Ignorant American question

[FireTrucker]

I enjoyed watching Port play Arsenal yesterday. I thought Port deserved the point, although one could argue either way both teams might have deserved a win. It seems like you guys have a nice team there and as long as you can keep you striker duo and Hislop in net there is no reason why you can't be in the running for a Europe spot next season.
My question is why the nickname Pompey? Is it geographic related? (The only Pompey I know was a Roman general, and the ill-fated town named after him that was destroyed by a volcano.) I am sorry in advance for my American ignorance.

[LeeS]

From one ignorant American to another... I sometimes wondered the same thing so I did some investigating. Here is something I came up with:

Q1. Where did the nickname Pompey come from?
A1. Here are some possible answers - courtesy of Richard Vale:

Why is Portsmouth called Pompey?

A LADY, known throughout the navy as Aggie Weston, ran a hostel and
club for sailors at Portsmouth. She used to give talks to them and
attracted a large audience to the Sailors' Rest. It is said that in
1904 she gave a talk on the Roman general, Pompey the Great. She got
very worked up about the reasons for his downfall, and when she told
of his assassination one of the sailors called out: "Poor old Pompey!"
A few days later Portsmouth Football Club had a match at Fratton
Park. They played badly, and when eventually the inevitable goal was
scored against them a sailor in the crowd called out: "Poor old
Pompey!" Others took up the chorus. It became the good-tempered theme
for the football terraces and soon attached itself to the town.

Reg Sanders, Alresford, Hants.

PORTSMOUTH Public Library issued a leaflet a few years ago with
several explanations, including that from your previous
correspondent. No-one knows if the nick-name was first applied to the
town or to the football team. The football team had its origins in a
team from the Royal Artillery. One day, a unit from the RA were doing
a duty which in France would have been performed by firemen. Some
Frenchmen present noticed this, and gave the RA the nick-name "les
pompiers", and the name stuck to the team. Other suggestions:
Portuguese sailors accompanying Catherine of Braganza to her wedding
with Charles II in Portsmouth noticed a likeness between the town and
the then Portuguese possession, Bombay - both low flat islands with a
hill in the background. In 1797, La Pompee was one of the ships most
involved in the Spithead mutiny. "Pom-pey" sounds like the utterances
of drunken sailors asking their way to Portsmouth Point, whence they
would take ship. Some Portsmouth-based sailors climbed to the top of
Pompey's pillar in Egypt, and became known as the Pompey
boys. "Pompey" is northern slang for a prison, and there is a naval
prison in Portsmouth. The line from Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra
- "Pompey is strong at sea" would appeal to nick-name loving
sailors. There is, or was, a naval expression "to play Pompey" meaning
"to wreak havoc". Any of these might have given rise to the nick-name,
but no-one really knows. And to repeat, the earliest written reference
is to the football team.

David Francis, University of Portsmouth Library, Portsmouth, Hants

[texgator]

Just so you know, it's pronounced Pompee....not Pompay like the city in Italy. People tend to make this mistake quit often....like the announcers on FSW Report did for months until someone told them they were wrong. I believe it is the nickname for the town of Portsmouth and not just the team.

[FireTrucker]

Very curious, glad I asked.

[DaRrEn14]

i never rely thought about it rely!
it is also associated wiv the town, for eg we say were goin 2 pompey, however most of the girls hu arnt rely in2 football rarely call it pompey.
thanks for asking tho cos its very interesting!

[portsmouth]

I dunno, everyone I know, whether they like football or not calls the city Pompey