# Top 10 NFL team nicknames **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 14, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345 "2008-05-14T21:47:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/1 "2008-05-14T21:47:08Z")
Just watched a show on ESPN Classic,here are their choices; 10.Monsters of the Midway(coined in the 40’s,Bears) 9.The Over-the-Hill Gang(Redskins) 8.The No-Name Defense( 73 Dolphins) 7.Air Coryell(Early 80’s Chargers or therabouts) 6.The Greatest Show on Turf(99-01 Rams) 5.The Purple-People-Eaters(70’s Vikings) 4.The Fearsome Foursome(60’s-70’s Rams) 3.The Hogs(Early 80’s Redskins) They gave honorable mentions to The Orange Crush(Broncos), The Killer B’s(Dolphins) and the Million Dollar Offense (49er’s). #'s 2 and 1 are obvious I think,See if ya can guess. They will be #2 The Steel Curtain and #1 America’s Team,I bet. Agree?Disagree? Which would you add or delete? ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/2 "2008-05-14T22:04:06Z")
Hmm, I would have thought that “Monsters of the Midway” would have been higher than #10. My favorite is the “No-Name Defense”, though. What a great nickname! Seems to me that “Orange Crush” was good enough to be in the top 10 instead of “Million Dollar Offense”. As soon as you hear “Orange Crush” you know exactly what team they are talking about. Not so much with the other. Which team was it that was called “The Smurfs” back in the 80’s? Was that also the Redskins? Seems like that was the same year they would do all those choreographed dances in the end zone. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/3 "2008-05-14T22:11:34Z")
[QUOTE=HelloKitty] Which team was it that was called “The Smurfs” back in the 80’s? Was that also the Redskins? Seems like that was the same year they would do all those choreographed dances in the end zone. [/QUOTE] The Smurfs were the defensive backs, while the Hogs were the offensive linemen. The wide receivers and tight ends constituted the Fun Bunch, whose celebrations eventually [inspired a league-wide ban on such frivolity.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fun_Bunch) ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/4 "2008-05-14T22:53:15Z")
Would my bias be showing if I went with Big Blue Wrecking Crew? [List of NFL Nicknames](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NFL_nicknames) ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/5 "2008-05-15T19:10:33Z")
Please fight my ignorance, but who is _America’s Team_ and how’d they get there? ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/6 "2008-05-15T19:13:29Z")
[QUOTE=RoOsh] Please fight my ignorance, but who is _America’s Team_ and how’d they get there? [/QUOTE] According to the show, The Dallas Cowboys. ---
**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 15, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/7 "2008-05-15T19:15:41Z")
[QUOTE=RoOsh] Please fight my ignorance, but who is _America’s Team_ and how’d they get there? [/QUOTE] That would be the Dallas Coyboys. The term was coined by NFL Films chief Bob Ryan in 1979, then adopted by the team as if it were, somehow, actually true. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/8 "2008-05-15T20:18:22Z")
As a Cowboys fan, I hate the _America’s Team_ nickname. I love the team and its championship-rich history, but what a pompous and embarassing load of crap. I don’t know how far the team has gone to adopt or ratify this nickname, since it was created by NFL Films, but I would hope they distance themselves from it. _Doomsday Defense_ should have made the list instead of _America’s Team_. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/9 "2008-05-16T14:46:08Z")
[QUOTE=Sternvogel] The Smurfs were the defensive backs, while the Hogs were the offensive linemen. The wide receivers and tight ends constituted the Fun Bunch, whose celebrations eventually [inspired a league-wide ban on such frivolity.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fun_Bunch) [/QUOTE] Nope, The Smurfs were the three wide receivers, since they were all under 6’. The current offensive line is known as the Dirtbags (which was given to them by Joe Bugle, the O-line coach who also coached the Hogs.) John Riggins’ nickname was The Diesel. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/10 "2008-05-16T19:57:04Z")
[QUOTE=Madd Maxx] Nope, The Smurfs were the three wide receivers, since they were all under 6’. [/QUOTE] You are correct. Obviously the source (which I now can’t find) that I used for my original post was wrong, as every link that comes up in my current search agrees with you. Thanks for refreshing my memory! ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/11 "2008-05-16T20:59:44Z")
I actually don’t like the “Monsters of the Midway” or “America’s Team” nicknames because they don’t refer to any specific group of players, just the team in general (and they’re the nicknames of the bears and cowboys -I refuse to dignify by capitalization). I like “Orange Crush” and “The Steel Curtain” the best of the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/12 "2008-05-16T21:05:57Z")
Cardiac Cardinals (during the Coryell years) Fearsome Foursome (1960s Rams) ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/13 "2008-05-16T22:52:40Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] Fearsome Foursome (1960s Rams) [/QUOTE] #4 on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/14 "2008-05-17T00:47:04Z")
[QUOTE=MadTheSwine] #4 on the list. [/QUOTE] My bad. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/15 "2008-05-17T02:51:18Z")
I do like the Gang Green referring to the New York Jets. Wildly appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/16 "2008-05-17T06:34:32Z")
[QUOTE=MadTheSwine] They gave honorable mentions to The Orange Crush(Broncos), The Killer B’s(Dolphins) and the Million Dollar Offense (49er’s). [/QUOTE] The 49ers had the “Million Dollar Backfield.” ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-nfl-team-nicknames/449345/17 "2008-05-17T10:47:05Z")
[QUOTE=Snooooopy] The 49ers had the “Million Dollar Backfield.” [/QUOTE] Seems like a network like ESPN woulda got that right, eh?