I am hardly Sports Purist Guy. I believe American League baseball is more enjoyable than the National League’s version primarily because of the designated hitter. I don’t miss Chicago Stadium or the Boston Garden and I won’t miss Yankee Stadium when it is gone.
I only care about the Rose Bowl when it’s a match-up between two good teams, regardless of whether they are in the Pac-10 or Big Ten.
That said, I was watching last night’s NBA playoff game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Utah Jazz and immediately found myself annoyed. The Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Utah Jazz? I have never been to L.A. or Utah, but I am pretty sure that there is not an abundance of lakes in Southern California, and I’m damn sure that no one in the state of Utah even knows what jazz music is.
So who the hell named these teams? Umm… the cities of Minneapolis and New Orleans did.
See, for those of you who do not know, the Lakers started out in Minnesota (the land of 10,000 lakes) as the Minneapolis Lakers.
Great name, right?
Well, it was, until 1960, when the Lakers relocated to Los Angeles (the land of 10 lakes), but were too lazy to change their name. Similarly, the Jazz played in New Orleans from 1974-79 before failing to change their name once they relocated to Salt Lake City.
Aside from the obvious mismatching of team names with the cities in which they now reside (see Calgary Flames), I have a problem with teams taking the histories of that franchise with them to a new place. Surprisingly, no one really cared to rectify this problem until the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore and the city fought to make sure the Baltimore Browns never happened.
Subsequently, the Browns became the Baltimore Ravens, and a few years later a new Cleveland Browns franchise was founded. Ironically, I was driving through Baltimore not too long ago, and Local Radio Guy was complaining about how Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts will go down in history as one of the “great Colts of all-time,” lumped in with famous Baltimore Colts like Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry.
You know what, Local Radio Guy? I completely agree. Peyton Manning should not be playing for the Indianapolis Colts, but rather the Indianapolis Motors or something like that, and therefore, Ray Lewis should be another great Baltimore Colt.
You think I’m crazy? Well, maybe I am, but baseball used to do this all the time back in the day. The Cincinnati Reds that we know and hate today is the third installment of the franchise (according to Wikipedia).
Hockey seems to be the only sport that has gotten it right as of late. Of course, the team names in that sport are more closely tied to the city or region in which the team resides (Quebec Nordiques, Hartford Whalers, for example) so, with the exception of the Minnesota North Stars becoming the Dallas Stars (which, because Texas is the “Lone Star State” would actually be acceptable had Minnesota named their expansion team anything other than the Wild).
The Atlanta Flames (best nickname ever; General Sherman would be honored) keeping their name when they packed up and left for Calgary hockey gets an A+. Watching the Colorado Nordiques and New Jersey Rockies skate around would have been nearly as ridiculous as the Jazz selling like hotcakes in SLC.
In a perfect world, Congress would step in (apparently they have nothing better to do) and set the World of Sports Nicknames straight. Goodbye to the Utah Jazz, Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Braves, hello to the revitalized Charlotte Hornets (and their Starter jackets), St. Louis Cardinals (the football version) and New York Giants (sorry Mets fans, but your team’s name is ridiculous).
As we are seeing with the Seattle Supersonics in the NBA, pro franchises will always come and go. We should at least fight to keep the names in the cities in which they belong.
What’s in a name? Everything.
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5 months ago
Cool article. I live near Seattle and am glad that they are keeping their name, but it seems unlikely that we will get another NBA team in the near future. *sigh*
Also, I am a Titans fan and was very glad when they changed their name from the Tennessee Oilers, which makes no sense whatsoever, to the Titans.
from 5 months ago
I agree they had to change from the oilers and that the titans sounds good; but it dosen't make a hell of a lot of sense.
Was Nashville or Tennesee for that matter thes sit of Zeus's epic battle where he vanquished his father and the rest of the Titans, placing them inside Mt. Olympus for enternity?
And damn Bud Adams for not allowing Houston to use the name Oilers again.
5 months ago
What about the Memphis Grizzlies? I'm not from TN, but I doubt they even know what a Grizzly bear looks like. It made sense when they were in Vancouver, but they seriously need to rename it something purtaining to music or such.
I wonder why no one of the higher-ups pays attention to how stupid nicknames sound once a team moves. And yes, the Oklahoma City SuperSonics (what a mouthful) would have been the dumbest by far.
5 months ago
hahaha this was a cool article glad to hear all the facts keep it up!
5 months ago
Gotta remember the greatest quote, in the NFL. When asked why he called his team the Kansas City Chiefs after the move, he simply told the reporter:
Well, it wouldn't make much sense calling them the Kansas City Texans, would it?
5 months ago
Lamar Hunt, see above
5 months ago
Another thing that irritates me is how every team from Buffalo uses a buffalo as their logo...Sabres, Bills, Bisons (I guess the Bisons can get away with it. Not real creative though.)
Why even have a nickname for Buffalo teams? The Sabres and Bills should just be known as Buffalo hockey or Buffalo football. The city obviously has a sick fascination with their name. So they're named after a big dumb animal...No one cares.
Personally, I think the Sabres have an awesome name. It's cool, different, goes back to their war days (1812). Why not use it more in logos and other graphics and get away from the overused city name? Their has to be a thousand better sabre desins than the Buffaslug they use now.
5 months ago
When NHL Rumors had the Pittsburgh Penguins moving (if the city didnt meet the teams demands) to Kansas City i was worried the team would end up being the KC Penguins...that would have made me barf.
*sigh* alas, still no hockey in Kansas City.
5 months ago
How about the Dodgers? The name originates from Brooklyn...Originally they were known as the "Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers" and it was shortened to Dodgers. New Yorkers are known for being impatient and people used to run out in the middle of the street (they still do) and they had to dodge the trolleys. When was the last time a trolley rolled down the hills of LA? A Brooklyn congressman tried to sue for Brooklyn to have the name back but it went nowhere.
5 months ago
PS...what is wrong with Mets???? It's short for their original name which was "The New York Metropolitan Club"...The Dodgers and Giants left us so good bye and good riddance. You realize that the Mets colors (before they went on the black fad) is Dodger blue and Giant orange.
5 months ago
Hahaha awesome article. I've wondered that many times myself, when sports teams don't change their name.
Here or some other naming problems and descrepencies that come to mind.
1. Ravens: Perhaps the most obscure name selection ever given to a sports franchise in the U.S. Baltimore elected to name their team after the poem (the raven) written by the nutty Edgar Allen Poe. Who moreover wasn't even born in Baltimore but died in its streets under rather dubious circumstances.
2. The San Diego Chargers: i've heard alot of different reasons behind this one, so I don't know the true facts, maybe someone can enlighten me.
3. Lets not forget the idiocy of St. Louis who had two Cardinals franchises in their state at the same time. Perhaps it made it easier on the fans.
4. The 1836's. This is the single dumbest and least educated name ever given to a sports team. When Houston claimed San Jose's old MLS team they decided to name it the Houston 1836's in honor of Texas's independence from Mexico. Somehow they failed aknowledge that the majority of their fans would be of Mexican decent. Thankfully this didn't stick, and before they ever took the field they had to change themselves to the Houston Dynamo. But then again it is MLS so who really cares?
5. Nebraska Bug Eaters: Yes before they were the Cornhuskers this team called themselves the Bug Eaters; I don't really no what else there is to say about that.
from 5 months ago
All I can say, about the bug eaters....must have practiced in Minnesota...land of 10,000 lakes, and a million mosquitos.
5 months ago
Surely there are Grizzlies in Vancouver, but are there any in Memphis?
5 months ago
yep, absolutely agree. I was glad that the Tennessee team did change their name. The first thing that really needs to be addressed is that due to the huge loyalty shown now by the local fans and businesses, the teams should be owned by the city/state and not by a private individual. We already finance their stadiums. What do we need these owners for anymore???
5 months ago
Memphis Griizzlies has to be the worst thought out name ever hands down
from 5 months ago
Nothing is worse than Utah Jazz, but I agree that Memphis Grizzlies is pretty awful.
5 months ago
I guess that owners are afraid to change a logo that is a proven money maker, kind of like trying to get rid of Dick Vitale. People recognize him, and it is scary for people to consider what it might be like to put someone that doesn't have name recognition in that position where so many people are viewing.
5 months ago
Great article and I agree with most of the comments. I really think that the only NFL team that could re-locate and keep its name is The Raiders, oh that's right they did that already! The have one of the best names and uniforms in the NFL - now put a product on the field; other great names for where they are located:
NY Yankees (money, Wall Street - Champions)
Dallas Cowboys
Miami Dolphins
Philadelphia Eagles (1776 Independence)
New England Patriots
Minnesota Vikings
Pittsburgh Steelers
Yours?
And some really head scratching ones:
Atlanta Thrashers
Florida Panthers
Seattle Seahawks
Los Angeles Clippers
Anaheim Mighty Ducks (I see a theme here with the NHL)
5 months ago
I agree that Atlanta Thrashers makes no sense, and Atlanta Flames was a much better name. Los Angeles Clippers isn't too bad, but made more sense when they were the San Diego Clippers.
Florida Panthers is pretty nice considering it is named after the actual Florida Panther. And the Mighty Ducks (or Ducks as they are now called) was a homage to the movie (the team was originally owned by Disney). Besides, for what I know, there are Ducks everywhere, and hockey rinks are often referred to as "frozen ponds" and when we think of ponds we all think of Ducks. Clever name, IMO.
And yea, I have no idea what a Seahawk is, but I'm sure the name involved some sort of fan vote. The SEAttle SEAhawks does have a nice ring to it though. No complaints.
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