…And the NHL example of this would of course be the Calgary Flames (formerly from Atlanta where the “Flames” reference was historically significant).
Still, worse names could have been chosen (IMHO).
I can’t believe no one has mentioned the Miami Dolphins
I’ve been wondering about this for years. I thought the point was to have a name that would strike fear into the heart of your opponent. I can’t think of anything less frightening that Flipper. What kind of team cheer do they have? Eeek eeek?
There’s a team that has the mascot as the banana slug. Not good enough for you?
The Madeira School in Virginia is the Madeira Snails.
Yeah, UC Santa Cruz…we could go on and on with College mascots though.
South Carolina Gamecocks …love those hats
Akron Zips
Those are a couple of gems.
Founded on 20 April 1945 by Arthur B. “Mickey” McBride with the help of Robert H. Gries, the Cleveland Browns began playing in the All-American Football Conference in 1946.
Paul E. Brown, well-known high school and Ohio State coach, was chosen by McBride to direct his new professional franchise. Brown, the team’s namesake, served as coach from 1946-62, a span which many consider the Browns’ “golden era.”
Taken from: http://www.apk.net/cleveland/crd/entertainment/sports/browns/history/pbrown.html
Not that this makes the “Browns” a good team name. I always thought any name which requires an explanation to be kinda a reach.
Why do some teams feel their name has to have some symbolic significance, anyway? This seems to be the root of all this evil. When in doubt, anything denoting strength works well, like “Giants” or “Titans”. People trying to hard to be cute.
I am pretty resentful that the Washington NFL franchise is styled the Redskins. I find it offensive so I don’t use the nickname. I used to refer to them as the “'Skins”, but now I find the term “the $kins” more appropriate.
cmkeller,
I think that you are right. IIRC the Battle Creek team is now called “the Battle Cats”. I am surprised no one brought up a neighboring minor leage baseball team:
“the Lansing Lugnuts”
The Memphis USFL team was called the “Showboats.” That’s right, a bunch of hard-hitting gritty football players called the Showboats. Wasn’t there a musical, Showboat? A showboat player makes me think of all mouth, no action.
Speaking of which, it pains me as a fan to admit it, but the dumbest team name is the New York Rangers. It’s a bad play on words. Team owner Rickard liked the sound of Tex’ Rangers.
Ugh.
After a while, name origins become tangled up in urban legends, and it’s hard to say where team names came from. However, I have long heard that the Cleveland Browns were NOT named after their great coach Paul Brown, but were originally called “the Brown Bombers” in honor of heavyweight champ Joe Louis.
Regardless, “Browns” is no worse a name than “Reds” or “Blues.”
Welol, IIRC, the “Blues” are named after the musical style, so it is a real name.
I am voting for the Ravens for a few reasons:
- It’s a bird that isn’t a hawk, falcon, or eagle
- the name was chosen to correlate with Edgar Allan Poe. Poe didn’t frickin want to be associated with Baltimore; he just had the misfortune to die on his way through. but we have to honor the man with a half-assed stolen team.
- Baltimore had the opportunity to resurrect the name of a classic franchise that no longer exists, and chose not to take it. Tennessee chose to do that with the Titans, and see where it got them?
I have no idea what you are talking about. Could you enlighten me? And why does a bird have to be an eagle, hawk or falcon?
The Mighty Ducks. Com’on! Mighty DUCKS?
Oregon State University (snicker) Beavers!!
Archrival to the vicious Ducks of Oregon!
WTF? Anyone from Oregon care to explain this?
What do the Buffalo Bills have on their helmet? A buffalo.
What do the Buffalo Sabres have on the front of their jersey? A buffalo.
Has anyone else ever wondered why they just don’t give up and name a team the “Buffalo Buffaloes” and get it over with already?
The Chad Olympic Synchronized Swimming Team.
So, one day I was complaining to my brother about the extreme wussiness my college (Carnegie Mellon) team’s name: The Tartans. It’s a pattern, fer gosh’s sake! The Tartans? Oooooo! We’re gonna come clash with you! Real intimidating, right?
My brother, who went to Penn, pointed out that his college team, the Quakers, was named for a bunch of pacifists. That shut me up but good!
Trivia bonus: Carnegie Mellon’s school color is plaid.
I heard there is a college team in North Carolina called the cocks, and we all know how ferocious a rooster can be.
A few football (soccer) teams spring to mind…
Young Boys of Berne (Switzerland)
Go Ahead Eagles (Netherlands)
Total Network Solutions Llansantffraid (IIRC – sponsorship in the Welsh league gone made)
I can’t believe no one said this one:
Wanna name that strikes fear into your opponents?
The Cardinals. I’m referring to football here, not the baseball Cardinals. (Baseball isn’t the rugged, testosterone bunch that football is, so I’m more lenient on the wimpy names) But the Arizona Cardinals football team. OOOhh, scary little red bird is gonna kick some ass on the gridiron!!
And what about where they origianlly were: The St Louis Carcinals. WTF? We had the St Louis Cardinals already – they played baseball in Busch Stadium every summer, go get your own team name you tossers! And they used to share the same stadium. How confusing is that, buying tickets for the Sunday afternoon Cardinal game at Busch Stadium in September only to find you bought tickets for the wrong team!!
Minor league hockey team in Macon, Georgia. They call themselves the “Whoopie”.
Think about it.
