# Question for non-Americans - Sports teams **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 26, 2014, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595 "2014-03-26T08:59:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/21 "2014-03-27T14:36:19Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Again with the “the”…it just sounds so weird to my UK ears, nothing would mark you out as a foreigner as quickly as that sentence construction. Oh, there are LOTS of things that would give me away as a Yank long before I ever tried talking about soccer (FOOTBALL! I know, to you it’s FOOTBALL!). ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/22 "2014-03-27T15:02:09Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Oh, there are LOTS of things that would give me away as a Yank long before I ever tried talking about soccer (FOOTBALL! I know, to you it’s FOOTBALL!). The stetson is a _dead_ giveaway! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/23 "2014-03-27T15:24:16Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > In the olympics a common chant for the US team is U-S-A, U-S-A. What national chants do other countries use? > > In sports in the US teams are normally given names Yankees, Giants, Bears, Bruins, etc… but it seems in other countries like European soccer they just go by their city name, is that true or do sometimes teams have “names”. > > Are sports stadiums financed by taxpayers? > > Finally in your country do people “tailgate”? Meaning set up grills and cookers and have these big parties in the stadium parking lots? A good example of the “european style” can be seen in today’s MLS. Here in Kansas City we used to have the Kansas City Wizards, but now we are Sporting KC. You also see a lot of team names like FC Dallas (futbol club) instead of old nicknames like the Dallas Burn. I prefer nicknames but then again I am American so that makes sense 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/24 "2014-03-27T15:39:04Z")
> [@chargerrich](#): > > A good example of the “european style” can be seen in today’s MLS. Here in Kansas City we used to have the Kansas City Wizards, but now we are Sporting KC. > > You also see a lot of team names like FC Dallas (futbol club) instead of old nicknames like the Dallas Burn. > > I prefer nicknames but then again I am American so that makes sense 🙂 Isn’t there a “Real” someone? Real Salt Lake City, perhaps. That strikes me as a little odd. ---
**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:** [March 27, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/25 "2014-03-27T15:47:42Z")
Some of the more European names in the MLS Real Salt Lake Sporting Kansas City Chivas USA FC Dallas Toronto FC DC United ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/26 "2014-03-27T18:43:09Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Many British soccer teams do have nicknames- I just don’t know how widely the nicknames are used. > > Arsenal is the Gunners. Tottenham Hotspur is the Spurs. West Ham is the Hammers. But you rarely or never hear these nicknames in American media coverage of the teams. But – correct me if I’m wrong – neither Arsenal or Hotspur is the name of a city or place, right? So those are already ‘nicknames’ in the sense of “Red Sox” or “Bears”, which is what I think the OP was asking. > [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Isn’t there a “Real” someone? Real Salt Lake City, perhaps. That strikes me as a little odd. It’s because ‘Real Salt Lake’ is imitating Real Madrid, the team from the Spanish city. And in Spanish Real (pronounced more or less ‘Ray- **al** ’) Madrid means “Royal Madrid”, which is a reasonable name, given the history of the team. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/27 "2014-03-27T19:16:16Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > But – correct me if I’m wrong – neither Arsenal or Hotspur is the name of a city or place, right? So those are already ‘nicknames’ in the sense of “Red Sox” or “Bears”, which is what I think the OP was asking. > > It’s because ‘Real Salt Lake’ is imitating Real Madrid, the team from the Spanish city. And in Spanish Real (pronounced more or less ‘Ray- **al** ’) Madrid means “Royal Madrid”, which is a reasonable name, given the history of the team. Arsenal is not the name of a place, as such. And Hotspur isn’t either, but Tottenham is - it’s a district in north London. And the team is referred to as “Tottenham” or “Spurs”, but never just “Hotspur”. The point, though, is that Arsenal isn’t a nickname - it’s the actual name of the team. Same applies to Celtic, Rangers and Hibernian in Scotland, and I presume some teams in England and other parts of Europe as well. And I do know about Real Madrid. The title just sounds, I dunno, incongruous when applied to a team in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/28 "2014-03-27T22:37:46Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > But – correct me if I’m wrong – neither Arsenal or Hotspur is the name of a city or place, right? So those are already ‘nicknames’ in the sense of “Red Sox” or “Bears”, which is what I think the OP was asking. > [@astorian](#): > > In British soccer, most times, people just name the city. There are a few exceptions, though. Like the Blackburn Rovers and the Wolverhampton Wanderers. I’m not sure what’s different about those teams. The moral of the story: The practice of naming English soccer teams isn’t exactly consistent. Feelings can run hot on the issue, though. Hull City A.F.C. is nicknamed “The Tigers” (it’s even on their [badge](http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs34/f/2008/240/2/0/Hull_City_AFC___Logo_Remake_by_resresres.jpg)), and owner Assem Allam is currently trying to officially rename the team to “Hull Tigers”, to make it more “marketable”. Fans are not happy about this, though, not at all. You can visit the “[City Till We Die](http://www.citytillwedie.com/)” website to join the protest and sign the [petition](http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/hull-city-afc-stop-and-reverse-the-unwanted-rebranding-of-hull-city-afc). Oh, and just joining the chorus on the ‘the’ issue: There’s no ‘the’, it’s just “Blackburn Rovers” and “Wolverhampton Wanderers”. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/29 "2014-03-27T22:59:35Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Arsenal is not the name of a place, as such. Arsenal started out as Woolwich Arsenal, but they dropped the Woolwich bit when they moved to Highbury. Queen of the South is another with no geographical link in the name. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/30 "2014-03-27T23:49:54Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Queen of the South is another with no geographical link in the name. Well, unless you count “The South”. 😉 It’s interesting, BTW, to have a Scottish team often referred to as “Queens”, without it being a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/31 "2014-03-28T00:17:51Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Well, unless you count “The South”. 😉 Haha, I hoped no-one would notice that… ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/32 "2014-03-28T01:03:00Z")
To expand on **Martini’s** reply, at a professional level in the various football codes and cricket at least, there is no tailgating to speak off. Apart from there being no tradition of tailgating, which I believe relates back to Martini’s point about the club putting on a sausage sizzle. The main issue in this tradition being adopted here (like so much other American culture) is a total lack of parking at the stadiums. It has been a design feature in new/refurbished stadiums for decades to have patrons arrive and depart via public transport. I can’t think of a single stadium anywhere in Australia where you would see the acres of bitumen carpark surrounding the stadium that seems common in the States. Even in new stadiums outside city centres, where there is the room (for example Homebush Stadium in Sydney - home of the 2000 Olympics) It doesn’t happen [Homebush Stadium](http://medias.photodeck.com/080bbbd4-d6d4-11e1-a25e-ef8de62a79e3/120103-A562_xgaplus.jpg) You can see a multi-level carpark in the picture here, but that is not owned by the stadium and costs ~$20 to park there for a game if you get there early enough to get a spot. Not exactly conducive to tailgating As **don’t ask** said, about the only sport in Australia where you’ll see what amounts to tailgating is Horse Racing, and more particularly only at some of the larger race carnivals like the Melbourne Cup. (That’s sort of our equivalent to the Kentucky Derby). ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/33 "2014-03-28T01:57:58Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Arsenal started out as Woolwich Arsenal, but they dropped the Woolwich bit when they moved to Highbury. > > Queen of the South is another with no geographical link in the name. That’s sort of what I meant - IIRC there is a museum kinda place at the main square in Woolwich (I used to live in Deptford and Greenwich) which is where Arsenal was founded, but there’s no part of London called Arsenal. There is an Arsenal tube station, but it post-dates the football team. Teams with no obvious geographical link in Scotland, I could add St Johnstone, St Mirren, Raith Rovers and Albion Rovers. I suppose St Mirren and St Johnstone are guessable if you already know the history of Paisley and Perth. Apart from Arsenal, I can’t think of any in England. Is Everton a district of Liverpool? My only other candidate would be Port Vale, and I have no real idea where they’re from. The Midlands, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/34 "2014-03-28T15:23:18Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Apart from Arsenal, I can’t think of any in England. Is Everton a district of Liverpool? My only other candidate would be Port Vale, and I have no real idea where they’re from. The Midlands, maybe? Everton is a part of Liverpool. Port Vale play in the town of Burslem, in Staffordshire. I’ve never even _heard_ of that. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/35 "2014-03-28T22:05:43Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > In sports in the US teams are normally given names Yankees, Giants, Bears, Bruins, etc… but it seems in other countries like European soccer they just go by their city name, is that true or do sometimes teams have “names”. The major Australian football codes use a In the AFL (Australian Rules) most clubs official names do not include a nickname. Team are listed on the AFL website alphabetically based on their regional name Adelaide Crows Brisbane Lions Carlton (Blues) Collingwood (Magpies) Essendon (Bombers) Fremantle (Dockers) Geelong Cats Gold Coast Suns GWS Giants Hawthorn (Hawks) Melbourne (Demons) North Melbourne (Kangaroos) Port Adelaide (Power) Richmond (Tigers) St Kilda (Saints) Sydney Swans West Coast Eagles Western Bulldogs In the NRL (Rugby League) the official names all include a nickname. Team are listed on the NRL website alphabetically based on their nickname i.e. BRISBANE BRONCOS CANTERBURY BULLDOGS NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS PARRAMATTA EELS NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS PENRITH PANTHERS SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS CANBERRA RAIDERS SYDNEY ROOSTERS MANLY SEA EAGLES CRONULLA SHARKS MELBOURNE STORM WESTS TIGERS GOLD COAST TITANS NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS The Super 15 (Rugby Union) teams are known exclusively by their nickname: Brumbies Bulls Cheetahs Chiefs Crusaders Force Highlanders Hurricanes Lions Rebels Reds Sharks Stormers Waratahs The A League (soccer/Association Football) mostly use a nickname Brisbane Roar Western Sydney Wanderers Melbourne Victory Central Coast Mariners Adelaide United Newcastle Jets Sydney FC Wellington Phoenix Melbourne Heart Perth Glory ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/36 "2014-03-29T00:12:53Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Everton is a part of Liverpool. Port Vale play in the town of Burslem, in Staffordshire. I’ve never even _heard_ of that. Now, I would never have guessed that. I suppose I was doing OK when I said the Midlands, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/37 "2014-03-29T12:59:36Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Teams with no obvious geographical link in Scotland, I could add St Johnstone, St Mirren, Raith Rovers And there was a celebrated occasion when one commentator, unaware that Raith wasn’t a town, declared after a victory “they’ll be dancing in the streets of Raith tonight.” This was later turned into a joke at the expense of any team with an egregiously non-geographical name, e.g. Jeff Stellings running gag “they’ll be dancing in the streets of Total Network Solutions tonight”, there once being a lower league team of that name sponsored by an IT company. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/38 "2014-03-29T13:33:30Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > In American sports, when people talk about a major professional sports team, they frequently name the team’s city AND its nickname: New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, Boston Celtics, Pittsburgh Penguins, etc. But just as often, they’ll just say the nickname. After all, what OTHER Yankees or Celtics would people be referring to? Are those nicknames or just names? It’s the San Francisco 49ers (their name), and the nickname is “Niners”. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/39 "2014-03-29T16:56:57Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > A further factor mitigating against tailgating in the UK is the weather. The football season covers autumn, winter and spring. Conditions which are bearable in the partial shelter of a stadium aren’t really conducive to an outdoor party atmosphere. American football fans are often willing to tailgate in the dead cold winter, surrounded by snow and ice. > [@Quercus](#): > > It’s because ‘Real Salt Lake’ is imitating Real Madrid, the team from the Spanish city. And in Spanish Real (pronounced more or less ‘Ray- **al** ’) Madrid means “Royal Madrid”, which is a reasonable name, given the history of the team. Real Salt Lake actually has some kind of cooperative agreement with Real Madrid, although it adopted the name before that agreement existed. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Are those nicknames or just names? It’s the San Francisco 49ers (their name), and the nickname is “Niners”. “49ers” is also considered a “nickname.” “Nickname” has two, somewhat ambiguous meanings when it comes to American sports teams. Traditionally, an American team has a two-part name, a geographical location (San Francisco) and a nickname (49ers). In the 19th century, the nickname really was informal and fluid, but over time they became official, so we have the phenomenon of an “official nickname,” somewhat oxymoronically. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595/40 "2014-03-30T01:08:03Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > And there was a celebrated occasion when one commentator, unaware that Raith wasn’t a town, declared after a victory “they’ll be dancing in the streets of Raith tonight.” > This was later turned into a joke at the expense of any team with an egregiously non-geographical name, e.g. Jeff Stellings running gag “they’ll be dancing in the streets of Total Network Solutions tonight”, there once being a lower league team of that name sponsored by an IT company. I remember something about that. I wanted to say it was after Raith beat Celtic in the League Cup final in the 90s, but maybe it’s older than that. St Johnstone also had a problem when they (infeasibly) qualified for the UEFA cup in the 70s. Their illustrious opponents had, predictably, never heard of them and scoured a map of Scotland looking for the town of St Johnstone. Of course, they found Johnstone in Renfrewshire, and apparently assumed that town was their home. They were ordered to compete in European competitions as “Perth St Johnstone” after that. It’s not a situation that arises often. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-teams/684595.md?page=3)