# If you are religious, can you root for the New Jersey Devils? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 11, 2000, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-religious-can-you-root-for-the-new-jersey-devils/22065 "2000-06-11T22:55:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![theuglytruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@theuglytruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theuglytruth)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2000, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-religious-can-you-root-for-the-new-jersey-devils/22065/1 "2000-06-11T22:55:45Z")
. … or what about if you are the chaplain at Duke University? How do you feel about your school mascot being the “Blue Devils” . . .or the Wake Forest “Demon Deacons”? I’m sure there’s other examples, but there must be a Holy Roller somewhere in Hoboken last night that had to hold their tongue when the Devils smoked the Stars in double overtime for the Stanley Cup! ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-religious-can-you-root-for-the-new-jersey-devils/22065/2 "2000-06-12T00:37:01Z")
Though the NJ Devils logo has horns and a pointy tail, I believe the team name refers to a lengendary creature rumored to live in the swamps of Jersey, known as the New Jersey Devil. Sort of their own Loch Ness Monster. As for the other schools, I couldn’t say how the religious justify it. Sometimes they don’t. I’m a graduate of a high school with a team name Red Devils. Several years back, some Bible-thumper stirred up a big controversy about it. I think the New York Times even made mention of it. My school ended up following the wishes of the boosters that foot much of the athletic bills, and the name stuck. I never thought of my team name as something evil. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-religious-can-you-root-for-the-new-jersey-devils/22065/3 "2000-06-12T00:44:35Z")
Do christians eat Devil’s Food Cake? Sure they do. 🙂 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-religious-can-you-root-for-the-new-jersey-devils/22065/4 "2000-06-12T02:50:38Z")
Do atheists eat angel food cake? ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-religious-can-you-root-for-the-new-jersey-devils/22065/5 "2000-06-12T03:20:17Z")
Used to be The El Paso Times would have one fiery letter to the editor at the beginning of each baseball season ranting about The Diablos. Those letters seem to have faded when they didn’t get much of a response. The team name dates back to when they were a farm club of the California Angels. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-religious-can-you-root-for-the-new-jersey-devils/22065/6 "2000-06-12T05:24:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Do atheists eat angel food cake? > \*\* No, that would be the wiccans. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![theuglytruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@theuglytruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theuglytruth)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-religious-can-you-root-for-the-new-jersey-devils/22065/7 "2000-06-12T06:26:07Z")
Thanks for the story, Milossarian, but I KNEW that would be the first response I’d get . . ie the “Jersey Devil” folklore story, and how the New Jersey Devils refers to a legendary creature and not Satan. But one look at the er- New Jersey -um well, jerseys! and you will see that the “J” clearly has horns, and the “N” has a pointed tail . . just like the dreaded Beelzebub himself! I did find the high school story interesting though. Any clerics out there that were forced to study at a “demon mascot” school that can help? ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-religious-can-you-root-for-the-new-jersey-devils/22065/8 "2000-06-12T11:19:32Z")
The Blue Devils and Demon Deacons schools were church schools. They have a sense of humor. Some people don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-religious-can-you-root-for-the-new-jersey-devils/22065/9 "2000-06-12T13:35:57Z")
If you believe that using contraceptives constitutes abortion, can you root for the Trojans? ---
**Author:** ![jenkinsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cc9497/32.png) [@jenkinsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jenkinsfan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-religious-can-you-root-for-the-new-jersey-devils/22065/10 "2000-06-12T13:47:40Z")
Allow me to quote the eleventh commandment: _ **Thou shalt not root for any durn devils, especially those lil’ imps at Duke!** _ :mad: :mad: Why did you have to mention Duke? \ ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-religious-can-you-root-for-the-new-jersey-devils/22065/11 "2000-06-12T15:01:21Z")
IIRC, Putty from Seinfeld was a big Devil’s fan (gotta support the Devils), and was a fairly serious Xian. He even had a Jesus fish on his car. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-religious-can-you-root-for-the-new-jersey-devils/22065/12 "2000-06-12T16:29:36Z")
As a homegrown South Jersey “piney”, I can chime in on this one: the [Jersey Devil](http://commlink.atlantic.county.lib.nj.us/HISTORY/jerseydevil.htm) of legend is indeed not a nice critter but it is not the Big Prince of Darkness himself. Kimstu ---
**Author:** ![argyle87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/90ced4/32.png) [@argyle87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/argyle87)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2000, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-religious-can-you-root-for-the-new-jersey-devils/22065/13 "2000-06-13T06:18:06Z")
I just graduated from a St. Petersburg High School, and our mascot is the Green Devils. To make a long story short, some guy eons ago remarked of our football team “they play like a bunch of green devils!”, and the name stuck. Today, no one would DREAM of trying to change the mascot of Old St. Pete High, since it has become sacred tradition. Interestingly, when we recieved our very own, shiny, new expansion baseball team, the Devil Rays, there were quite a few zealots who lobbied for a different name. Why they chose Devil Rays I’ll never know. There is no such animal. The name stayed, and now, nobody seems to mind. In summation: to everybody but the religiously handicapped, it’s all in fun.