Team Colour Meanings

[Moser316]

North Dakota State has green and yellow -- green for the prairie grass, yellow for the waves of grain.

I believe all the Universities of California (Cal, UCLA, UC Davis, etc.) have a form of blue and gold as blue for the Pacific Ocean, gold for there's gold in them thar hills, leading up to the name Golden State.

Other colleges have colors of minerals found in their states. The University of Montana has copper and silver. The University of Colorado has gold and silver (where the black comes in, I don't know).

For Montana, the official school colors are actually copper, gold, and silver (not to be confused with the maroon and silver used by the athletic teams).

[Discrim]

I recall the real reason the Bengals wear black instead of brown is simple, really: the NFL wouldn't let Brown make the Bengals into Browns clones, and black was the closest color to brown he could think of.

[powersurge]

I recall the real reason the Bengals wear black instead of brown is simple, really: the NFL wouldn't let Brown make the Bengals into Browns clones, and black was the closest color to brown he could think of.

So I wonder if he came up with the team name AFTER deciding on the colors, or BEFORE.

Its like the old chicken and egg question all over again.

[BBM]

I had always heard that owner Leon hess made the NY Jets' colors green and white to match his business, Hess oil.

Hat Boy,

The Jets were originally the Titans of the AFL. Their unis' were blue & gold, but when Sonny Werbelin & Leon Hess bought them & changed the name, he changed the colors for Hess gas stations.

Man, the Jets have to be the only pro team whose colors came from a gas station! Maybe that's why the Football Gods are not kind to the New York Jest.

Actually someone earlier in this thread said the Oilers were blue and orange because of Gulf oil (or at least an attempt to get them as a sponser). So, theres two.

[hecticbro]

Aren't North Dakota's official colors pink (heheh) and green?

[Cyclopsis Joe]

Capitol Copper: "Inspired by the warmth and friendliness of the 'Capitol of the South'."

Richmond?

Atlanta is considered the capitol of the southern US. Has been ever since Sherman burned it down. Kind of a "yeah, shut up!" kind of a response.

[tBBP]

This far and no one's mentioned my Florida State Seminoles!

So here's the scoop: The "garnet" is actually a conglomeration of the school's somewhat merging of paths and history. You see, back in 1904 and 1905, Florida State College won championships while wearing purple and gold uniforms. (See--even back then the football team was a power!) Where the purple came from i haven't a clue. However, also in the year 1905, Florida State College became--follow me here--the Florida State College for Women, which then forced the players on the football team to continue playing at a newer, all-male school located about 50 or so miles to the east-southeast, located in--you still with me?--GAINESVILLE. (Yes--that Gainesville!) This move essentially birthed varsity football at what would later become the University of Florida. (Oh--what a tangled web these two institutions have woven!!!) Anyway, getting back to FSCW. In 1906, the year after all the men were gone, the new student body picked crimson as their new official school color. Well, someone in the Admin board had the nifty idea of combining the school's old color of purple and mixing it with the new crimson, thus begetting the now-familiar garnet--a color which shares a name with a mineral which, oddly enough, is closer to GOLD in color than it is any shade of red. Well anyway, once the school went co-ed again, roughly 40 years later, the school used the colors of garnet and gold on their football team's uniforms in their first collegiate football game in 42 years--a loss to Stetson.

As to the nickname "Seminoles"...it was selected via student body vote. Oddly enough, the runner-up in that contest was "Statesmen". Other names: Crackers--don't ask (cuz I couldn't tell you), Tarpons, and the Fighting Warriors. It was firsts used in 1947.

Another little-known fact: yes, the school's primary logo (the Indian Head) is well known, but as far as athletics go, they actually have two logos: one for the men's teams and one for the women's teams.

Here they are below:

[winghaz]

Aren't North Dakota's official colors pink (heheh) and green?

Yep. The official university colors are green and pink. The official athletic colors, though, are green and white.

Why pink is one of the colors, I don't know. And I can only imagine that the athletic colors are different from the university colors because the athletic department in no way wants pink as a color.

[Gothamite]

The Sharks teal white and black reflects the fickle taste of the times and pays homage to miami vice...

The Sharks wanted teal because if the color caught on (i.e., Jax. Jaguars, Charlotte Hornets, etc.), the franchise would corner the market on the fabric. Supposedly the franchise bought all of the teal pro mesh available.

What?! Where did you read that?

[powersurge]

The Sharks teal white and black reflects the fickle taste of the times and pays homage to miami vice...

The Sharks wanted teal because if the color caught on (i.e., Jax. Jaguars, Charlotte Hornets, etc.), the franchise would corner the market on the fabric. Supposedly the franchise bought all of the teal pro mesh available.

What?! Where did you read that?

sarcasm

?noun 1. harsh or bitter derision or irony.

2. a sharply ironical taunt; sneering or cutting remark: a review full of sarcasms.

[sj32]

The Indiana Pacers colors are blue and gold because those are the colors of the Indiana state flag.

[powersurge]

The Indiana Pacers colors are blue and gold because those are the colors of the Indiana state flag.

funny, and all these years I thought it was because a pace car in racing is yellow.

nice to know.

[Swashbuckler]

Carolina Panthers have their light blue and black.......completely unverified rumor is that the light blue is representative of the state of NC by borrowing UNC's blue (although Panther blue seems to have a greenish tint that UNC's Carolina blue doesn't have) and the black is for the state of SC by borrowing the black from the GAmecocks.

[powersurge]

Carolina Panthers have their light blue and black.......completely unverified rumor is that the light blue is representative of the state of NC by borrowing UNC's blue (although Panther blue seems to have a greenish tint that UNC's Carolina blue doesn't have) and the black is for the state of SC by borrowing the black from the GAmecocks.

I heard that too.

Someone on this board once said the blue comes from the color of a cellphone screen (I guess in reference to the previous affiliation with Ericsson) but I'm calling bluff on that one.

[TruColor]

Differences between UNC's (both Institutional colors and Athletic colors) and the Carolina Panthers:

[hecticbro]

The sharks are actually one team that looks appropriate in black, teal and silver. Sharks are silver or black. Water is teal. Works.

[Ron Mexico]

This far and no one's mentioned my Florida State Seminoles!

So here's the scoop: The "garnet" is actually a conglomeration of the school's somewhat merging of paths and history. You see, back in 1904 and 1905, Florida State College won championships while wearing purple and gold uniforms. (See--even back then the football team was a power!) Where the purple came from i haven't a clue. However, also in the year 1905, Florida State College became--follow me here--the Florida State College for Women, which then forced the players on the football team to continue playing at a newer, all-male school located about 50 or so miles to the east-southeast, located in--you still with me?--GAINESVILLE. (Yes--that Gainesville!) This move essentially birthed varsity football at what would later become the University of Florida. (Oh--what a tangled web these two institutions have woven!!!) Anyway, getting back to FSCW. In 1906, the year after all the men were gone, the new student body picked crimson as their new official school color. Well, someone in the Admin board had the nifty idea of combining the school's old color of purple and mixing it with the new crimson, thus begetting the now-familiar garnet--a color which shares a name with a mineral which, oddly enough, is closer to GOLD in color than it is any shade of red. Well anyway, once the school went co-ed again, roughly 40 years later, the school used the colors of garnet and gold on their football team's uniforms in their first collegiate football game in 42 years--a loss to Stetson.

As to the nickname "Seminoles"...it was selected via student body vote. Oddly enough, the runner-up in that contest was "Statesmen". Other names: Crackers--don't ask (cuz I couldn't tell you), Tarpons, and the Fighting Warriors. It was firsts used in 1947.

Another little-known fact: yes, the school's primary logo (the Indian Head) is well known, but as far as athletics go, they actually have two logos: one for the men's teams and one for the women's teams.

Here they are below:

This was a surprisingly interesting response.

[leopard88]

Here's an easy one -- The University of Maryland's colors of red, white, black and gold come from the state flag (which is one of my personal favorites out of all state flags, but I may be biased).

Now, if you want to know the story behind that, so you have the complete picture, this is from the Maryland State Archives website:

Maryland's flag bears the arms of the Calvert and Crossland families. Calvert was the family name of the Lords Baltimore who founded Maryland, and their colors of gold and black appear in the first and fourth quarters of the flag. Crossland was the family of the mother of George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore. The red and white Crossland colors, with a cross bottony, appear in the second and third quarters. This flag first was flown October 11, 1880, in Baltimore at a parade marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of Baltimore. It also was flown October 25, 1888, at Gettysburg Battlefield for ceremonies dedicating monuments to Maryland regiments of the Army of the Potomac. Officially, it was adopted as the State flag in 1904 (Chapter 48, Acts of 1904, effective March 9, 1904).

Maryland State Flag

[Gothamite]

sarcasm

–noun 1. harsh or bitter derision or irony.

2. a sharply ironical taunt; sneering or cutting remark: a review full of sarcasms.

Hey, based on some of the things posted lately, you really should label it as such.

[YELDARBfield]

The Memphis Grizzlies were intended to become the Memphis Express, with orange and purple as the team colors.

When I first heard that, I emailed the Grizz' front office just to see. They didn't actually confirm the Express name in the reply, but they did say that of the names they tested, 'Grizzlies' tested best and a new identity was in the process of being created. Also, there are meanings and special names for their hues of blue, but I'm not sure what they are (PANTONE?).

Now a little tidbit about the University of Tennessee Volunteers. The colors of orange and white were chosen because they are the colors of the flowers (not sure what species) that grow outside the Univ. Center. Also, the checkerboard pattern pays homage to the checkered brick pattern that adourns the top of the Univ. Center. The alternate colors (baby blue and black) used by the women's and men's basketball teams are used (surprise!) for fashionable reasons.