What’s
In a Name?
by Kelly L. Martinez
A
name identifies. A name
labels. A name grabs attention.
Names
are a big part of the sporting world.
From a team’s inception, the nickname is at the top of
the to-do list. For instance, Charlotte, N.C., was awarded
the next NBA expansion franchise, which will begin play in 2004,
and within a matter of weeks, the team had a nickname: The Bobcats. Not a bad nickname, in my opinion, but one
that is lacking in imagination.
I’m
of the opinion that a team’s nickname should always be plural
since there is always more than one player to a team.
Today, however, it is common for teams to use nicknames
that aren’t plural. The Heat, The United, The Jazz, The Buzz. The
Galaxy. Though technically
nouns, these nicknames aren’t quite fitting for a team sport. I wonder what the line of discussion was when
those nicknames were agreed upon.
Did anyone vote for The Heats or The Jazzes? I’m a fan of rock and roll music; why isn’t there a team called
The Rock or The Roll? What
about The Classical? The
Country? The Rap? The
Cold? The Chill?
Costa Tsiokos, of Florida Trend Magazine, commented that if the name-givers of
today were around when the Oakland Raiders or San Diego Chargers
were created, Californians would be rooting for The Raid and The
Charge.
My Preferences
I
prefer a nickname that is relevant to a team’s locale.
The Minneapolis Lakers, for example.
I’ve become accustomed to them as the Los Angeles Lakers,
but if you’ve been to L.A. lately, you would notice that there
aren’t as many lakes there as there are in The Land of a Thousand
Lakes. When the Lakers
were created, the nickname was a perfect fit. Perhaps Jerry Buss should rename his team the
Los Angeles Seasiders or Oceaners.
I won’t hold my breath, though.
Too much tradition to rock that boat.
Ones
I like: The University of Miami Hurricanes.
Perfect. The University
of Utah Utes. Perfect. The Houston Texans. A no-brainer, but nice.
On
the other hand, there are nicknames that make no sense whatsoever. Names like the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs.
Though recently, I was made aware that there is such a
thing as a banana slug. Click here to see
one.
The Weird
Much
has been written about collegiate and professional teams’ nicknames,
but what about high schools?
I remember when I was a student at Bell High School in
Los Angeles; there was a level of disenchantment with the school’s
nickname, The Eagles, but tradition was more powerful than any
of the school’s students, and the nickname has remained intact.
Apparently,
there are many high schools that do
give the student body the power to select the school’s mascot
and nickname (either that or there are some wacky administrators
out there). Admittedly, some of these nicknames are clever,
but most lack the ability to be appropriate for an athletic team.
Here
is a sampling of some of the best and worst high school mascots
and nicknames from around the country:
-Lakeland (Fla.) HS Dreadnaughts
-Cairo (Ga.) HS Syrup Makers
-Orofino (Idaho) HS Maniacs
-Shelley (Idaho) HS Russets
-Cobden (Ill.) HS Appleknockers
-Freeport (Ill.) HS Pretzels
-Hoopston (Ill.) HS Corn Jerckers
-Polo (Ill.) HS Marcos
-Goodrich (Mich.) HS Martians
-Cary (N.C.) HS Imps
-Will Rogers (Okla.) HS Ropers
-Tillamook (Ore.) HS Cheesemakers
-Scio (Ore.) HS Loggers
-Sturgis (S.D.) HS Scoopers
-American Fork (Utah) HS Cavemen
-Davis (Utah) HS Darts (personal favorite as my mom was a Dart
Girl there in the 50s)
-Jordan (Utah) HS Beetdiggers
-Poca (W. Va.) HS Dots
Interesting
names, wouldn’t you agree? Drop
me a line if you’ve heard of any others that would fit in the
‘unusual’ category.
What If?
What
if they had nicknames for schools in the Book of Mormon?
The choices would be numerous, but here are a few that
we’ve come up with. Certainly
the competition between the Nephites’ and Lamanites’ high school
teams would have been intense.
Mormon General Conference
Samuel
HS Wallhoppers
Ammon HS Swordsmen
King Benjamin HS Turrets
Laman HS Naysayers
Captain Moroni HS Bulwarks
Hagoth HS Embarcaderos
King Noah HS Yellowbellies
Think of any others? Send the writer an e-mail at
sports@meridianmagazine.com
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updated LDS athlete list
