Reds, Ducks, and Alouettes, Oh My!: The 10 Wimpiest Team Names in Sports

10. Penguins (Pittsburgh—NHL)

Pittsburgh makes No. 10 on my list with their NHL team.  From what I know about Penguins (which is not too much), they are not a mean nor fierce animal.  In fact, I'd love to have a penguin for a pet—I think that would be pretty sweet.

The reason they're not closer to the top of the list is because the Penguins are able to withstand the harsh, cold winters down in the Antarctic, unlike other birds (penguins are a bird right? kind of?), like a duck who is not mighty.

Is that foreshadowing?  Keep reading to find out.

9. Cardinals (Arizona, St. Louis—NFL, MLB)

No. 9 was formerly the Browns.  However, while the name does sound wimpy, the Browns fans did give me some info that made me decide that it doesn't deserve the top ten.  So I went with the name Cardinals.

What's up with this?  There's a team named the Cardinals in both the MLB and NFL.  Can't we think of other names for a team other than this wimpy bird?  So I definitely think that Arizona and St. Louis deserve to make my team over Cleveland!

8. Reds (Cincinnati—MLB)

Well, I had to do some research on this team to find out what the heck a Red is.  I thought it might be a bird to add to the bird family living within MLB.  But I learned something today.  It turns out they used to be called the Red Stockings.  The fact that their name comes from a word like stockings get them into the eighth spot on my list.

Yes, the Red Sox got their name from the Red Stockings, but the Red Sox don't make my list, because Sox spelled with an "X" is pretty hardcore if you ask me.

7. Nuggets (Denver—NBA)

Nuggets.  As in chicken nuggets or what?  I honestly tried pretty hard (okay, not too hard) to find out the meaning of where the term comes from, and I found it was from the gold mines, golden nuggets, and such.  Although it's referring to gold, and that's pretty awesome stuff, it will remain on my list.

So if there are any Nugget fans out there who want to defend their team, go right ahead!  Until then, I'm just going to believe that Denver has one heck of a lot of McDonald's in their state, so much that they named their NBA franchise after them, since that's more funny then gold.

6. Jazz (Utah—NBA)

Named after a type of music that is known to be really laid back and not crazy makes me think that this basketball team must have a mellow attitude.  I mean, if this was in New Orleans (which it once was), I probably wouldn't make fun of it as much because it makes sense.  Although it would still be wimpy, it would still make sense!

However, it's wimpy and not really in a Jazz city, so it makes my list at No. 6.

5. Ducks (Anaheim—NHL)

I don't believe I have any reason to fear the animal known as the duck.  They were once mighty and feared, but now that they're only the Ducks, it's quite laughable.  They won the Stanley Cup as the Ducks—only the Ducks.  So now I can make fun of all the other NHL teams for letting the Ducks beat them!

No, just kidding.  They usually have a pretty good team, but they do play under a wimpy name.

4. Dolphins (Miami—NFL)

This one was a difficult one for me because I like Dolphins, and I know they are strong, smart, and can beat up on sharks.  However, the name of Dolphin does not make you think those things.  It makes you think of nice and gentle...which you don't want from an NFL team.

Last year they played like a stereotypical dolphin, as they were the worst team in the league.  So that is why they make my list of wimpy names.

3. Orioles (Baltimore—MLB)