Photo via sportslogos.net
It’s all but official. Next season, the New Orleans Hornets will be renamed the New Orleans Pelicans. We even have a logo leak, courtesy of SportsLogos.net. After months of rumors, it’s finally going to happen.
And this is a big joke to people, apparently.
It stems from the fact that the name Pelicans isn’t exactly the most aggressive in sports history. But since when did that matter? Does anyone really believe that a team’s nickname has any bearing on its success on the court? Would opposing players fear a team called the Killers more than a team called the Nice Guys?
These ESPN blowhards personalities think so:
It’s a stupid argument.
Take, for example, the Los Angeles Lakers — one of the most successful teams in sports history. Is the name Lakers aggressive? Of course not. In fact, one could easily argue that it’s a stupid name — there are no lakes near Los Angeles (the franchise originally played in Minnesota, “Land of 10,000 Lakes”). No one would deny that playing the Lakers can be intimidating, though. It’s the history of the team that creates that kind of aura — not the team name.
The NBA is filled with names that strike the opposite of fear in you. Nets, Jazz, Nuggets, Suns, Magic… do I need to go on? Why would anyone mock the name Pelicans and ignore these names?
Besides, pelicans are actually kind of scary birds. No one questions team names like the Cardinals, Orioles and Blue Jays, but can those species do this?
Didn’t think so.
Perhaps they should have demanded New Orleans Jazz back from Utah?