I agree..I thought about that recently. Sort of like the Devil Rays becoming the Rays and that interchangeably meaning rays from the sun or stingrays.
Pretty much every XFL team... USFL teams had cool team names that fit the city or placed that they were playing in and they were from the 1980s were cheesy names could've been running abound. Birmingham Thunderbolts. 2001. -- Ripoff (San Diego Chargers) Chicago Enforcers. 2001. -- Might be the best one of the bunch, that's not rip off or cheesy. Las Vegas Outlaws. 2001. --- Ripoff (Arizona Outlaws - USFL) Los Angeles Xtreme. 2001. --- The late 90s-2000s were obsessed with the work "extreme," like 2nd rate death metal band from the same time period. Memphis Maniax. 2001. -- The late 90s-2000s were also obsessed with misspelling common words to make them "apparently" sound cooler, when they aren't even. It looks ridiculous and amateurish. New York-New Jersey Hitmen. 2001. -- Have to give that one some credit. That's actually good one. Orlando Rage. 2001. --- San Francisco Demons. 2001. --- I hope they are seriously going to change the name of some of these teams. Besides, WF already are demons, as well.
Texans is a terribly uninspiring name.... but it fits what has been an incredibly uninspiring franchise.
OKC is just about smack dab in the middle of "tornado alley". Thunder/Lightning fits there nicely. And thunder doesn't kill anybody. How would yall feel about "Houston Hurricanes"? I've accepted it an all, but "Texans" is just incredibly bland. I've always said they should have been the Toros or Apollos or something fun.
The Mighty Ducks made total sense. "The Mighty Ducks" was a Disney film. Disney owned/founded the hockey franchise and Disneyland is in Anaheim. How much more of a connection to the city do you need? FWIW, they changed the name to simply "Ducks" 12 years ago after Disney sold the franchise. They've now been the "Ducks" almost as long as they were the "Mighty Ducks". Sporting KC was just following the trend of MLS team borrowing naming conventions from European clubs. It's not like the Dynamo, any of the "FC" clubs, "United" clubs (hell, there are 2 United FC teams), or Real Salt Lake have better "names". There's no city connection there, though "Houston 1836" would have been.
- Texans. Can't get much more uninspiring and bland than that. I guess it's a fitting name for the mediocre franchise, though. - Wizards (Washington). Simply put, Bullets >>>> Wizards. It's understandable (but lame) why they changed the name, but they could've come up with something a helluva lot better than "Wizards". - Rays (Tampa Bay). "Devil Rays" was better. - Pelicans - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They used to just be the "Anaheim Angels"...should've left it as-is. I like names that have a bit of an edge to them. Generic names like "Bobcats" or "Eagles" are fine for high schools and lower-tier colleges and universities, but they're poor names for pro sports teams and more well-known/prestigious universities.
I have dreams of the Carolina Hurricanes relocating to Houston and keeping the name, colors and logo.
Yes, I know the history and marketing angle, and you are correct. It is just a candyass name. Ducks is better, I guess. I also know where the "Sporting KC" name came from, it just sounds dumb to me. I will not allow you to invalidate my loosely held opinions.
Already a high school in the Houston area with that nickname, so I'd say it'd be pretty lame for a professional sports franchise to copy a high school. I used to think Texans was kinda lame when the name first debuted, but it has definitely grown on me and I love it now. It's better than the other choices the organization considered at the time and more unique than any generic animal. Let's face it, if they didn't rename themselves the Oilers (which they couldn't) whatever name they chose was destined to be a bit of a fail in the eyes of the fanbase. Tennessee Titans - What does that name have to do with Nashville or the state? New Orleans Pelicans - Crescent City Krewe would have been awesome. Utah Jazz - Lame cause it geographically doesn't make sense. Toronto Raptors - Marginally better now that they got rid of the lame cartoon logo. Sugar Land Skeeters - King Canes would have been better. Houston Dynamo - Lame. Dynamo Houston - Not so much. Houston 1836. Perfect. Washington Wizards - Who chose that? New York Red Bull - You're named after an energy drink.
"The Athens of the South". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon_(Nashville) Good call on Red Bull, didn't notice that mentioned before.
While it's true that it'd be lame to copy a high school, it's also true (imo) that the Houston Hurricanes as suggested by Buck is still a more badass name than the Texans, of all things. I think it evens out.
