants (Giants belongs to New York)
Los Angeles Dodgers (Dodgers belongs to Brooklyn)
Atlanta Braves (Braves belongs to Boston)
Arizona Cardinals (Cardinals belongs to Chicago)
Indianapolis Colts (Colts belongs to Baltimore)
Los Angeles Rams (Rams belongs to Cleveland)

[Atamasama]

@Acsenray

Come to think of it, I’d also consider making relocated teams change their names, such as —

Oakland Athletics (Athletics belongs to Philadelphia)
San Francisco Giants (Giants belongs to New York)
Los Angeles Dodgers (Dodgers belongs to Brooklyn)
Atlanta Braves (Braves belongs to Boston)
Arizona Cardinals (Cardinals belongs to Chicago)
Indianapolis Colts (Colts belongs to Baltimore)
Los Angeles Rams (Rams belongs to Cleveland)

You’d have a crap ton more teams to rename than that. That’s just scratching the surface.

[Bijou_Drains]

the Chinese fell for an Onion story that said Congress was looking for a better deal in another city for a new capitol building just like teams moving for a better deal.

[Chronos]

Concerning duplicate names, how about colleges? There are plenty of colleges that play each other that use the same name, and even more if you count similar names like “Wildcats” and “Bobcats” (both of which probably cheer “Go Cats!”). And all of the sports teams at the same college all have the same name. The ambiguity in “the New York Giants” isn’t any worse than that in “the The Ohio State Buckeyes”.

And speaking of colleges, I was going to nominate the UConn Huskies, but Telemark beat me to it.

[Atamasama]

@Atamasama

You’d have a crap ton more teams to rename than that. That’s just scratching the surface.

To expand, for the NFL alone these teams need to be renamed:

Patriots (Boston)
Redskins (also Boston)
Chargers (San Diego)
Raiders (after they move to Vegas)

I’m sure that MLB is worse, and there are plenty in the NBA also.

[Bijou_Drains]

onion story on Congress moving to another city

Congress Threatens To Leave D.C. Unless New Capitol Is Built

Yukon OK high school is the Millers , not the Huskies

Yukon High School - Wikipedia

[Acsenray]

@Atamasama

To expand, for the NFL alone these teams need to be renamed:

Patriots (Boston)

Going by my first dictat, they should still be called the Boston Patriots, even in Foxboro, so no worries there. I don’t consider that a relocation.

Redskins (also Boston)

They’re going to have to dump that name sooner or later, so, again, no worries.

Chargers (San Diego)

Got you again, because “Los Angeles Chargers” is that franchise’s original name.

Raiders (after they move to Vegas)

That would have to happen, yes.

I’m sure that MLB is worse

I think I listed them all—Braves, Athletics, Giants, Dodgers

The other relocated teams have changed their names already.

, and there are plenty in the NBA also.

Yes, I’m sure there are.