I regard professional sports team names with some ambivalence. This is particularly so in the era of modern sports, where names for new sports franchises are often chosen by fan vote. As a result, we have ridiculous monikers like the Minnesota Wild, the Toronto Raptors, the Colorado Rockies, and the Columbus Crew. The Kansas City club in Major League Soccer began life as the "Wiz" before the name was changed to the Wizards.I'd have to say, however, that the Colts and the Bears are two of the least offensive team names in the NFL. But how did these teams end up with these names? The Colts name, of course, was inherited from the Baltimore franchise. This name was chosen back in 1947 as the result of a fan contest. The fans chose "Colts" to reflect the Baltimore region's tradition of horse breeding and racing (Pimlico, where the Preakness is run, is located between Baltimore and D.C.).
The Bears name was chosen by former club owner George Halas, who renamed the team when he bought it in 1922. The team was originally known as the Chicago Staleys because the team sponsor was the Staley Starch Company. Halas had the Chicago Cubs in mind when he chose the name "Bears." Halas thought that because football players are bigger than baseball players, "Cubs" should become "Bears."
Source:
4 comments:
I've always thought the "Colts" name should have stayed in Baltimore, but what would we have been then? The Corn Stalkers? The Mighty Soy Beans? The Tenderloin Terrorists? Hmmm . . .
Man, that's awesome. Thanks for the info.
The thing is, "Colts" works in Indiana too. Indiana does have an equestrian history of it's own. And the "Pacers" relates to that as well, as the nickname refers to both the pacer horses in a horse race and the pace car in the 500. So while, in hindsight, we would have been better off to leave the "Colts" nickname in Baltimore, it still works in Indianapolis, unlike the "Lakers" nickname in L.A.
http://www.nba.com/pacers/history/pacers_name_history.html
I always thought the "Wild" nickname for the Minnesota NHL team was in reference to rural northern Minnesota. In fact, the Xcel Energy Center (where the Wild play) is totally done up in northern Minnesota lodge decor and high school hockey jerseys.
It's not as cool as the North Stars, though.
Post a Comment