Pro Sports Names That Are Appropriate

donbosco

donbosco

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In that category

Carolina Hurricanes

New Orleans Saints

Charlotte Hornets

Colorado Rockies

Not good:

Utah Jazz*


*Some of the historical meanderings that have caused some of these names are themselves interesting.
 
Inappropriate: Boston Celtics, for two reasons

1. It's name is basically the Redskins of its day, maybe. Clearly it was named after a term for Irish people. Lots of Irish in Boston. I don't know if it was a loving embrace or a cooptation/derogation. If the former, fine.

2. Regardless, the name is a crime because it is supposed to be pronounced Keltic. The team changed the sound of the name for marketing purposes, which is wrong on multiple levels.
 
superrific said:
Inappropriate: Boston Celtics, for two reasons

2. Regardless, the name is a crime because it is supposed to be pronounced Keltic. The team changed the sound of the name for marketing purposes, which is wrong on multiple levels.
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The original modern usage of "Celt" or "Celtic" was pronounced with a "soft c" as it was taken from French, which uses a "soft c" pronunciation.

Only after academics got involved was the pronunciation changed to the "hard c" variation based on the Latin root of the French word.

So what has evolved in a modern sense is that the "hard c" pronunciation is used for Celtic history and culture and the "soft c" pronunciation for more modern applications of the word.

Celtic F.C. in Glasgow also uses the "soft c" pronunciation.
 
SnoopRob said:
The original modern usage of "Celt" or "Celtic" was pronounced with a "soft c" as it was taken from French, which uses a "soft c" pronunciation.

Only after academics got involved was the pronunciation changed to the "hard c" variation based on the Latin root of the French word.

So what has evolved in a modern sense is that the "hard c" pronunciation is used for Celtic history and culture and the "soft c" pronunciation for more modern applications of the word.

Celtic F.C. in Glasgow also uses the "soft c" pronunciation.
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Interesting. Thanks. I thought the F.C. was pronounced with a hard c, but it's possible that's because I heard it from someone saying it wrong.

I take it back, then.
 
I may be wrong but I thought the Celtics name was fairly well rooted in the area.

That said that name is/was also associated with good basketball because of the “Original” Celtics, a barnstorming NYC team associated with Hell’s Kitchen, a very Irish part of the city in the early 20th century.
 
One of my favorites that is lost to time is The Harlem Rens - an African American contemporary barnstorming team from the ‘Original’ Celtics era.

Rens is short for Renaissance.

Voila! The Harlem Renaissance on the court.
 
Why is Charlotte Hornets on the good list? My understanding is that it refers to a Cornwallis quote about Charlotte being a "nest of hornets" during the Revolutionary war, but very few people probably know that origin and it's not really anything that people would tie to the Charlotte area like with the other examples listed in the OP. Like, wouldn't names like the 76ers or 49ers be thought of before "Hornets" as referencing well-known historical events?

Phoenix Suns also belongs on the "appropriate" list. San Diego Padres too. Florida Marlins. Houston Rockets. All very appropriate names.

"Vancouver Canucks" and "Houston Texans" seem like names that are technically appropriate but also sort of lazy.

Put the LA Lakers on the "not appropriate" list with the Jazz, as like with the Jazz the name results from a feature of a previous location where the team played (Minneapolis).
 
rodoheel said:
Why is Charlotte Hornets on the good list? My understanding is that it refers to a Cornwallis quote about Charlotte being a "nest of hornets" during the Revolutionary war, but very few people probably know that origin and it's not really anything that people would tie to the Charlotte area like with the other examples listed in the OP. Like, wouldn't names like the 76ers or 49ers be thought of before "Hornets" as referencing well-known historical events?

Phoenix Suns also belongs on the "appropriate" list. San Diego Padres too. Florida Marlins. Houston Rockets. All very appropriate names.

"Vancouver Canucks" and "Houston Texans" seem like names that are technically appropriate but also sort of lazy.

Put the LA Lakers on the "not appropriate" list with the Jazz, as like with the Jazz the name results from a feature of a previous location where the team played (Minneapolis).
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Yeah, the Canucks and Texans are just awful. No creativity at all.
 
Miami Heat
New Orleans Pelicans
Arizona Diamondbacks

Old ones that were appropriate before relocation/discontinuation:
Houston Oilers
New Orleans Jazz
Minneapolis Lakers
Washington Senators
Seattle SuperSonics
 
I find the Charlotte Hornets appropriate for exactly the reason that @rodoheel states. I don't actually care whether or not the reason that a name is appropriate is "well-known" or not. In fact, to different degrees some others mentioned here are not particularly well-known (Pittsburg Steelers to a 15 year old for example?)...

The Lakers name is along the lines of the Utah Jazz in that the nickname was appropriate to the original location of the team. Both franchises ought to have changed their names but I see that the alliteration of Lakers and Los Angeles is kind of cool. Maybe the Utah Jazz was considered Ironic?

Probably the greatest collection of nicknames to be sorted through are in minor league baseball. Asheville Tourists is quite appropriate but the local baseball team's very first name, The Moonshiners, is pretty cool. They were also once known as The Mountaineers.
 
Most sports names are appropriate if the franchise hasn't moved. The names are selected to appeal to locals, and are often selected in conjunction with local groups. It would be shocking if a franchise in, say, Omaha opened up calling itself the Lasers.

For me, the better question is whether the names are appropriate as team names in the first place. Like, should team names be abstract nouns? Steve Kerr was a Bull, a Spur and a Warrior coach. Jimmy Butler is now a Warrior. Previously he was a []? A hot? A Heat player? It's awkward.
 
You run into that when nicknames don’t end in S - the awkwardness that is.

What is, for example a player for Tulane?
 
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