What's wrong with the Phoenix Suns? I've always liked that name. If "Sun" can't be associated with Arizona, then we've got a problem. I also agree with Ricardo above about the Los Angeles Lakers being the same as the Utah Jazz. Teams that relocate and are too stupid to change their nickname should be fined big-time until they manage to change it.
In the WNBA, where the teams' names are all of more recent vintage than the rest y'all are talking about, the singular team name is pretty common -- Detroit Shock, Seattle Storm, Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, Chicago Sky, etc. But then you have the Washington Mystics, the LA Sparks, the Houston Comets, Sacramento Monarchs, etc. And what about the Lynx? Is Lynx singular or plural, anyway?
Apparently both. Of course, the pluaral form of lynx can also be lynxes.
I think Washington was going for something organic but naming yourself after a potato wouldn't do. The Chief just shows that the native Americans grew them first.
I, for one, am completely offended by the insensitivity displayed by Notre Dame and their mascot. I DO NOT engage in fisticuffs with my hands in that position.
Much like THX, I'm offended by the fighting position of the Irishman. Normally my hands flail wildly while I scream obscenities at all those who have wronged me, including the bartender, my father, and god. Then I break down crying in the corner until I pass out in the fetal position with my thumb in my mouth. But then I'm only half Irish.
Full Irish are the same except we capitilize God. Otherwise we get a ruler across the wrist.
Nothing against Stanford ... they're just the most prominent team with the annoying "singular" nickname. Ignorant. It's not "singular". It's not the bird it's the color. Harvard Crimson, Stanford Cardinal, Dartmouth Big Green, Cornell Big Red, and so on. Like Crimson-as-a-color is so much better? Oh yeah, the school's in California so being overtly aggressive is discouraged. (Note: I live about five miles from the Crimson campus.)
Matchups I'd love to see: USC Trojans vs Butte Pirates NE Patriots vs Cincinnati Reds and a rematch between that Duck and the Cougar Really for league-wide stupid nicknames check out Japanese Baseball that features Ham fighters, Carp, Swallows and Buffaloes (I didn't realize that Japan had the Buffalo population of say Colorado)
They aren't "Ham Fighters". They are the "Nippon-Ham" Fighters.
They aren't "Ham Fighters" Nippon Ham is a meat and fish packing company. The Carp in Japan is a symbol of virility. Carp flags are flown on Boys' Day by families who have male children. The Swallows are sponsored by a dairy company that makes a lactic acid drink, thus the "swallow". My ex-wife used to work for a hotel in the Kintetsu chain, the sponsor of the Buffalos. This Buffalo is not the Bison of the American plains, but is the animal we commonly call the water buffalo. It is considered a strong animal with great endurance. My son's alma mater calls its teams the Purple Panthers of Nashua High School, (South), Nashua, NH. Panthers is not bad by itself, but purple? It comes from a former coach who was a Holy Cross alumnus, and who insisted on the color purple before he would take the job.
Wow, thanks Howard. That's great background on the Japanese team names. We gripe a lot over here about corporate sponsorship of stadiums and the like, but there has been so little corporate influence in the naming of MLB teams, even the more recent expansion teams. One of the high schools in the town in which I grew up had the nickname "Spartans," which I always felt implied that their sports teams had no equipment at all and played on a barren dirt field.
God damn it. The Toronto Maple Leafs are not named for the leaf of the maple tree. They are named for the symbol of Canada, known as the Maple Leaf, and which as a symbol is a singular and very proper noun. A row of Canadian flags are not maple leaves, they are multiple incarnations of The Maple Leaf. Hence, Maple Leafs. So forget about the tree. It's not about the tree. I suspect I'm going to be explaining that for the rest of my goddamned life.
kyrilmitch: Matchups I'd love to see: This was already posted on spofi some time back, but it's worth a reprise here. "This match is over!" (now write your trojans vs. butte pirates matchup in the same style. I dare ya, I double dare ya!)
Topeka, Kansas has high schools of both Trojan, (Topeka High) and Seaman Academy. Therefore every year we have to suffer through headlines in the Capitol Journal of "Seaman Breaks Through Trojan Defense." It's like they think it's some kind of inside joke.
Fantastic link lbb.
I suspect I'm going to be explaining that for the rest of my goddamned life. Don't give up the fight, brutha! /flashes TML gang sign
The Washington Redskins definitely earn their number one ranking. Not only is it the most racist name in sports by far, but they do not play in Washington. They are really the Raljon/Landover 'Skins. They actually renamed a part of Landover, MD that the stadium is on Raljon, after Jack Kent Cookes sons, Ralph and John. I think they may have changed the name back to Landover after Cooke passed away and John Cooke got robbed of the team. It will probably soon be renamed Snyderville or Smallville, but that is just speculation at this point.
grum, please, I've never asked this before and I may never again, but -- do all Leaf fans a favor. Bookmark my comment and share it far and wide.
Wait, so why did they stop using the tree?
Are you guys saying that it's not about the tree? Cause it looks like maple leaves to me. (sorry chico)
So where does that leaf Red's Ox? Is the plural Red's Oxs? I'm just oxen. And while we're at it, let's put this to rest right here -- should an individual member of the Red Sox be a Red Sock?
Aww man, they didn't even mention the Macon Whoopie. Ugh, just thinking about that name makes me die a little bit inside. AGNP
