Sports Team Pluralz

Question

Is there any logic to sports team plurals? Take, for example, the WNBA teams:

Comets Fever Liberty Lynx Mercury Monarchs Mystics Rockers Shock Silver Stars Sparks Sting Storm Sun

Why are they the Rockers but not the Shockers? The Monarchs but not the Lynxes? For extra credit, match the team with city:

Charlotte Cleveland Connecticut Detroit Houston Indiana Los Angeles Minnesota New York Phoenix Sacramento San Antonio Seattle Washington

It seems to me that if you want to iconify your town, one way to do it is to build a giant statue. Colossus of Sacramento anyone?

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Is there any logic to sports team plurals? Take, for example, the WNBA teams: Comets Fever Liberty Lynx Mercury Monarchs ... object that's pluralizable (a Fever, a Liberty, a Shock) and doesn't have interference with common words (a Storm, a Sun).[/nq]
{snipped}

-- john

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]That reminds me of a recent post about whether a single team member could be referred to as one of ... object that's pluralizable (a Fever, a Liberty, a Shock) and doesn't have interference with common words (a Storm, a Sun).[/nq]
I presume the WNBA went with Sun so not the conflict with the NBA Suns. Why didn't they go with Nova, so we could talk about the super Novas?

It's also odd that all of the names are gender free. Is there a gender specific sports team out there?

Usenet · Answer

In article , (Email Removed) writes:
[nq:1]Is there any logic to sports team plurals? Take, for example, the WNBA teams:[/nq]
Then there's always the Toronto Maple Leafs. -- SAm.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]That reminds me of a recent post about whether a ... doesn't have interference with common words (a Storm, a Sun).[/nq]
[nq:1]I presume the WNBA went with Sun so not the conflict with the NBA Suns. Why didn't they go with ... It's also odd that all of the names are gender free. Is there a gender specific sports team out there?[/nq]
There are lots, though you may not realize it. Just sticking to North American professional sports, we have

NFL Football -- St. Louis Rams Buffalo Bills Indianapolis Colts Dallas Cowboys Honourable Mention (1): Detroit Lions

Major League Baseball -- San Diego Padres

NHL Hockey -- Los Angeles Kings

NBA Basketball -- Milwaukee Bucks Chicago Bulls Sacramento Kings

Given the women's movement, I'm not surprised that the WNBA teams do not have make a reference to *** in their names.

(1) This is open to interpretation. "Lion" is the general term for the beast, male or female, as well as the term for the adult male of that species.

-- Tim Coleman (Email Removed) (43.43 N 80.45 W) BMath, Honours Combinatorics and Optimization, University of Waterloo "Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite." -- J.K. Galbraith

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Is there any logic to sports team plurals?[/nq]
>
[nq:1]Why are they the Rockers but not the Shockers?[/nq]
Because "Rockers" is the name they chose for themselves, and "Shockers" is not?
[nq:1]The Monarchs but not the Lynxes?[/nq]
Because "monarchs" is the usual plural of "monarch", but "lynx" is the usual plural of "lynx".
[nq:1]It seems to me that if you want to iconify your town, one way to do it is to build a giant statue. Colossus of Sacramento anyone?[/nq]
Unless one is a sports fan, in which case one iconifies with groups of overpaid jocks and jockesses.

-- Stefano "Ne ekzistas senkosta meztagmang`o."

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Is there any logic to sports team plurals?[/nq]
Canadians find them adequately logical. Maple leaves = two or more bits of Acer foliage Maple Leafs = two or more Toronto hockey players.

-- Don Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) dphillipson(at)trytel.com

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]It's also odd that all of the names are gender free. Is there a gender specific sports team out there?[/nq]
Of course. The Lady Illini, the Elkettes, etc. I think I once mentioned the Carlsbad, N.M., Cavemen and Cavegirls here.

Among professional teams, the Cowboys are the first that come to mind. Also the Rams.

-- Jerry Friedman

Usenet · Answer

In article , (Email Removed) says...
[nq:1]Is there any logic to sports team plurals? Take, for example, the WNBA teams: Comets Fever Liberty Lynx Mercury Monarchs Mystics Rockers Shock Silver Stars Sparks Sting Storm Sun[/nq]
I despaired of ever making sense of the names of sports teams again when people started mentioning "the Utah Jazz"...and gave up entirely when I discovered that the mascot of the Arizona Diamondbacks is a bobcat..

My junior high school teams were the Broncos; my high school teams were the Colts; my college teams were the Mustangs...in those days when you picked your metaphor you stuck with it!...r

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]That reminds me of a recent post about whether a ... doesn't have interference with common words (a Storm, a Sun).[/nq]
[nq:1]I presume the WNBA went with Sun so not the conflict with the NBA Suns. Why didn't they go with Nova, so we could talk about the super Novas?[/nq]
I only know of the COnnecticut Sun because my daughter went to one of their games last weekend. The name comes from "Mohegan Sun", the name of the Mohegans' casino near Uncasville CT. Since my daughter is only 18 years old, she had some difficulty getting from the parking lot to the arena, since she couldn't go through the casino.

The only other thing I know about the occasion is that her father bought her a Rebecca Lobo basketball shirt, which cost $68.

Fran

Usenet · Answer

Frances Kemmish (Email Removed) writes:
[nq:1]I only know of the COnnecticut Sun because my daughter went to one of their games last weekend. The name ... old, she had some difficulty getting from the parking lot to the arena, since she couldn't go through the casino.[/nq]
Why not? In Vegas, at least, they have no problem with underage people going through the casinos as long as they stay to the marked paths and don't loiter. I had a conference there a couple of years ago and brought Josh (who was two), and we never got so much as a word(1). Many of the casinos have "child friendly" activities, but the only way in is through the casino proper.

(1) This contrasts with the airport. I left Sus and Josh and all our carry-on bags (including the car seat) up against the wall while I went to get us some food. Before I came out, a security guard had required that they move, because they were too close to the slot machines (some 20 feet away).

-- Evan Kirshenbaum +-- HP Laboratories |There are two types of people - 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |those who are one of the two types Palo Alto, CA 94304 |of people, and those who are not. | Leigh Blue Caldwell (Email Removed) (650)857-7572

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Sports Team Pluralz

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