Do Team Nicknames Really Matter?
By Tyler Webb
What’s in a team’s nickname, really? Why do we care so much about what our local pro squad is called?
The NFL’s affiliate out of Washington announced its new name, the Commanders, following a two year stint as the “Football Team”. This, of course, was a placeholder term following an 80-plus season stint with the offensive deemed “Redskins” label, a name now retired by the three-time Super Bowl winning franchise. The pivoting involved an entire rebranding process, as a new logo and team uniforms accompanied the big reveal.
With mixed reviews on the “Commanders” selection across social media (I don’t care for it, personally), this got me thinking about other franchises and their own name selections. Across US-based leagues, there is such a diverse collection of monikers that all have their own significance (or lack thereof).
Some are self-evident, like the longest continuous location-nickname combination in pro sports, the Philadelphia Phillies of the MLB. After being founded as the Quakers in 1883, Philadelphia changed its name that same year as short for “Philadelphias” which was how the city was referenced in that time. Other franchises founded before the Phillies (Cubs, Braves, Reds and a few others) had changed their names before sticking with what we know them as today, making the rather redundant combo the the longest standing (139 consecutive seasons to be exact) of its kind.
Other nicknames, like those as a result of team relocation, have absolutely no connection nor tangible relationship with the region it resides in. Following the legendary career of George Mikan coming to a close, attendance numbers declined for the Minneapolis Lakers, so the team moved west to become the Los Angeles Lakers in 1960.
Sure, the Lakers are now a universally famed brand having won 16 NBA Championships, but poking fun at their ridiculous name is still appropriate. Is Los Angeles known for their lakes? Does anyone even know if Los Angeles has any lakes? The same goes for the Utah Jazz, an organization previously in New Orleans (duh) until waning ticket sales led the team to Salt Lake City in 1979. If you told me there wasn’t a single jazz artist, or even fan of jazz music, in the entire state of Utah, I would believe you. I guess upper management of the Lakers and Jazz were feeling a little lazy.
Not all relocating franchises are as indifferent toward a new nickname, however. Take the Tennessee Titans, for example, who turned away from the “Oilers” term after the team’s 1996 move from Houston. Upon the announcement, team owner Bud Adams stated that, “Titans come from early Greek mythology and the fact that Nashville is known as the ‘Athens of the South' makes the Titans name very appropriate.” I will admit that I’m not crazy about “Titans”, but at least the logical decision was made to retire the Oilers term, a nickname synonymous with the Houston area and less applicable to the Nashville region.
Unlike a team settling into a new home, an expansion franchise gets a clean slate to work with, which admittedly comes with a lot of pressure. Even though local fan votes are typically held to whittle down the list of candidates, expansion teams’ ownership ultimately have the final say in the matter. Two recent expansion teams fresh off the press come from the NHL, as the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken have both come into existence in the last five years (the Kraken, as detailed in our Year in Review, kicked off its inaugural season in October).
Both of these concepts were grand slams, at least in my opinion. Even though there is not much connection to a knight and the city of Las Vegas, the relevance of the term’s background as an unrelenting, forceful warrior is appealing from a competitive standpoint. Not to mention, the city-nickname combination rolls off the tongue, and the colors are aesthetically pleasing. And with the Kraken, Seattle’s affinity to the ocean and its many creatures applies, even if there is no such thing as a “Kraken” monster.
At the end of the day, what really matters is brand connection and affiliation with its local community. Regardless of what a team’s nickname actually is, how fans, sponsors and other stakeholders come to adopt a shared identity is the key ingredient to a successful name. Bringing individuals of all demographics, beliefs and qualities together under a common, unifying cause is one of the many values of professional sports. As long as a name contributes to that idea, one could argue its literal connotation as meaningless. Sure, there may not be much jazz being played in Utah (I looked it up, and the jazz scene is actually described as “flourishing” but I remain skeptical). But the franchise’s rabid, passionate fanbase (17 of the previous 21 seasons in the top 10 of NBA Attendance Reports) suggests jazz is alive and well in Salt Lake City.