That's beyond stupid. Personally, Washington Nationals doesn't offend me, other than sounding like the opponent for the Harlem Globetrotters. I would've preferred Washington Grays, in honor of the Homestead Grays, a Negro Leagues team that played many home games in Washington.
I gotta admit Dave Checketts looked pretty stupid pronouncing it "Ree-al" for all the world to see when almost every soccer fan knows it's "Ray-al Madrid". I do think local importance is good in team names. In case some of y'all wanted to know, the Atlanta Silverbacks are named for the famous gorilla "Willie B." that was at the Atlanta Zoo for about 30 years until he died a few years ago. Willie B. was in honor of William Hartsfield, former mayor of Atlanta and the guy the airport was named after. I can't believe the soccer team isn't the Silverback-Jacksons yet.
The Jazz are probably the most mis-named franchise in the US. As if any jazz is actually played anywhere in Utah. Of course, when you think of Utah, what kind of mascot are they going to come up with? The Moronis? I guess that's why they went with Real. Close behind them are the LA Lakers. Nobody thinks of lakes when they think of LA. Period. Actually the Wizards play in Kansas City, Missouri, so that doesn't really work out. I don't know where the name came from. They should have stuck with the royalty theme (Royals, Chiefs, Kings) as far as I'm concerned.
Teams with decent names: -Chicago Fire (One of my favorite... Chicago Fire being a huge historical part of the city) -Metrostars (Distinct and uncommon name) -NE Revolution (Again goes back to historical New England) -SJ Earthquakes (Doesn't have the catchiest ring to it... but it at least makes sense) Questionable: Real SLC: No comment... FC Dallas: Creative one... Colorado Rapids: I don't see myself ever getting intimdated by a team called the Rapids LA Galaxy: I guess the origins were explained to me... but the connection is still a little shaky KC Wizards: Also previously explained but... Wizards and Kansas City just don't go well together DC United: It's nice how the team in the Nation's capital gets to be called United but still sounds a bit unoriginal and an American clone of Manchester
It's nothing great, but why exactly is it the bad? At least it doesn't sound like it was created on the basis of focus groups consisting of 10-year olds.
lol. not many people know about the willie b connection. they just assume that its some wierd random-ass mascot. but that gorilla was a staple in the city for decades.
Actually teams like FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake are the crappy names. There is no nickname. Why do we have a football team playing in MLS? And I'm glad that SLC decided to let us know that their team was not fake, but real instead.
I do. I tried to make the point that they should have changed their name when they moved like the Jazz should have done. I guess I didn't make that terribly clear.
That would be the Washington Generals. I'll admit the Vermont Voltage is pretty ridiculous, and I was sad when it replaced the Vermont Wanderers after one season. But "Let's Go Voltage!" is certainly easier to yell than "Let's Go Wanderers!". At least there is that.
Not much local about White Sox or Red Sox or Braves or Dodgers. Dodgers made sense in Brooklyn but not in LA. A better question - why is an LA team called the Lakers? How many lakes are there in LA? When they moved from MN they should have changed the name. And the Utah Jazz is just as dumb - maybe worse. Most of the jazz in Utah is in my father-in-law's CD collection. Every sport has had some stinkers - Wiz and Cyber Rays leap to mind...
You mean like the Yokohama Giants (or what about Go Ahead Eagles in Netherlands) Do you realize just how dumb some of these names sound on the face of it? Could you imagine the laughter if an MLS team was named the Red Sox (if there was no prior franchise hypothetically) Naming a team after Trolleys running through Brooklyn (hence Trolley Dodgers)? or any sort of perjorative term like Yankees or Braves in today's PC society. Glasgow Celtic came before the Original Celtics based in NY, which then gave way to the Boston Celtics. and LA Galaxy is closer to the mark then...hey? where are all the Lakes in L.A anyways? My point being, it is simply the weight of history that gives gravitas to many of the more popular nicknames out there. Most of these names would be getting killed on message boards if they were thought up today. Packers? I mean, Packers? I'm not letting MLS off the hook - I personally think ReAL is the worst of both worlds - and I myself prefer nicknames to be for lack of a better term, organic instead of named by some marketing arm but just a little perspective here - and for the most part, the more egregious MLS names have been shortened and/or changed. (Burn/Wiz/Clash)
Well, Wiz was actually expanded not shortened, but I know what you mean. The problem I have with ReAL isn't so much the name needs time to grow on me, like the Jacksonville Jaguars or Florida Marlins, but more along the lines that it is a bull********** contrived name trying to sound like it has history and meaning, when it has nothing to do with the city, state, region or its fans.
Utah used to be part of the Spanish empire, also, outside of New York and New Jersey Utah has one of the largest concentrations of Spanish-Americans anywhere in the country.
San Diego has weird names for its teams. The Chargers (NFL), Sockers (MISL), and the Padres (MLB). The only one that makes sense is the Padres. And I still want the Sockers in MLS. Don't hate me for it please!
Bland name. How about a name that better connects to the locality. Since the place is a hotbed for politicians, the new name should be: "The WashingtonDC Deceivers".
Actually, the Braves were not named for the Indians (um, I mean Native Americans, who are really no more native than the rest of us, they just got over here first ), but for the Tammany Hall "braves" in Boston. Tammany Hall was the HQ for the Democratic Party, IIRC, and that's where my knowledge stops on that subject. I believe Ted Turner tried to change the name to Eagles or something when he bought the team back in the 70's, but was turned down by MLB. And then, there is a drive every once in a while to get the named changed to the "Crackers," the name of the minor league team Atlanta had before MLB came (sort of like when San Diego named their MLB team the Padres, in honor of the old PCL club). And Packers came from the fact that Green Bay was/is a big meat processing center (I think, may need some help on this).
I wouldn't call it "honoring" the old PCL team because the Padres were essentially promoted to MLB and decided to keep the name because everyone grew up with it.