Origins of NBA Team Names
Brief origin stories for the NBA team names.
over 2 years ago
Pelanderfunk
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I wish they'd rename Utah to their rightful designation.
The Utah Stormin’ Mormons.
"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."
I've always liked "the Tabs"
short for the Tabernacles, naturally
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
LOL right now Rasheed Wallace could be a Boston Unicorn.
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
by BLAZER_FAN_199 on Oct 29, 2009 11:32 AM PDT reply actions
The Boston Unicorns is fantastic
I am an oasis of Blazer fandom in a bleak desert of Laker fans.
by RenoBlazerFan on Oct 29, 2009 11:54 AM PDT up reply actions
Poor Abe Polin
Changes name from Bullets to Wizards to avoid gun violence connotations, only to have the NAACP complain of relationship between Wizards and the KKK.
"I love me some mountain man." – ratbastird
Poor guy can’t catch a break…sad.
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
by BLAZER_FAN_199 on Oct 29, 2009 12:10 PM PDT up reply actions
then just call 'em "the Wiz"
and ease on down the road…oops, then he’ll be at risk of copyright infringment from the movie/studio execs
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Washington Politicians? No, then no one would want to see them…
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
by BLAZER_FAN_199 on Oct 29, 2009 2:00 PM PDT up reply actions
"Senators" was already taken
and few baseball fans go watch them
maybe the name “Lobbyists” would be more popular?
How about “Interns”?
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
The PACs
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Oct 30, 2009 11:04 AM PDT up reply actions
I always thought the Trail Blazers was kinda weak for a team name....
Don’t get me wrong, they are my team, but, y’know. Of course, Oregon also has Ducks, Beavers, etc., so a long tradition of terrible team names exists.
I am an oasis of Blazer fandom in a bleak desert of Laker fans.
Lets say they kept with the animal theme, and used the Platypus as their name. How would you feel then?
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
by BLAZER_FAN_199 on Oct 29, 2009 12:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Are there platypuses in Oregon?
How about the Oregon Opossums?
I am an oasis of Blazer fandom in a bleak desert of Laker fans.
by RenoBlazerFan on Oct 29, 2009 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions
platypus is the award they used to give for the Civil war
half-Duck, half rat (or a different kind of aquatic mammal with buck teeth and flat tail…)
Unaffiliated Oregon college football fans (are there any of these?) may opt to call themselves “platypussies”
it’s kind of like being an “Independent”
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
The society of 'possum lovers against animal tragedies
aka “SPLAAT”
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Muskrat love
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I disagree strongly on all counts
When it comes to team names, I put a lot of weight in three factors:
Originality –
- I know of no other "Duck" (save the weak-sauce century late "Mighty" NHL variety. Stupid Disney.)
- I know of no other “Trailblazer”
- I know of only one other "Beaver", but since it is also local, I feel okay about it.
Local significance –
- Ducks, Beavers, and Trailblazers are obvious.
Cool factor -
- Ducks are the only animal species I know that are masters of land, air and water. That = cool.
- Beavers can chew through a tree. That = cool
- Trailblazers undertook an amazing cross country journey that ended with their building the NW empire with only what they could take with them and the sweat of their brow. That = cool.
The real problem is that our mascot fails on all three counts. Blaze = sux.
Two points scored by GO’ = "thunderdunk"
by T$ 225 on Oct 29, 2009 1:48 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
nope--still weak
I am an oasis of Blazer fandom in a bleak desert of Laker fans.
by RenoBlazerFan on Oct 29, 2009 1:56 PM PDT up reply actions
If you're going with NW animals
how about Eagles or coyotes or cougars or pumas or rattlers or bears or anything. Ducks?
I am an oasis of Blazer fandom in a bleak desert of Laker fans.
by RenoBlazerFan on Oct 29, 2009 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions
I’ll pass on some of these…
Minnesota Timberwolves (coyotes), Memphis Grizzlies (bears)
Something about rattlers just doesn’t sound right when talking about Portland.
Eagles sounds ok, and Pumas sounds a little high schoolish
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
by BLAZER_FAN_199 on Oct 29, 2009 2:07 PM PDT up reply actions
How about Cougars?
You would have to rethink the entire roster of the Blazerdancers…..
I am an oasis of Blazer fandom in a bleak desert of Laker fans.
by RenoBlazerFan on Oct 29, 2009 2:21 PM PDT up reply actions
No.
No on the cougars name.
No on replacing the Blazerdancers with 50 somethings.
Two points scored by GO’ = "thunderdunk"
AGREE!!
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
by BLAZER_FAN_199 on Oct 30, 2009 5:49 AM PDT up reply actions
Nothing wrong with those choices
if you want something totally generic and void of creativity.
There are dozens of eagles, coyotes, cougars, rattlers, & bears mascots at every level of the sporting world, only because they have sharp teeth. For me, I prefer something unique.
Two points scored by GO’ = "thunderdunk"
I see your point--I'm just funnin with ya
I am an oasis of Blazer fandom in a bleak desert of Laker fans.
by RenoBlazerFan on Oct 29, 2009 2:45 PM PDT up reply actions
How about the Huckleberries? Or the Hazelnuts? Aren't they Oregon-exclusive?
Or northwest-exclusive, anyway
I am an oasis of Blazer fandom in a bleak desert of Laker fans.
by RenoBlazerFan on Oct 29, 2009 2:47 PM PDT up reply actions
Huckleberry is plausable
but only if you go overboard with the Doc Holiday angle
How about Portland Pinot Snobs? Oregon Hydros? Or my favorite, the Portland Weirdos?
Two points scored by GO’ = "thunderdunk"
Now you are on to something
I am an oasis of Blazer fandom in a bleak desert of Laker fans.
by RenoBlazerFan on Oct 29, 2009 2:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Oregon is the biggest raspberry producer in the country
and oh, the possibilities of being the “Raspberries”!
do you mean
these Raspberries?
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
the slugs?
Oregon Slug Festival: January 1st to December 31st
never to be confused with these
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Ducks are also Disney
Yes, I root for a school whose mascot is named after Donald Duck and who is basically an unofficial subsidiary of Nike, and I love it!
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
Ducks are the only animal species I know that are masters of land…
On your mark, get set…waddle!
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
eh... "masters" might be a stretch
how about “marginally competent”?
Two points scored by GO’ = "thunderdunk"
less likely to be run over
than a certain buck-toothed, flat-tailed, tree-biting water mammal
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
You've seen a duck waddle on land, right?
I wouldn’t exactly say they’re “masters” of land navigation.
"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."
I know of only one other “Beaver”, but since it is also local, I feel okay about it.
My wife (who is from Tacoma) thought it was so cheesy that Beaverton high school’s nickname is the "Be*vers and the Tigard HS mascot is…the Tiger
Beaverton Be*vers AAA baseball is coming to a westside stadium, soon
thank you, PDX protesters
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Portland Pioneers
my family’s been in the Willamette valley for 120+ years, I like this one
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
actually
Oregon Pioneers would be better, there’s a whole lot of folks in this state besides the ones who live in Multnomah County
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
YEAH!!!
Like….what about Washington County…you guys ever think about THAT?!
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Oct 30, 2009 11:08 AM PDT up reply actions
grew up and still work in WA
live in Yamhill
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
lol...I was being sarcastic
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Oct 30, 2009 12:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Blazers Logo
I had no idea that the Blazers logo was supposed to be two five-man teams meeting each other in the shape of a basketball. Who knew?
Neither did I
I thought it was just an odd 70s style deal. I like it, don’t get me wrong.
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
It's suspiciously close to a sexual reference
“sixty nine”…I guess the basketball players just reeeeally enjoy each other.
"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."
I always thought it worked for
p and b, portland blazers. Meh. Could work.
Andre to Roy alley oops = 24-7 = All day every day
Oops that would be a q, not a p.
Guess it doesn’t work.
Andre to Roy alley oops = 24-7 = All day every day
Where did they get that story from?
I’ve always been told that the Blazer logo doesn’t have any real meaning behind it. It was just something that Harry Glickman’s daughter came up with.
"We didn't start the fire. It was always burning. Since the world's been turning." - E. E. Cummings
by Sexual Tyrannosaurus on Oct 30, 2009 3:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Great read. Nice find. Wreck'd.
If I got to name a Portland team I would call them “The Portland Protests.”
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