Count me n among those that don't hate it. Innocuous bird and animal names have worked before, at least in hockey (the Seals, the Penguins, the Ducks). If they can't/won't use Voo Doo, or Hurricanes, why not Pelicans?
Apparently, they chose the Pelicans over the NEW ORLEANS BRASS? What the hell is the matter with them? Okay, first off, the Brass would have to have jerseys like this. Those lines go down to the shorts. They could have the horns at the shoulders or something like that. And for their logo? BRASS BALLS.
Yep, this would have been great too. Evidently the Hornets' new owner already owned the Pelicans nickname, though, and didn't want to spend anything in obtaining the licensing and rights for a new one. To me, that's a warning sign for how this franchise is going to be run under Benson. I get that he *just* bought the team, so he's not seeing any return on his investment yet, but if an owner doesn't want to spend relative pocket change on something important like the name of the team, then what is he going to do when it's time to resign free agents? It's a bad sign.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8...ets-change-nickname-pelicans-according-report The New Orleans Hornets are expected to become the New Orleans Pelicans, perhaps as early as the 2013-14 season, according to a Yahoo! Sports report. Yahoo! Sports, citing numerous sources, reports the team also considered Krewe and Brass as potential nicknames. The Hornets have planned to change their name since New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson, who also owns the rights to the Pelicans nickname, bought the team in April.
I like it. The league needs more colorful names that actually make sense. Worst name of all time is still the Raptors, who were named that just because Jurrassic Park was popular at the time.
The Blues is a nice name, but the media will have too much fun with it if the team is losing. Too bad Utah won't give back the name, it's perfect. Um...Gators? Cajuns? Bayou Boys? (Too gay?) Hurricanes is cool but way inappropriate. Corsairs? (a la Jean Lafitte?) Beasts of the Southern Wild? (Too long; copyright issues. But cool.)
I'm with thadeus. Why not Saints? It's the same owner right? Just combine them into the same company and treat them like European sports teams like Real Madrid.
Same team names within the city has happened before: New York Giants (football and baseball); St. Louis Cardinals (football and baseball). But I guess I am not as clear why "hurricane" should be inappropriate. yes, I understand people died in hurricanes, but people also dies in earthquakes and still San Jose did the right thing and named their soccer team "Quakes". New Orleans could position it as honoring the victims. I had to look up the significance of "Krewe." Seems like a cool word and name, but I also suspect many other people will wonder what Krewe is and have to look it up. Blues? I'd think it might get confused with St Louis. Or maybe Memphis. And speaking of Memphis, they should change from Grizzlies to Rock. Or Express (screw the whole trademarking and business advantage complaint).