Saturday, October 3, 2009

What's in a name?

It’s Sunday afternoon and you’re flipping back and forth between football games, suddenly you find yourself pondering about the origins of NFL team names.

Okay, maybe you’re actually paying attention to the game, but at some point you’ve probably asked yourself, “what were they thinking when they named that team?”

Often we don’t think about NFL team names because they’ve been around for so long, or they’re named after some type of ferocious animal. And sometimes the names are actually relevant to the geographic location of the team: Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers, just to name a few.

And then there are some head scratchers: New York Giants, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers, Tennessee Titans…who named these teams? Was New York once inhabited by very large beings? Do the people of Cleveland REALLY love the color brown? Does San Diego have an abundance of electricity?

Here are some favorites:

The least intimidating mammal: Miami Dolphins








The least creative name: Houston Texans






The sweetest name: New Orleans Saints






The least frightening bird: Arizona Cardinals





Are you curious about the history of NFL team names? Check out this site to learn more.

No comments: