Nah, just because they spelled it first doesn’t mean they are doing right.
Throwing in extra u’s for no reason: colour, harbour
Throwing in an extra o for no reason: foetus, amoeba,
Throw in an extra a for no reason: Encyclopaedia, leukaemia
Tack on an extra ue for no reason: analogue, catalogue
They clearly don’t know what they are doing
I always thought it would be cool if the Angels played in an indoor stadium called “The Astraldome”.
The Tigers (or Lions, Jaguars, or any feline team) should play in “The Litter Box”.
The Mets? “The Opera House”.
Red/White Sox? “The Hamper”.
Mariners? “Davy Jones’ Locker”.
Eagles? “The Aerie”.
And don’t even get me started on aluminium.
The Tampa Bay Lightning originally played in what is now Tropicana Field in St Petersburg. When they played there it was rechristened the Thunderdome. FWIW St Petersburg FL is often referred to as the lightning strike capital of the world, although that might not quite be accurate, it’s definitely up there.
Those are awesome although the Opera reference would be missed by most of the attendants. I particularly like “The Litter Box”. Maybe LSU should change from Death Valley and get a unique nickname.
And I attended LSU, and heard it called “Deaf Valley” all the time.
The best and the worst at the same time:
Madison Square Garden.
It’s not in Madison Square. (There is a Madison Square in Manhattan where the original stadium was adjacent to.)
It’s not square. It’s round.
It’s not a garden. It’s over Penn Station in the midtown Manhattan and there is no “garden” there.
Yet, the name somehow fits. It’s beautiful and the claim that it is the most famous stadium in the world is true. There’s nothing like being able to say, “I played in Madison Square Garden.”
For those that cite “The Big House”, I have to mock with total disdain. The “Big House” is the Jackson State Prison" in Jackson, Michigan, not too far from Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan. For many years the Jackson State Prison was the largest walled prison in America. It was “The Big House”. It is a place where many of the UofM football players should be residing but for the protection of their totally corrupt athletic dept.
So yes, when you go to the “Big House” you are in a place with a nickname that accurately describes where the players should be, not where the game is being played.
From a Great Lakes perspective:
The Brickyard
The Big House
The Friendly Confines
The Corner
The Joe
The Brez (Breslin Center, East Lansing)
Others:
The House That Ruth Built
The Stadium (Yankee)
Of course, Spartan Stadium, which has no nickname and doesn’t need one. It’s just classic.
U.S. Cellular Field is often referred to as “The Cell,” which is appropriate since the place does have a certain prison-like quality.
(Me, I still – and will always – call it “Comiskey Park.”)
[nitpick]Arena - isn’t a stadium one with no roof?[/nitpick]
Racetrack nicknames:
Pimlico = Old Hilltop
Saratoga = The Graveyard of Champions
Belmont = Big Sandy
Del Mar = Where The Surf Meets The Turf (more of a slogan)
Surprisingly, Churchill Downs doesn’t have any major nicknames.
My beloved University of Georgia Bulldogs play “Between the Hedges”.
Not quite as ‘in your face’ as some of the other names of venues, but certainly evocative.
Sorry, but having spent most of my life in Michigan, and near Jackson/Ann Arbor, I have never heard anyone ever refer to Jackson Prison as the big house. The Big House is Michigan Stadium. I’ve heard the term in old gangster films as a generic term for prisons, but not Jackson specifically.
A Google search for The Big House, The Big House Prison, and The Big House Jackson do not show any results for Jackson Prison on the first few pages.
Go Blue! (Now that I’m spending time in Kentucky, I also correct the UK fans that they are unknowingly cheering for Michigan ;)).
No it isn’t. I heard this once on a game telecast and thought about it for about 15 seconds and said “What a bunch of NYC self-important bullshit.”
The teams that play in MSG generally suck. The Rangers one one title there 20 years ago. The Knicks won two 40 years ago, despite the NBA’s never-ending attempts to rig things in their favor. What else they got? The Westminster Dog Show?
Just off the top of my head I think of Wimbledon, Wembley, Lambeau Field, the Rose Bowl, and just about every other major Bowl venue. Worldwide, the Melbourne Cricket Ground has hosted the Olympics and dozens if not hundreds of test cricket matches. The Old Yankee Stadium has 100x the history and ambience of MSG.
Those are stadiums that you’re mentioning. MSG is The World’s Most Famous Arena.
MSG has also been The major venue for the biggest musical acts that have passed through NYC for the past 50 years. I can’t think of one other arena, at least in the US that comes anywhere close to the Garden in terms of renown - perhaps Joe Louis or the old Boston Garden or even the Fabulous Forum?
NASCAR venues:
Darlington Raceway - “The Lady in Black”
Dover International Speedway - “The Monster Mile”
Bristol Motor Speedway - “Thunder Valley”
Every major city has a main venue where every single major band plays when they are on tour, just like Madison Square Garden. Many of them are the homes to much better sports teams as well.
Bands play Madison Square Garden one night, then they pack up and head to Philadelphia to play in the Wachovia Center (before that, the Spectrum), then to D.C. to play the Verizon Center, etc., etc., etc.
And the (Boston) Garden.
All of which are less well known than MSG. I think that it is an appropriate nickname. The fact that there haven’t been championships means nothing - 2 of the 3 most famous baseball stadiums in the US, Fenway and Wrigley, had how many championships between 1918 and 2004?
Another thing that’s in its favor is that it’s not named after a corporate entity like Wachovia.
When the Giants built Pac Bell Park (which became SBC Park, then AT&T Park) I tried to start a grass roots movement to call it “The Phone Booth” but it never caught hold.