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What expansion teams mascot could have been.


Esco

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1 hour ago, Esco said:

What were the list of mascots for NFL expansion teams? What were the Carolina Panthers choices before the panthers. What were the titans before the titans etc.

The Panthers were always going to be the Panthers.

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Not an expansion team but here is an article talking about the options they had before landing on the Titans.

Oilers to Titans

"A “name-the-team” contest brought forth thousands of nicknames. The finalists were Stingrays, Sharks, Jaguars, and Panthers. With "Jaguars" the choice, fan Ray Potts was randomly selected as the contest winner." Touchdown Jacksonville

#DTWD #GoJaguars

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24 minutes ago, Jimmy Lethal said:

The Minnesota Wild could've been the Blue Ox, Northern Lights (hey @hawkfan89!), or what I would've personally picked, the Voyageurs.

 

That was also a potential (and my preferred) name for the Expos, along with "Royals" ("Royaux" after Bill 101) and "Nationals." I'm not making that last one up. Per Jonah Keri:

 

Quote

One major step remained before the team could take the field, however: it needed a name. "Royals" emerged as an early favourite and a worthy nod to the city's baseball history, but coincidentally, Kansas City's expansion team had already adopted the name for the following season. Other proposed names included suggestions in both English and French. "Voyageurs" had a certain ring to it. On of the leading English-language candidates would presage a pivotal event in franchise history decades later: "Nationals."1

 

1Jonah Keri, Up, Up, and Away: The Kid, the Hawk, Rock, Vladi, Pedro, Le Grand Orange, Youppi!, the Crazy Business of Baseball, and the Ill-Fated but Unforgettable Montreal Expos (Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2015), 14-15.

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1 hour ago, Gothamite said:

 

That was a fan concept.  There’s no indication it was ever seriously considered by the club or league. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oilers-change-name-to-titans/

 

Quote

They quickly pared suggestions down to 39 names, including Pioneers, Tornadoes, Copperheads, Vipers and even Fury, which had been the second choice of Nashville's new NHL franchise.

 

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10 hours ago, panthers_2012 said:

The Panthers were always going to be the Panthers.

I believe they wanted Cougars first and couldnt lock up the trademark from the classic ABA team, but that might not be 100% true

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8 hours ago, Jimmy Lethal said:

The Minnesota Wild could've been the Blue Ox, Northern Lights (hey @hawkfan89!), or what I would've personally picked, the Voyageurs.

 

http://espn991.com/what-were-the-other-nickname-entries-for-the-nhl-in-minnesota/

 

White Bears and Freeze were also considered.  Wild is probably the worst, but Freeze is right there with it. It would have been Minnesota's answer to Miami Heat, I guess.  Totally uninspired but at least more obviously understandable than Wild.  I definitely agree that Voyageurs was the best pick.  White Bears may as well have been Polars...yeah, there are no polar bears in Minnesota, but there are no Penguins in Pittsburgh. Northern lights is a bit cheesy, but is gold in comparison to Wild.  I don't love Blue Ox, but it makes some sense and does a better job of hitting the "unique without being stupid" than Wild. (I guess the theme is "but still better than wild")  I'd rank 'em:

  1. Voyageurs
  2. Blue Ox
  3. Northern Lights
  4. White Bears
  5. Freeze
  6. Wild

Overall, I think the top three are solid, while #4 and #5 are "better than Wild."  It's really infuriating that they picked that silly name and even the great logo does not make up for it.  

 

 

3 hours ago, Cosmic said:

Some of the names from the Sabres' naming process: The Flying Zeppelins, the Streaks, the Buzzing Bees, the Comets, Mugwumps and Herd. The owners said they wanted a name that would be unique in pro sports.

 

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/classic-clip-naming-game/c-532255

Buffalo Buzzing Bees?  I can't decide whether I'm glad they dodged that bullet or if I wish they'd used it so someone was almost as bad as Wild.  

 

Wanting a unique name is a double-edged sword.  Yeah, Charlotte Bobcats was uninspired.  But the two 1990s "Panthers" teams are just fine and while those are no unique, I'd take them over Wild, Lightning, Thunder, and Heat.  It would have been interesting to see the reaction to "Sabres" on a board like this when the team was named.  I have no pre-Sabres memories so I've kind of just accepted names like Sabres, Flames, etc.  But maybe we'd have reacted negatively around these parts.  I'd say Sabres has aged reasonably well, though. Flames is not one of the better names, but Wild just continues to be embarrassing.  Oh well, at least that name will never be etched into the Stanley Cup.

Disclaimer: If this comment is about an NBA uniform from 2017-2018 or later, do not constitute a lack of acknowledgement of the corporate logo to mean anything other than "the corporate logo is terrible and makes the uniform significantly worse."

 

BADGERS TWINS VIKINGS TIMBERWOLVES WILD

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5 minutes ago, AstroBull21 said:

I believe they wanted Cougars first and couldnt lock up the trademark from the classic ABA team, but that might not be 100% true

 

I think it's possible you're mixing it up with the Cleveland Browns. When the browns were founded in 1944, they originally tried to name themselves the Cleveland Panthers, but the original owner of the first Cleveland Panthers (a team from the 1920s that folded) still owned the rights. The new team didn't want to pay the original owner's [rice demands and ultimately went with the Browns.

I've got a dribbble, check it out if you like my stuff; alternatively, if you hate my stuff, send it to your enemies to punish their insolence!

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53 minutes ago, whitedawg22 said:

The Baltimore Ravens could have been the Bombers, Americans, or Marauders.

Nobody got it more right than the Ravens.  It's a basic bird name, but one that you don't see nearly as often as Cardinals, Blue Jays, etc.  And it's got a nice local tie with Poe.  On name alone (forgetting uniforms, etc.), that's an A.  Particuarly given the above names.  

Disclaimer: If this comment is about an NBA uniform from 2017-2018 or later, do not constitute a lack of acknowledgement of the corporate logo to mean anything other than "the corporate logo is terrible and makes the uniform significantly worse."

 

BADGERS TWINS VIKINGS TIMBERWOLVES WILD

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When St. Louis was in the running for one of the two 93 expansion teams, the team name was reportedly going to be the St. Louis Stallions.

 

I really like that nickname and wish it would be used somewhere in one of the big four, but I doubt it will.

 

Anyway, Jacksonville got the franchise and the Rams moved to St. Louis, so I don't imagine anything major came of it.

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