How each NFL team got their name

[Admin]

http://www.mywesttexas.com/articles/2009/0..._names_1-25.txt

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, when millions of people will be watching America's premier sporting event. Super Bowl XLIII pits the Arizona Cardinals against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since my favorite team, the Denver Broncos, once again failed to make the playoffs, I will be rooting for the underdog team from Arizona, which is making its first trip to the Super Bowl.

As I was preparing to watch the conference championship games two weeks ago, I realized that of the four teams vying for a chance to go the Super Bowl, three of them were named after birds. Besides Arizona there were the Philadelphia Eagles and the Baltimore Ravens.

Then I got to thinking about names of all of the NFL's 32 teams, and realized that 14 of them have names of birds or other animals, and 15 teams were named for people or groups of people. The remaining three teams were named for neither people nor animals.

That sent me on a quest to discover the origin of the professional teams' monikers. I figured I could find this information on the Web, so I googled "NFL team names" and several sites popped up, including one from the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Only someone as crazy about football as I am would spend time pondering the origin of the names of NFL teams. Of course, I am not the only one crazy about the game. More than 135 million people are expected to watch the Super Bowl either in person at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., or on television. What is it about the game that attracts people to it?

Marc McQueen, director of clinical services for Centers for Children and Families, said fans enjoy the game because they have a feeling of belonging.

"I think part of it is the community behind it, the camaraderie," he said. "I like it when people wear their jerseys on game day. You never meet a stranger at a tailgate party," said McQueen, a Texas A&M graduate who said he prefers college games to professional contests.

He said the other appeal to watching football is that the games are "approved or sanctioned violence. It's so much fun watching a bunch of guys destroying each other. Most guys wish they could be that physically talented."

Suzanne Rathbun, lecturer and coordinator for the Center for Behavioral Analysis and University Counseling Service at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, said, "some people get so attached or identified with 'their' team it becomes an important part of them. .... So if they (team) lose they take it personally.

"I had a friend come from Spain who was searching for a (Dallas Cowboys) jersey with a certain number to take home because the player in that shirt was the be-all end-all to him. The shirt was over $100 for a jersey -- fake at that," Rathbun said in an e-mail. "Something I just don't understand. I want everyone to have a good time, and it is sad someone has to lose."

So for those of you who, like me, already are anticipating the 2009 season, and at one time may have wondered how their favorite team got its name, read on.

Arizona Cardinals: The team was named for the "cardinal red" of the players' jerseys.

Atlanta Falcons: Falcons was the winning name in a fan contest. It was chosen because of the bird's pride, dignity and courage.

Baltimore Ravens: The name is in recognition of the poem, "The Raven," which Edgar Allen Poe wrote while living in Baltimore.

Buffalo Bills: The name is in honor of frontiersman Buffalo Bill Cody.

Carolina Panthers: Mark Richardson, son of owner Jerry Richardson, picked the name as well as the team's colors.

Chicago Bears: When George Halas bought the team in 1922, he changed the name to Bears to reflect the fact that football players are bigger than the baseball players of professional baseball's Chicago Cubs.

Cincinnati Bengals: Bengals was the name of Cincinnati's former pro football team from the 1930s.

Cleveland Browns: Browns was the winning entry in a fan contest -- named in honor of Paul Brown, the team's first coach and general manager.

Dallas Cowboys: Clint Murchison and Bedford Wynne, two of the team's then-owners, chose the name. The team was first known as the Steers and then the Rangers before the owners settled on the Cowboys.

Denver Broncos: The name, the winning entry in fan contest, reflects the city's Wild West heritage.

Detroit Lions: Team owner George Richards selected the name because he wanted his team to be "monarch of the league" just as the lion is the king of the jungle.

Green Bay Packers: The name is in recognition of the meat-packing companies that were the team's original sponsors.

Houston Texans: The name was selected by focus groups charged with coming up with a name.

Indianapolis Colts: The name reflects the tradition of horse breeding and racing in the area around Baltimore, the team's original city.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Jaguars was the winning entry in fan contest.

Kansas City Chiefs: The team was born in Dallas as the Texans; when the franchise moved, Chiefs was the winning entry in fan contest.

Miami Dolphins: Dolphins was the winning entry in fan contest. Then-owner Joe Robbie said he liked the name because dolphins are "one of the fastest and smartest creatures in the sea."

Minnesota Vikings: The name, picked by the first general manager, reflects the Scandinavian heritage of many Minnesotans.

New England Patriots: Patriots reflects the area's role as birthplace of the American Revolution.

New Orleans Saints: Saints was the winning entry in fan contest. The fanchise was awarded on All Saints Day and the city is known for the song, "When the Saints Go Marching In."

New York Giants: Owner Tim Mara "borrowed" the name from the city's American League baseball team.

New York Jets: The team originally was known as the Titans. The name was changed when Sonny Werblin bought the team in 1963 to reflect how he hoped his team would perform.

Oakland Raiders: The team briefly was called the Senors; the team's owners then changed the name to Raiders.

Philadelphia Eagles: Owner Bert Bell picked the name in 1933 because the eagle was the symbol of the New Deal's National Recovery Act.

Pittsburgh Steelers: The team first was called the Pirates. Owner Art Rooney Sr. changed the name in 1940 to reflect the city's dominant industry.

San Diego Chargers: Owner Baron Hilton liked that fans yelled "charge" and blew bugles at other games in Los Angeles, where the team originally played.

San Francisco 49ers: The team was named for the men who persevered in the 1849 gold rush in the mountains east of San Francisco.

Seattle Seahawks: Seahawks was the winning entry in fan contest.

St. Louis Rams: The name was suggested by the team's original general manager because he said his favorite team was the Fordham University Rams; the owner said he liked the sound of the name. The team originally was in Los Angeles and the owner kept the name when team moved to St. Louis.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Buccaneers was the winning entry in fan contest.

Tennessee Titans: An advisory committee selected the name to reflect "heroic qualities."

Washington Redskins: The team originally was in Boston and named after professional baseball's Braves. The owner changed the name to Redskins after the team's dismal first season, and retained the name when the team moved to Washington.

Source: www.profootballhof.com/history/nicknames.jsp

[Swish]

Detroit Lions: Team owner George Richards selected the name because he wanted his team to be "monarch of the league" just as the lion is the king of the jungle.

That, is a great example of EPIC FAIL.

[AHF]

Most ironic:

Detroit Lions: Team owner George Richards selected the name because he wanted his team to be "monarch of the league" just as the lion is the king of the jungle.

Most interesting:

Oakland Raiders: The team briefly was called the Senors; the team's owners then changed the name to Raiders.

[TroyMcClure]

St. Louis Rams: The name was suggested by the team's original general manager because he said his favorite team was the Fordham University Rams; the owner said he liked the sound of the name. The team originally was in Los Angeles and the owner kept the name when team moved to St. Louis.

I knew about most of these, and they seem to be correct, but this is a little wrong. The Rams played in Cleveland for years before they moved to Los Angeles.

[lethalweapon3]

New York Giants: Owner Tim Mara "borrowed" the name from the city's American League baseball team.

The New York Baseball Giants weren't ever in the Junior Circuit, were they???

~lw3