The best/worst team names in sports?

[Dave Gray]

I'm a big fan of team names.   I think it can make or break an identity.

Excluding your personal favorite teams, what do you think are the best and world names in sports?

BEST: Detroit Pistons -- I think it's unique, its a definite call back to the city, and it creates a mental image of a driving force.

WORST: Utah Jazz -- I love the name Jazz...it just sucks that its in Utah and not in New Orleans.

Honorable mention to the Washington Wizards.  It's not the name Wizards; it's just that for a city like DC where there is so much history, to fall back on a generic term like Wizards is criminal.  Call them the Eagles or the Independence or the Generals or the Monuments or the Memorials or the Constitution or whatever....damn.

[Spider-Dan]

I think the best names are those that really identify with the city:

Detroit Pistons
Indiana Pacers
New Orleans Jazz (ahem) and Saints
Pittsburgh Steelers
Buffalo Bills
Milwaukee Brewers
Houston Astros and Rockets

For the record, the Dolphins would be just as well-suited to San Diego as they are to Miami.

Worst:

LA Lakers
Utah Jazz
Memphis Grizzlies

If I had to pick one of each, I'd probably pick the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Utah Jazz.

[Sunstroke]

I think the best names are those that really identify with the city:

Detroit Pistons
Indiana Pacers
New Orleans Jazz (ahem) and Saints
Pittsburgh Steelers
Buffalo Bills
Milwaukee Brewers
Houston Astros and Rockets

For the record, the Dolphins would be just as well-suited to San Diego as they are to Miami.

All three of the teams I cheer for have team names that are perfectly suited for their respective cities. The San Francisco 49ers, the Phoenix Suns and the San Diego Padres.  So, I have a 3-way tie for the best team name.

The worst team names are the Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees and LA Lakers, based solely on the fact that when I hear those names, I have an involuntary gag reflex.

[Thundergod]

Damn near all the teams in the NBA have retarded names. That said I'm gonna go by league (Overall Best and Worst in bold)

NBA- Best: Chicago Bulls / Worst: New Orleans Pelicans
NFL- Best: Minnesota Vikings / Worst: Houston Texans
NHL - Best: New Jersey Devils / Worst: Anaheim Ducks
MLB - Best Arizona Diamondbacks / Worst: Washington Nationals

I'm of the opposite mindset of most people. I don't really care if a team's name has any historical reference to the city or its surroundings, most of the time it just ends up sounding stupid when there's a deliberate attempt. If it works and sounds good, great.

[Dave Gray]

What is a Padre?

[Phishfan]

Padres are priests in Spanish. It isn't the literal word I don't think but it means father.

Count me in for names that tie with the city. The list is pretty long in that regards. The possible worst name in sports, New York Red Bulls.

[Sunstroke]

What is a Padre?

Part of me really wonders if that was a joke... 

[Dave Gray]

It means "dad" in spanish, I know.  But I don't know what that has to do with San Diego.  ...even if you're referring to priests.

[Spider-Dan]

Padres could be basically any city in CA, NM, TX, or FL.
Suns could be any city in those same states + AZ (the same reason I don't particularly like the Miami Heat as a name).
I grudgingly accept that the 49ers are a relevant team name to San Francisco.

[bsfins]

The bad ones for me,off the top of my head......
Montréal Canadiens
Walgreens...Err Washinton Nationals...
The real name of the Angels..The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (the Identity crisis of where they are)

The odd ones for me are the ones that changed because of moving..The Rams in St. Louis (I still think L.A.),but they have the St. Louis Cardinals,but the Cardinals in football are in Arizona (which I still think St. Louis)

I like the Bears,Cubs connection thing in Chicago...They both played in Wrigley..ok My bias there...
I also like the Steelers,Brewers names that fit,though the Brewers could fit in St. Louis too I guess..

[Sunstroke]

It means "dad" in spanish, I know.  But I don't know what that has to do with San Diego.  ...even if you're referring to priests.

Mission San Diego (San Diego de Alcala) was the first Spanish Mission in the USA. It was also the first Church in California. Basically, the King of Spain at the time sent several groups of Franciscan Friars from Baja Mexico up to that area to prevent the Russians from getting a foothold on the Cali coast. Today, the Mission District is one of San Diego's most historic areas.

Padres could be basically any city in CA, NM, TX, or FL.
Suns could be any city in those same states + AZ (the same reason I don't particularly like the Miami Heat as a name).
I grudgingly accept that the 49ers are a relevant team name to San Francisco.

...and the New Jersey Devils would be more appropriately located in Hell...got it.

[Brian Fein]

...and the New Jersey Devils would be more appropriately located in Hell...got it.

Wait, you mean New Jersey isn't Hell?

[Sunstroke]

^^^ Nah, Hell smells better.

Or, to bastardize a bounty hunter quote from The Chronicles of Riddick... "If I owned New Jersey and Hell, I'd rent out New Jersey and live in Hell."

[Dave Gray]

Mission San Diego (San Diego de Alcala) was the first Spanish Mission in the USA. It was also the first Church in California. Basically, the King of Spain at the time sent several groups of Franciscan Friars from Baja Mexico up to that area to prevent the Russians from getting a foothold on the Cali coast. Today, the Mission District is one of San Diego's most historic areas.

That's cool and all, but is that common knowledge?  You seemed surprise that I didn't know that.

[Brian Fein]

I didn't know it either, but it makes total sense.  Maybe it is common knowledge to people who live in San Diego