# Silly Team Names **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 10, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815 "2003-04-10T16:42:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NameAlreadyTaken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/97f17d/32.png) [@NameAlreadyTaken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NameAlreadyTaken)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/1 "2003-04-10T16:42:33Z")
What sports team has the most ridiculous or silly name? **Minor League Hockey** [list=1] [li]Macon Whoopie - ECHL[/li][li]Charlotte Checkers- ECHL[/li][li]New Orleans Brass - ECHL[/li][li]Florida Everblades - ECHL[/li][li]Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs - CHL[/li][li]Amarillo Gorillas - CHL[/li][li]Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees - CHL[/li][/list=1] Minor league hockey happens to have some of my favorite names, although I always admired the MLS and their choice of bizzare mascots (SJ Earthquakes, Chicago Fire, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/2 "2003-04-10T16:57:58Z")
NFL Expansion Team - **L.A. Riots** \* \*I can’t take credit for that one. ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/3 "2003-04-10T17:08:27Z")
[Pretty much every college](http://www.smargon.net/nicknames/) ---
**Author:** ![mrweebles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@mrweebles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrweebles)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/4 "2003-04-10T17:29:31Z")
Especially the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. No wonder their men’s basketball team was so cowardly at the end of the season. ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/5 "2003-04-10T17:34:20Z")
I’ll second the minor league hockey thing. We have an IHL team called the River Rats. ---
**Author:** ![NameAlreadyTaken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/97f17d/32.png) [@NameAlreadyTaken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NameAlreadyTaken)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/6 "2003-04-10T17:49:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mullinator \* > \*\*[Pretty much every college](http://www.smargon.net/nicknames/) \*\* But which is best? I personally like the UCSC Bannana Slugs. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/7 "2003-04-10T17:55:43Z")
For a while, the Brooklyn Dodgers were known as the Brooklyn Robins and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms. The Chicago team in the Federal League (1914-1915) was known as the Chicago Whales, just what you’d name a baseball team where speed (at that time) was very important and in a city that was 1000+ miles from the nearest ocean. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/8 "2003-04-10T17:56:24Z")
Dammit! I was ready to mention the Whoopie. I always thought my high school team, the Westchester Comets was pretty stupid. Until I moved to San Diego and came across the Kearny High School Komets. At least we spelled ours right. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/9 "2003-04-10T18:33:42Z")
The Ottawa team in the National Lacrosse League is called “Ottawa Rebel.” No, that wasn’t a typo. I didn’t miss an S. It’s “Ottawa Rebel,” not “Ottawa Rebels.” Now, I can understand a non-plural name where the team’s name defies pluralization, like “Utah Jazz,” “New York Liberty,” etc. But… why? Why “Ottawa Rebel”? Why in God’s name would you do that? Oh, and the Toronto team is the “Toronto Rock.” Why?? I thought maybe it was Rock as in Rock and Roll, sort of like Utah Jazz, but there’s nothing in the team graphics to suggest this. So… why? ---
**Author:** ![Nordic\_Pacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/77aa72/32.png) [@Nordic\_Pacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nordic_Pacer)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/10 "2003-04-10T18:36:12Z")
The San Jose **CyberRays** of the WUSA. I’m a huge fan of the team, but it’s a _very_ silly name. ---
**Author:** ![Mariemarie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58f4c7/32.png) [@Mariemarie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mariemarie)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/11 "2003-04-10T18:39:03Z")
NameAlreadyTaken: In Pulp Fiction, John Travolta’s wearing a UCSC Banana Slugs T-shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/12 "2003-04-10T18:39:45Z")
Toronto Raptors - NBA For the love of god did we have to name the team after Jurassic Park? ---
**Author:** ![NameAlreadyTaken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/97f17d/32.png) [@NameAlreadyTaken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NameAlreadyTaken)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/13 "2003-04-10T18:49:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\*The Ottawa team in the National Lacrosse League is called “Ottawa Rebel.” > \*\* I used the Rebel, Rock, Roughnecks and Ravens in a trivia question for a class I was teaching a while back. One of two Canadian sports questions for a bunch of New Yorkers: Q1: Name the four major league professional team names that start with R in Canada’s official summer sport. Q2: At a curling match, the skip on the team with the hammer is about to throw for the first time in the 2nd end. Assuming that all shots begin at the hack and successfully cross the hog line at the opposite end of the sheet, what’s the minimum total amount of distance that rocks have travelled in this match? A2: (highlight it) Hack to hog line is 105 ft, 16 stones per end, Skip (last spot on team) with hammer (throws first) throws stone #14 as his/her first rock, so (16 +13)\*105=3045 feet ---
**Author:** ![NameAlreadyTaken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/97f17d/32.png) [@NameAlreadyTaken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NameAlreadyTaken)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/14 "2003-04-10T19:02:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mariemarie \* > \*\*NameAlreadyTaken: In Pulp Fiction, John Travolta’s wearing a UCSC Banana Slugs T-shirt. \*\* I never watched Pulp Fiction, but MacGuyver always wore a Calgary Flames cap. Now ask me why I think Chicago Fire is a silly name, but Calgary Flames isn’t. 🙂 P.S. **Mariemarie** If no one else has said it yet (or even if they have), welcome to the boards! ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/15 "2003-04-10T23:08:09Z")
I always liked the Austin Ice Bats (WPHL) and the Missouri River Otters (UHL). My favorite college one was always the Amherst “Lord Jeffs.” Oh, no! The snivelling stuck-up snotnosed pampered fops are coming to get us! ---
**Author:** ![NameAlreadyTaken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/97f17d/32.png) [@NameAlreadyTaken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NameAlreadyTaken)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/16 "2003-04-10T23:11:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dooku \* > \*\*I always liked the Austin Ice Bats (WPHL) and the Missouri River Otters (UHL). > \*\* For what it’s worth, the Austin Ice Bats got rolled into the Southern Division of the CHL when the CHL and WPHL merged. The [Ice Bats](http://www.icebats.com/) are currently down 2-1 in a best of 7 series with the Laredo Bucks. I just love the team names in that league! ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/17 "2003-04-10T23:25:13Z")
Wilmington, Delaware’s single-A baseball team, let’s hear it for… the Blue Rocks! ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/18 "2003-04-11T01:59:59Z")
There are some strange names in AAA baseball such as, **Myrtle Beach Pelicans** wouldn’t exactly strike fear into me. **Lansing Lugnuts** sounds like an insult (to themselves). **Savannah Sand Gnats** seems strange as well. Now, I don’t really know what the heck a sand gnat is, but at worst I would think they would be an annoyance and nothing worse than that. It’d be like naming a team the Foldens Jock Itch. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/19 "2003-04-11T02:21:10Z")
The Evergreen State College [Geoducks](http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/pugetsound/species/geoduck.html). (pronounced _gooey-ducks_) ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815/20 "2003-04-11T02:47:33Z")
NIFL (indoor football) - the [Omaha Beef](http://www.beeffootball.com/). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-team-names/167815.md?page=2)