New Orleans Pelicans

Keg · Post by **Keg** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 10:31 am

The new name of the New Orleans NBA team became official today.

I've heard a lot of people clowning on the name and logo, but I like them. The name is original and it incorporates a lot of the city's history:

http://www.nba.com/pelicans/new-orleans ... s-unveiled" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Post by **brian** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 10:52 am

Yeah, I can't find anything to make fun of about it. The logo(s) look decent enough.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 11:08 am

I like it, but I still think the Pelican is an odd choice. Sure, it's a bird that eats fish, but it's not that fierce. I guess a Raven isn't that predatory either.

Post by **brian** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 11:10 am

govmentchedda wrote:I like it, but I still think the Pelican is an odd choice. Sure, it's a bird that eats fish, but it's not that fierce. I guess a Raven isn't that predatory either.

Nor are Cardinals, Blue Jays, etc., etc., etc.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 11:12 am

Blue Jays will fuck your shit up. Cardinals, not so much, unless we're talking kiddie diddling.

Keg · Post by **Keg** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 11:17 am

Cardinals will bite the crap out of you with their vicious teeth.

howard · Post by **howard** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 11:23 am

What about cartoon Orioles?

Post by **brian** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 11:27 am

I've seen pelicans in Texas cause car accidents by divebombing cars, so I'm convinced of their badass bonafides.

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 11:29 am

Beware the Penguins.

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 11:31 am

brian wrote:I've seen pelicans in Texas cause car accidents by divebombing cars, so I'm convinced of their badass bonafides.

They're hilarious when they try to land/dive into water. Probably one of the least graceful sights in the natural world.

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:25 pm

I don't like the name but I understand not wanting to be the Hornets.

Post by **Shirley** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:32 pm

I like the originality of the name. I don't think it sounds good, but maybe I'll get used to it. They did a good job with the logo though. They made it look cool without trying to hard to make a stupid mean bird.

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:34 pm

Shirley wrote:I like the originality of the name. I don't think it sounds good, but maybe I'll get used to it. They did a good job with the logo though. They made it look cool without trying to hard to make a stupid mean bird.

Yeah, there's a good chance that in 10 years everyone will just forget that this ever happened and think New Orleans Pelicans is normal.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:39 pm

Newspapers may like this. If a player has trouble with his shorts, I'm sure the headline writers will take note of the Pelican Briefs. If the team does poorly, it may get noted as the Pelican Grief. The head coach may be termed the Pelican Chief. A win to end a losing streak will be Pelican Relief.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:43 pm

On the one hand, the big problem is that a 3 syllable nickname is inherently problematic, unless... it provides an easy way to turn it into a one syllable thing you can shout (Hurricanes, on first blush, is terrible, but you can just say 'Canes and it's now OK.)

Let's go Pels! Nope.

That said, I love pelicans. Watching them fly in formation and dive bomb for fish is one of my favorite day dreamy thing to do when I visit the beach.

And I don't buy the idea that every mascot/nickname needs to be fierce to be successful or appropriate. Other than whatever the Ukrainians are churning out, most would not consider dolphins to be vicious creatures. But that's probably one of the more natural sounding team names in all of sports.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:44 pm

Seen worse. It's a shame they can't get "Jazz" back, given that is was as appropriate a name as a town could ever have for one of its teams. Shame that Utah didn't change to something that made sense to Utah; Jazz doesn't.

Anyway, you don't have to look any further than the NBA to find sillier names.

The first pro team in New Orleans was called the Hurricanes. Can't use that. The first ABA team in New Orleans was the Buccaneers; bit of a conflict there with Tampa, I suppose.

At least they didn't go with "New Orleans Pride" or "New Orleans Humidity".

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:46 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote:On the one hand, the big problem is that a 3 syllable nickname is inherently problematic, unless... it provides an easy way to turn it into a one syllable thing you can shout (Hurricanes, on first blush, is terrible, but you can just say 'Canes and it's now OK.)

Let's go Pels! Nope.

Let's go Cans! Let's go Cans!

(C'mon, get into it!)

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:48 pm

brian wrote:
govmentchedda wrote:I like it, but I still think the Pelican is an odd choice. Sure, it's a bird that eats fish, but it's not that fierce. I guess a Raven isn't that predatory either.
Nor are Cardinals, Blue Jays, etc., etc., etc.

When was the last time an American team was named for a non-fierce animal, or at least an animal that didn't sound fierce?

The Cardinals and Orioles names are a hundred years old.

The Blue Jays are from the 1970s, but that is Canada.

The Dolphins?

Are marlins supposed to be fierce? Rays? Devil Rays sounds fierce to me.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:49 pm

govmentchedda wrote:Blue Jays will fuck your shit up. Cardinals, not so much, unless we're talking kiddie diddling.

I have a great story about my cat fucking up a blue jay, but it's too long and off topic.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:49 pm

Scottie wrote:At least they didn't go with "New Orleans Pride" or "New Orleans Humidity".

I always thought the Miami hockey team should have been called the Florida Humidity, to go along with the NBA Miami Heat. Then fans could have said, "You think the Heat is bad, the Humidity is even worse."

yes, I stole that from somebody... can't remember who...

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:49 pm

Steve of phpBB wrote:
brian wrote:
govmentchedda wrote:I like it, but I still think the Pelican is an odd choice. Sure, it's a bird that eats fish, but it's not that fierce. I guess a Raven isn't that predatory either.
Nor are Cardinals, Blue Jays, etc., etc., etc.
When was the last time an American team was named for a non-fierce animal, or at least an animal that didn't sound fierce?

The Cardinals and Orioles names are a hundred years old.

The Blue Jays are from the 1970s, but that is Canada.

The Dolphins?

Are marlins supposed to be fierce? Rays? Devil Rays sounds fierce to me.

The Marlins?

EDIT: Just saw you noted them. Marlins ain't fierce just because they have a knife on their faces.

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:50 pm

I'd go with a voodoo theme, but that would probably be too much for 'Muricans. Graphics would be sweet though — chicken legs, skulls, zombies, etc.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:50 pm

This has already been figured out

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sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:52 pm

Icepenis wrote:When was the last time an American team was named for a non-fierce animal, or at least an animal that didn't sound fierce?

The Cardinals and Orioles names are a hundred years old.

The Blue Jays are from the 1970s, but that is Canada.

The Dolphins?

Are marlins supposed to be fierce? Rays? Devil Rays sounds fierce to me.

The Marlins?

EDIT: Just saw you noted them. Marlins ain't fierce just because they have a knife on their faces.

How about the Anaheim Ducks. Ducks aren't fierce.

But, originally, they were the Mighty Ducks.

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:53 pm

Just call them the Angry Birds.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:55 pm

There's an awesome clip floating around of a marlin jumping onto a boat and FUCKING SHIT UP.

Hold on, I'll look for it.

Search term: "marlin fucking shit up on a boat"

First return: " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(Turn it up, Highway to the Danger Zone as the soundtrack.)

vandwagon · Post by **vandwagon** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:57 pm

Icepenis wrote:Just call them the Angry Birds.

Angry Birds beat out Fire Ninjas and Cheetas in a vote to name the baseball team I'm coaching. Ages 5 through 7.

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:58 pm

I like Fire Ninjas!

howard · Post by **howard** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:03 pm

Why not two Jazz? Other countries have multiple franchises with the same name/mascot. Redlegs and Red Sox are damn near the same.

I kinda like the goofiness of Pelicans, though.

Keg · Post by **Keg** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:05 pm

MLS has a bunch of team names that aren't fierce.

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:05 pm

Maybe just go with Smooth Jazz to mix it up a bit.

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:29 pm

Pelicans are hard

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:45 pm

sancarlos wrote:
Icepenis wrote:When was the last time an American team was named for a non-fierce animal, or at least an animal that didn't sound fierce?

The Cardinals and Orioles names are a hundred years old.

The Blue Jays are from the 1970s, but that is Canada.

The Dolphins?

Are marlins supposed to be fierce? Rays? Devil Rays sounds fierce to me.

The Marlins?

EDIT: Just saw you noted them. Marlins ain't fierce just because they have a knife on their faces.
How about the Anaheim Ducks. Ducks aren't fierce.

But, originally, they were the Mighty Ducks.

Good points. But that name was such an embarassment to hockey, I managed to block it from my mind.

MLS teams have non-fierce names, but I don't think any of them are named after animals. Except maybe Chivas, I guess.

duff · Post by **duff** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:53 pm

It fits the city better than Pacers do for Indy. I love the team and always will but why name it after something in horse racing. I know they say it is to tie into the city's racing history but it still makes no sense to me. Although I am not sure what else they should have called them at inception.

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:00 pm

Steve of phpBB wrote:
MLS teams have non-fierce names, but I don't think any of them are named after animals. Except maybe Chivas, I guess.

Some are named after energy drinks that are named after animals.

duff · Post by **duff** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:03 pm

P.D.X. wrote:
Steve of phpBB wrote:
MLS teams have non-fierce names, but I don't think any of them are named after animals. Except maybe Chivas, I guess.
Some are named after energy drinks that are named after animals.

Those bulls are fierce. They are red.

An Echidna · Post by **An Echidna** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:17 pm

P.D.X. wrote:
Steve of phpBB wrote:
MLS teams have non-fierce names, but I don't think any of them are named after animals. Except maybe Chivas, I guess.
Some are named after energy drinks that are named after animals.

Four Loko is named after my junk.

Yard of Junk · Post by **Yard of Junk** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 3:32 pm

Steve of phpBB wrote:
brian wrote:
govmentchedda wrote:I like it, but I still think the Pelican is an odd choice. Sure, it's a bird that eats fish, but it's not that fierce. I guess a Raven isn't that predatory either.
Nor are Cardinals, Blue Jays, etc., etc., etc.
When was the last time an American team was named for a non-fierce animal, or at least an animal that didn't sound fierce?

The Cardinals and Orioles names are a hundred years old.

The Blue Jays are from the 1970s, but that is Canada.

The Dolphins?

Are marlins supposed to be fierce? Rays? Devil Rays sounds fierce to me.

The Atlanta Thrashers were named for the Georgia state bird, the brown thrasher.

Which is not fierce at all. Fortunately, the Thrashers played like their namesake.

From 1887-1961, the New Orleans minor league team was called the Pelicans. I love using the retro minor league name. Shoeless Joe Jackson is in the below photo.

howard · Post by **howard** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 3:51 pm

Is that 'The' Heine Manush?

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 3:53 pm

howard wrote:Is that 'The' Heine Manush?

HOF'er Heinie Manush? No, that's not him. It's his brother Frank Manush.