# Worst Sports Team Logos/Names Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 22, 2005, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920 "2005-05-22T01:51:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/61 "2005-05-23T16:42:08Z")
The Angels added “Los Angeles” to their name since they are trying to attract fans throughout the L.A. metropolitan area. I believe the city of Anaheim is suing the Angels over their new name, since it breaks an agreement the two had or something. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/62 "2005-05-23T16:42:43Z")
The Los Angeles Angels were named after the former Pacific Coast League team of the same name, and even played in their old park (LA’s Wrigley Field) at first. So what if they’re out in the suburbs now, it’s still the LA metro area, and the name has history behind it. The worst logo just might be that of the NHL/WHA’s Quebec Nordiques - a small-case letter _n_ with a hockey stick for a serif. The worst unis ever could be the all-powder-blue road uniforms of the 1980’s Kansas City Royals, or they could be the 1970’s Houston Astros ones with the multi-hued horizontal stripes that looked like Tequila Sunrises. And all teams names consisting of singular nouns, especially those referring to abstract concepts instead of actual objects or predatory animals, should be illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/63 "2005-05-23T16:55:48Z")
> [@Captain Lance Murdoch](#): > > As far as the Chivas USA thing goes, that’s practically a thread in itself. The team’s true name is Club Deportivo Chivas USA. They are owned by Jorge Vergara, the same guy who owns the Chivas team in Mexico. They have very deliberately made themselves into an ethnically-centered team. The team’s slogan is “Adiós soccer, el fútbol esta aqui.” The team’s owner, said “It’s the Latins versus the gringos. And we’re going to win.” The team is made up of almost entirely of Latino players. The team went out of its way to avoid taking non-Latinos when creating its roster. They are also a very bad “fútbol” team, losing nearly all their games. Their attendance, not-surprisingly is almost all Mexican. What attendance? And if a team wants to artificially limit their player pool, that’s their business. I doubt the other clubs mind at all. I suspect this won’t last long. > [@Captain Lance Murdoch](#): > > I can understand why a team would want to appeal to Latino soccer fans, but to be so divisive and insulting is hard to comprehend. It’s not working either. Not yet anyway. Attendance is not near what was hoped for. I believe they’re trying to inject some MFL style passion into the league. I don’t think you can take the rhetoric seriously. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/64 "2005-05-23T19:49:04Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > And all teams names consisting of singular nouns, especially those referring to abstract concepts instead of actual objects or predatory animals, should be illegal. And punishable by death, I might add. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/65 "2005-05-23T20:01:32Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > Nope. The Athletics go back to the American Association (the name does anyway) starting in 1882. Nope. So far as baseball is concerned, there have always been teams called the Athletics. There was a Philadelphia Athletics in the National League in 1876. And I think there was one in the National Association in 1871. Athletics was a very common name for baseball clubs, because in the pre-professional days, baseball clubs were really just fraternal clubs and the teams took on the name of the clubs. So if a club called the “X Athletic Club” fielded a baseball team, they would be called the “X Athletics.” This kind of think happened all over the country – Athletic Club of Philadelphia → Philadelphia Athletics Mutual Club of New York–\> New York Mutuals Olympic Club of Washington → Washington Olympics Forest City Club of Cleveland → Cleveland Forest Citys Western Club of Keokuk (Iowa) → Keokuk Westerns etc. Speaking of silly logos, take a look at Wright State University (Fairborn, Ohio). Their teams are called the Raiders and their logo was originally Rowdy Raider, a Viking with a horned helmet dressed in green and yellow (oh, okay, _gold_). That kind of made sense. But over the last few years, they decided they wanted a non-gender-specific logo and switched to a green wolf. Eh? What? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/66 "2005-05-23T20:03:59Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > Well, for one thing, it’s kind of silly to have your club called FC, when the league is called MLS. It wouldn’t be so silly if they had called it SC. Second the naming convention in English speaking countries would be to have the city first. So, it should be Dallas SC. As it is, it’s just a silly rip off of some European league, most likely FC Barcelona. Not as bad as Real Salt Lake, mind you, but still silly. The fan base for the M.L.S. is heavily Hispanic. Knowing that, it doesn’t seem silly to make references to Latin American or Spanish football by putting “F.C.” first or using names like Chivas and Real. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/67 "2005-05-23T20:05:39Z")
Oh, wait, what about the most offensive logo in America? [Chief Wahoo](http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/index.jsp?c_id=cle). Good grief, even his name is offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/68 "2005-05-23T20:13:17Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > The fan base for the M.L.S. is heavily Hispanic. Knowing that, it doesn’t seem silly to make references to Latin American or Spanish football by putting “F.C.” first or using names like Chivas and Real. Except Real tended to be for teams that had some sort of Royal sanction or charter. And teams with FC actually names are something like Fubol Club de Barcelona. FC Dallas is exactly that, FC Dallas. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/69 "2005-05-23T20:14:27Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > Well it may be a stupid name, but it is their name and the media is just reporting the news and using the team name as they should. Traditionally, the news media don’t just accept whatever name some corporate committee wants to give to a team. Newspapers always treated a sports club as belonging to the people of the city, especially since they purported to represent the city. In the past, the newspapers put the kibosh on several attempts by team owners to change to unpopular names – it was the press that named the New York Yankess (who were originally the Highlanders). The press pooh-poohed attempts to change the Boston Braves to the Bees, the Philadelpha Phillies to the Blue Jays, the Washington Senators to the Nationals. For several years, there was a disparity between the “official” names of these teams at the names that the press used. I don’t consider that that means “they weren’t doing their job.” It’s just that there was a different idea about what their job was – bowing to some corporate propaganda or calling a spade a spade. And many nicknames are traditionally considered to belong to the community, even if legally they belong to some corporation – for example, Baltimore newspapers had been calling their home teams “the Orioles” for years before the St. Louis Browns moved there in the 1950s. Similarly Philadelphia Athletics, Cincinnati Red Stockings, St. Louis Brown Stockings. Any team that made their home in these cities had the right to claim the traditional local name. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/70 "2005-05-23T21:03:28Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Oh, wait, what about the most offensive logo in America? [Chief Wahoo](http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/index.jsp?c_id=cle). Good grief, even his name is offensive. Let’s not forget the Braves’ Chief Knockahoma. On second thought, let’s. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/71 "2005-05-23T21:12:16Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh god, the Washington Redskins. They could change the name to the Foreskins and it would be _less_ offensive. > > Oh, wait, what about the most offensive logo in America? Chief Wahoo. Good grief, even his name is offensive. > Let’s not forget the Braves’ Chief Knockahoma. On second thought, let’s. Ah yes, that old canard. In rebuttal I refer you to the March 4, 2002 edition of Sports Illustrated magazine, “The Indian Wars” by S.L. Price with a sidebar by Andrea Woo, pp 66-72. The article reported that according to a poll by the Peter Harris Research Group, that with a margin of error of plus or minus 4%, 83% of the Indians polled said that professional teams should not stop using Indian nicknames, mascots or symbols. When pollsters asked Native Americans about the Washington Redskins, the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves they found no great resentment toward the names. Putting it charitably, the authors said that there’s a near total disconnect between Indian activists and the rank and file Native American population on this issue. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/72 "2005-05-23T21:20:52Z")
Enjoy the logo of my local hockey team: [The Lubbock Cotton Kings!](http://www.cottonkings.com/images/cottonbg800.jpg) Actually, that’s the earliest logo, which I kinda liked. That was followed by a second logo [(an attempt to make a cotton ball look even meaner)](http://www.cottonkings.com/images/800_0304_lckdesktop.jpg) and finally changed to the [current logo](http://www.cottonkings.com/images/800_0304_lckdesktop.jpg), which is much plainer and rather lame in my opinion. A shield and some sticks? That could be _any_ team’s logo! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/73 "2005-05-23T21:20:55Z")
I object because Chief Wahoo and the name "Redskins"offend me. I’m not posing as offended on someone else’s behalf. Just because I’m not a Native American means that this objection is a canard? I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/74 "2005-05-23T22:35:39Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > I was unaware of the WFL. I clicked the link to see that it was World Football. Given the Rise of the WNBA, I thought it could mean Womens Football. (I wasnt around in the 70s) > > Then again, if it was the “real” WFL… I guess it would be the Philadelphia Belle. 🙂 [There is & there is](http://www.iwflsports.com/show_news.php?news_id=24)… or there was in any event. [www.philadelphiabelles.com](http://www.philadelphiabelles.com) is gone… ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/75 "2005-05-24T00:10:22Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I object because Chief Wahoo and the name "Redskins"offend me. I’m not posing as offended on someone else’s behalf. Just because I’m not a Native American means that this objection is a canard? I don’t think so. That’s fine, ascenray, you can be offended about a sports logo if you choose, just like you can be offended by a haircut if you choose to be. Be advised though that if we ever meet at a Dope-fest, I’ll be the one in the Cleveland Indians Chief Wahoo hat, which I wear not to offend you or anyone else, but because it is my favorite baseball team. And that’s the last I’ll have to say on this hijack in this thread. You may now resume the conversation about silly logos and/or the history of the Philadelphia Athletics. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/76 "2005-05-24T22:15:05Z")
Another hockey winner! (Althoughif I really wanted to torture you all, I’d dig up roller hockey logos.) Presenting the [Macon Whopee](http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/logos/logos.cgi?logo_file=chl/macwho97.gif)! The leaf is supposed to be a fig leaf. They must like puun names in Georgia, since Macon’s current team is called the Trax. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/77 "2005-05-25T01:03:05Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > That’s fine, ascenray, you can be offended about a sports logo if you choose, just like you can be offended by a haircut if you choose to be. I’m a bit taken aback by this analogy. A haircut is just a reflection of personal taste. Whereas a beet-red faced grinning goofball represents a team called the “Indians.” I’ll only add that I have no problem with the _name_ “Indians.” It’s just a word. If we can have Irish and Scotsmen and other ethnic team names, why not Indians? “Redskins” is on a completely different level. Hey, how about “Darkskins,” “Brownies,” “Blackies,” “Darkies” anyone? Topped of with a goofy grinning mascot? Saheeb Dirty Wog? ---
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_First_Time)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/78 "2005-05-25T03:14:46Z")
_Originally Posted by ElvisL1ves And all teams names consisting of singular nouns, especially those referring to abstract concepts instead of actual objects or predatory animals, should be illegal._ Amen, brother. One of my favorite teams has my least favorite (and world’s stupidest) name - The Indiana Fever. When asked about the odd choice, their GM (who thought up the name all by herself) said that it wasn’t meant to invoke sickness or a high body temperature, but was referring to the “other meaning of fever.” AAAAK. After following the team for it’s 6 years as an entitiy, I find that it’s sort of like dating a person with a horrid name - like Anita Hardick. After a while you get used to it, but you never stop realizing that it’s an unfortunate choice. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/79 "2005-06-07T11:12:19Z")
No mention of the recently new “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim?” :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920/80 "2005-06-07T11:34:22Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > No mention of the recently new “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim?” :dubious: Gotta read the whole thread … copious mentions of the LAA of A above. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sports-team-logos-names-thread/304920.md?page=5)