# Collective noun "team" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 25, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collective-noun-team/358218 "2006-05-25T18:22:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collective-noun-team/358218/1 "2006-05-25T18:22:58Z")
Which is preferable in American English: “The team were Big Ten Champs in 1951.” “The team was Big Ten Champs in 1951.” ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collective-noun-team/358218/2 "2006-05-25T18:26:38Z")
Hmmm. . . [Also from America’s dairyland.](http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/SubjectVerb.html) I’ve seen that rule before, though. Depends on whether you’re referring to them as a unit or as individuals. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collective-noun-team/358218/3 "2006-05-25T18:42:04Z")
The team **was** the conference **champion**. The Falcons **were** the conference **champions**. The University of Somesuch **was** the conference **champion**. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collective-noun-team/358218/4 "2006-05-25T20:18:50Z")
I agree with **FatBaldGuy** : I think the fact that you’re using the plural “champs” means that the plural “were” is correct. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collective-noun-team/358218/5 "2006-05-25T21:33:13Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I agree with **FatBaldGuy** : I think the fact that you’re using the plural “champs” means that the plural “were” is correct. He’s also using the plural “Falcons.” I run into confusion with team names like “The Jazz.” ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collective-noun-team/358218/6 "2006-05-25T22:13:21Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > He’s also using the plural “Falcons.” But that isn’t relevant, because “the Falcons” is synonymous with “the team.” The agreement needs to be with “champions,” not “team.” ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collective-noun-team/358218/7 "2006-05-26T00:02:22Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > But that isn’t relevant, because “the Falcons” is synonymous with “the team.” The agreement needs to be with “champions,” not “team.” OK, you’re right, but they all need to match. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collective-noun-team/358218/8 "2006-05-26T02:23:21Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > But that isn’t relevant, because “the Falcons” is synonymous with “the team.” The agreement needs to be with “champions,” not “team.” I disagree. I think “champion/s” would end up agreeing with the form of the team name. Nobody would say “the Canadiens were the champion” or “the Canadiens was the champion.” They would say “the Canadiens were the champions.” But they might well say “Montreal was the champion.” ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collective-noun-team/358218/9 "2006-05-26T02:25:58Z")
Look at it another way; picture these headlines. Canadiens win Montreal wins Lightning win OR Lightning wins Montreal team wins However, although singular team names can take the singular, plural city names can’t: Trois-Rivières wins NOT Trois-Rivières win ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collective-noun-team/358218/10 "2006-05-26T02:35:06Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > He’s also using the plural “Falcons.” I run into confusion with team names like “The Jazz.” Rule of thumb: teams with singular names (Utah Jazz, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild) still take plurals. Just don’t ask me what you call a member of the Jazz. I guess you’d call him a “Note.” A Colorado Avalanche player is called an Av, since the team is referred to as the Avs a lot of the time. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collective-noun-team/358218/11 "2006-05-26T07:00:34Z")
All the above does definitely only apply to American English - in Britain, team names are generally treated as plurals. From today’s sports pages: “Plunkett plunders as England catch fire” “Walcott a bright spark but England are embarrassed by 10-man Belarus” “St Helens have made an approach for Newcastle Knights Matthew Gidley” “Melbourne Storm have expressed an interest in the Great Britain centre Chev Walker”