This morning as I was ruminating on the wrong football team names that appear to be proliferating these days, I paused when I got to the RIGHT name for the team from Arizona. Now, it’s obvious that if you’re going to name your Arizona-based NFL franchise after a bird, it needs to be a bird that’s associated with the state of Arizona. And the only bird that’s associated in the public consciousness with Arizona is the roadrunner.
Now that I’ve solved the problem of correcting the name of Arizona’s NFL franchise, let’s move on to more pressing issues.
Roadrunners have almost certainly been around in the Arizona desert for longer than there have been any roads to speak of (in Arizona). So, what did the early settlers in, say, Tombstone, Purgatory, and Globe call these critters? What did Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday cal them as they watched the birds that skittered in front of them on their way to the OK Corral?
And when DID they start getting called roadrunners?
Wikipedia informs me that “chaparral cock” is an alternate name for the roadrunner. The Latin name, Geococcyx californianus, seems to mean “Californian land-cuckoo”.
They might not be able to use Phoenix Roadrunners. There were several hockey teams named that, and their trademark might still be in force. For all I know there still is a minor league Phoenix team called that.
Phoenix did have a AAA baseball team called the Firebirds before the MLB Diamondbacks appeared on the scene.
As for Cardinals, it was their name when they previously played in St. Louis, and before that in Chicago. They’re one of the original teams in the NFL, dating back to 1920. And while the cardinal isn’t primarily associated with the state, there are cardinals in Arizona.
The might have an issue with these guys Phoenix Firebirds - Wikipedia but then again, the name’s been dormant for a few years and is unlikely to be revived. I watched them play many a game over the years.
There have been roads there for as long as there have been people. And before there were people there, the local fauna didn’t have any name at all, because we’re the only ones who name things.