What Your Favorite Team Might Have Been Called?

[Glover]

My grandpa told me that the Browns were almost going to be called the Panthers. Could you imagine the Cleveland Panthers? The Cat Pound?

[DallasSports]

Nickname:

In the initial months following the its formation, the Dallas team was known as the Steers. After a few weeks, however, the name was changed to Rangers. At the same time, a baseball team operated in Dallas under that name, but was scheduled to fold before the 1960 football season. However, when the baseball team decided to play one more season, Clint Murchison Jr. and Bedford Wynne, owners of the new NFL team, selected the name of Cowboys to avoid confusion.

http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/dallas/cowboys.html

[notkirkcameron]

The Chicago Fire was the winning name of three finalists. Fire, Rhythm, and Blues.

Former Fire President and GM Peter Wilt because of the proximity of the Chicago Blackhawks' rivals the St. Louis Blues, and Nike had actually drawn up jerseys and merchandise with the Chicago Rhythm logo, which inexplicably contained a cobra.

The end result is one of the best names in the MLS.

[bulldogbarks55]

My grandpa told me that the Browns were almost going to be called the Panthers. Could you imagine the Cleveland Panthers? The Cat Pound?

It was Paul Brown, the original Browns coach, who vetoed the nickname "Panthers." Seems that the Cleveland Panthers were a very bad team during their brief incarnation. PB said he would not have any team he was associated with be named after a "loser." So with the "Panthers" sobriquet out, an after some cajoling, Brown allowed the new Cleveland team to be christened "Browns" in his honor. Don't believe the story that says the team was named after Joe Louis, aka "The Brown Bomber." It was named after Paul Brown, the best and most-innovative coach in football history. Some of his firsts- Playbooks, classroom meetings, messenger guards, cup-blocking for pass protection, the post-pattern with Graham tossing to Speedie or Lavelli and the perfection of the face mask to protect Graham's broken cheekbone. He was waaaaaaaay ahead of his time and helped make football the better for it. How about the future NFL head coaches that learned from the master- Don Shula, Chuck Noll, Lou Saban, Bill Walsh and Sam Wyche. And And Art Modell is still an a**hole for firing PB. Just think, if Modell hadn't sacked Paul Brown in '62 then there would probably be no Cincinnati Bengals to kick around.

[BBTV]

Ironic, that a guy who is priased for being "waaaaaaaay" ahead of his time, is associated with a team who's uniforms are waaaaaaaay behind the times. The Browns need to sack those tired duds like they sacked PB. Contemporize, man!

[TBGKon]

Former Fire President and GM Peter Wilt because of the proximity of the Chicago Blackhawks' rivals the St. Louis Blues, and Nike had actually drawn up jerseys and merchandise with the Chicago Rhythm logo, which inexplicably contained a cobra.

Kind of like how the San Jose Clash of MLS had a scorpion in the logo.

[Brian E]

the minnesota northern lights would have been awesome . a semi-shout of to the north stars and the logo possibilities could have been limitless.

as a mets/jets fan, besides being depressed, i think the reason the jets name doesn't hold as much luster now is because of the 20+ years at the meadowlands. sitting at shea in the cold and hearing a plane roar past as the opposing offense took that field must have been incredible and really added to the allure of the name. now, playing in someone else's stadium in someone else's state, the name isn't as cool.

[bulldogbarks55]

Ironic, that a guy who is priased for being "waaaaaaaay" ahead of his time, is associated with a team who's uniforms are waaaaaaaay behind the times. The Browns need to sack those tired duds like they sacked PB. Contemporize, man!

The Browns uniforms, when worn correctly, are as classic and untouchable as Yankee pinstripes, the Celtics, the Canadiens et al. They don't need to change just to accomodate the latest fad. So contemporize this, Philly.

[ferrousoxide66]

Ironic, that a guy who is priased for being "waaaaaaaay" ahead of his time, is associated with a team who's uniforms are waaaaaaaay behind the times. The Browns need to sack those tired duds like they sacked PB. Contemporize, man!

Contemporize to what? A block letter on the helmet? Some idiotic Nike-themed swooshes and colorblock panels? How about that tired and stretched-taut "bulldog" logo they were trying to shove down everyone's throats a few years back?

Come on, man. The NFL is littered with contemporized unis that look dated and hack-jobbed right after they're unveiled. Let's let some classics stay as is.

Besides, as an Eagle fan, you should know that the kelly greens are soooo much better than the current black-green eyesores.

[mania]

Ironic, that a guy who is priased for being "waaaaaaaay" ahead of his time, is associated with a team who's uniforms are waaaaaaaay behind the times. The Browns need to sack those tired duds like they sacked PB. Contemporize, man!

The Browns uniforms, when worn correctly, are as classic and untouchable as Yankee pinstripes, the Celtics, the Canadiens et al. They don't need to change just to accomodate the latest fad. So contemporize this, Philly.

Not really.. those other teams win.

The Browns look defines classically mediocre.

[-kj]

Oddly, I'm going to agree with the cane-waving contingent on this one.

[Glover]

Not really.. those other teams win.

The Browns look defines classically mediocre.

You must not be up on your football history if you think the Browns uniform defines mediocre...are eight championships mediocre? What about Jim Brown? Was he mediocre? The Browns uniforms are classics, the current team may be mediocre at best, but the teams history is far from it.

[TFoA]

Atlanta Falcons could've been the following:

Knights, Bombers, Rebels, Crackers, Thrashers, Lancers, Firebirds, Fireballs and Thunderbirds.

I think that they made the right decision...

[gosioux76]

Ironic, that a guy who is priased for being "waaaaaaaay" ahead of his time, is associated with a team who's uniforms are waaaaaaaay behind the times. The Browns need to sack those tired duds like they sacked PB. Contemporize, man!

I'm not sure you're giving an equitable comparison here. It's not like anybody is saying Paul Brown was "'waaaaaaaaay' ahead of his time" for uniform innovations. He's given credit for innovating gameplay and strategy. Hardly the same thing.

For the record, I'm a huge fan of the Browns' "tired duds" -- moreso since they brought back the gray facemasks.

[The_Admiral]

The orange pants were as progressive as the Browns got. So bring those back!

[pheer]

Am I the only person around here who recalls the New Jersey Nets were almost renamed the Swamp Dragons? I wanna say it was around the time I graduated HS, in 1993 or so....

Also as I lifelong browns fan.... bring back the orange pants, but beyond that, tweak the uniforms and you'll see something akin to the LA riots.

[BBTV]

Am I the only person around here who recalls the New Jersey Nets were almost renamed the Swamp Dragons? I wanna say it was around the time I graduated HS, in 1993 or so....

Also as I lifelong browns fan.... bring back the orange pants, but beyond that, tweak the uniforms and you'll see something akin to the LA riots.

I was under the impression that the Swamp Dragons thing was a done deal. I think you are right that it was '93 (or '94.)

As for the Browns, I'm not a fan of any jersey that forces sleeve stripes onto sleeveless jerseys. I also don't like their thin pants stripe, or the white/white on the road.

I don't think that "contemporary" = "Nikefied" or "Oregon'd". Just adopt a real logo (even the CB thing), put it on the helmet, drop the gray facemask, lose the sleeve stripes and go with colored cuffs (or better yet, go with USC / Texans stripes), re-introduce the orange pants for occasional use with the brown jerseys, and whip up brown pants with stripes for use with the white jerseys. Done and done.

[jhans203]

Am I the only person around here who recalls the New Jersey Nets were almost renamed the Swamp Dragons? I wanna say it was around the time I graduated HS, in 1993 or so....

Also as I lifelong browns fan.... bring back the orange pants, but beyond that, tweak the uniforms and you'll see something akin to the LA riots.

I was under the impression that the Swamp Dragons thing was a done deal. I think you are right that it was '93 (or '94.)

As for the Browns, I'm not a fan of any jersey that forces sleeve stripes onto sleeveless jerseys. I also don't like their thin pants stripe, or the white/white on the road.

I don't think that "contemporary" = "Nikefied" or "Oregon'd". Just adopt a real logo (even the CB thing), put it on the helmet, drop the gray facemask, lose the sleeve stripes and go with colored cuffs (or better yet, go with USC / Texans stripes), re-introduce the orange pants for occasional use with the brown jerseys, and whip up brown pants with stripes for use with the white jerseys. Done and done.

It was more like 1996-97 after Toronto came along and took Raptors. 1997 was when the Nets adopted their current logo

[TBGKon]

Atlanta Falcons could've been the following:

Knights, Bombers, Rebels, Crackers, Thrashers, Lancers, Firebirds, Fireballs and Thunderbirds.

I think that they made the right decision...

Knights, Thrashers, and Firebirds wouldn't have been that bad either.

[Gothamite]

While we're talking about name-the-team contests, the New York Cosmos were named by the general manager, who wanted something like the then-red hot "Mets." So he thought "What's bigger than metropolitan? Cosmopolitan!"

So he named the team "Cosmos" and rigged a name-the-team contest, giving the "winners" a trip to Europe.

And depending on whom you believe from the film "Once in a Lifetime," the team's colors may have been chosen as part of the effort to lure Pelé.

I'm convinced that they were.

I tend to believe Clive Toye, who was the GM. His story makes sense.