Ha, if you’d grown up in the south then you’d know that a 'lope is a cantaloupe, especially as bought off of the back of a local farmer’s truck. Example: Lopes $1
I nominate their mascot be a person in a cantaloupe suit.
Actually, the Montreal Canadiens are named this way because their official name is the “Club de hockey canadien” (“Canadian Hockey Club”). This explains the big C and smaller H on their jerseys. They were in fact named the “Club athlétique canadien” a few years before, and had a large C and smaller A on their jerseys. So the name may seen stupid today, but at the time (early 20th century), that was how you named sports teams.
This said, yes, “Canadien” also refers to the inhabitants of New France, as well as the francophones in Canada until the Confederation (at the time, the English speakers saw themselves mostly as British).
One of the teams in the professional Japan Ice Hockey League is the Kokudo Bunnies.
Haven’t been able to find a picture of their uniform, though.
Anyone mention The Lady Popes yet?
This reminds me of the pro baseball team Nippon Ham Fighters.
Regrettably, the team’s nickname is just “Fighters.” They’re owned by Nippon Ham, hence the name. Nonetheless, I think everyone should consider them the Ham Fighters. I have no idea what a Ham Fighter is, but I want to cheer for them.
But that reminds me of one of my favorite sports-related moments. When the new Baltimore NFL team name was announced at a press conference, the speaker (I don’t remember if it was Art or a spokesperson) came in big with the “… the RAVENS!” and then after a pause, explained “NFL fans are smart, they’ll get the reference.”
I think my own NFL team has a stupid name – the Buffalo Bills. What’s a Bill? Buffalo Bill is a guy, but it seems weird to have a team named after a single guy (and before you Cleveland fans start huffing) when it’s the city part of the name that identifies it as the particular guy in question. Bill? Who’s Bill? Oh, Buffalo Bill. Plus, all the stuff features a picture of a buffalo, so it’s not even as if they are getting any visual impact out of the “Bill” part. They could really just drop the Bill and it could be years before anyone notices.
That said, for all I think it’s stupid, I’m used to it and would think it odd if they ever changed the name.
My only other comment is to thank goodness those folks in Anaheim finally woke up and smelled their incredibly stupid NHL name.
How about Go Ahead Eagles?
My state (Illinois) has high school team names which include the Bunnies, the Pretzels, the Flaming Hearts, the Wooden Shoes, the Appleknockers and the Cornjerkers.
You may be chagrined to know the origin of the team name. It’s homage to an old Negro League team – the Monarchs.
My beef is with random team names that have nothing to do with the city or region they represent. The Utah Jazz are the ultimate example, but there are many others. My grad school alma mater is one: every state university in Florida has a state-specific mascot (Hurricanes, Gators, Seminoles, Panthers, Owls, Bulls) except for UCF – the Knights. Lousy team name. It’s 95 degrees, and you want to wear metal armor?
But that aside, I think I can win this thread. My undergrad school had the lamest team name ever: The Archers. It’s the lamest because it does not refer to guys with bows; rather it is a reference to a breezeway which is the main entrance to school and the most prominent feature of the school’s oldest building, and an architectural motif repeated often on campus.
Our school mascot was – I swear I am not making this up – an eight-foot high paper-mache gothic archway, with a guy inside each side of it. They’d practice running around together, so they would both turn right or left at the same time.
At least all the other teams mentioned actually know what their team name means. Somehow I get the feeling that The Bastards might not have gotten that down just yet.
And decided they prefered having an incredibly stupid MLB name instead.
Here’s how it goes, so I’m told: To a non-American, Yankee means American. To an American, it means a Northerner. To a Northerner, it means somebody from New England. To a New Englander, it means somebody from Vermont. To a Vermonter, it means somebody who eats pie for breakfast.
There are a host of minor league teams with singular nouns as team names, but the ones meaning emotional states are the worst - Shock, Awe.
In college sports, simply tacking “Lady” onto the men’s team names is lame, but the prize for lamest has to Centenary College, home of the Gentlemen - and, briefly, the Lady Gentlemen. At least they’re now just the Ladies.
English football team names are generally sensible, but nicknames (which often end up being semi-official) can be bloody stupid
I can contribute several.
When the Expos moved to Washington, the team name was changed to the wholly unimaginative “Nationals”.
The Washington Nationals. Brilliant.
Likewise the Houston Texans. Boy that took some creativity thinking up that one.
Then you have franchise moves that throw logic out the window in retaining the original team name.
From the NBA when the New Orleans Jazz moved to Utah, they kept the team name despite the fact that Utah isn’t exactly renowned for its rich musical contribution. Has anyone in Utah even purchased a jazz CD?
Also you have the Lakers who were transplanted from Minneapolis, Minnesota, you know, Land of a Thousand Lakes and all to Los Angeles, California, which is the Land of … well, not thousands of lakes that’s for sure.
That team is from Baghdad.
I don’t know if the current team’s name was chosen for this reason, but it could refer to the fact that the team that played baseball in the city from 1901 to 1960 was officially named the Washington Nationals for about half a century, although the club was referred to informally as the Senators. Cite.
Is there really a team called the Awwwwww?
I went to Venice High School in Los Angeles (whiterabbit attended about ten years later.) We were the Gondoliers (Go Gondos!).
The mascot was Gunther Gondolier. He was an Italian guy with a mustache, a blue and white striped shirt who carried an oar. One can only imagine how intimidating that is to opposing players.
Last I remember, Venice still had a decent football program, so it can’t be all that bad. And if you guys had a water polo team, I can see where Gunther might have truly shined. 
Yeah, but they replaced it with an even stupider name. The Anaheim Ducks? Just terrible.