Is there any reason behind a sports team being named for a city vs. a state?

[gorcorps]

I was just wondering if there was any underlying region for a sports team to be named after a city vs. state. You know, ARIZONA Cardinals vs. PITTSBURGH Steelers and such. I figure there isn't a reason outside of what was decided sounds better but I could be wrong.

 

[ja1484]

Market demos.

 

[her209]

New York Knicks

 

[Colt45]

PA is big enough to have two major nfl teams? PA steelers + PA eagles doesn't sound right. nhl too. flyers and penguins. etc.

i dont know.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

The Minnesota Twins were the first team to be named after a state, and it was done so the team could be ecumenical between Minneapolis and St Paul. Some subsequent teams have taken the same approach for largely the same reason, sometimes because no one city in the state was really large enough to support the team (e.g., the Carolina Panthers).

 

[SoulAssassin]

Originally posted by: Colt45
PA is big enough to have two major nfl teams? PA steelers + PA eagles doesn't sound right. nhl too. flyers and penguins. etc.

i dont know.

Exactly. If you have a small state or a state with really only one large city or no other surrounding teams it make sense. Texas Rangers and a few others aside.

 

[kranky]

In the early days of pro sports, many states had more than one team. It was a very long time before any pro sports team was west of the Mississippi. They were always named after cities. Later as pro sports expanded, franchises ended up in places where they thought they could rake in more money by using the state's name.

If they were the Phoenix Cardinals (which they were, originally), maybe the residents of Tucson or other Arizona cities wouldn't care very much. But as the Arizona Cardinals, the hope is that they will get the whole state to be fans.

 

[BeauJangles]

How about teams that are named for more than one city?

**cough** Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim **cough**

 

[zzuupp]

Originally posted by: ja1484

Market demos.

Pretty much. DonVitoCorleone has the other part. If the city itself isn't quite big enough to support a team, don't piss off the rest of the area.

For a few years, there was a team called the Phoenix Cardinals.

In baseball-land, the ____ Angels have changed their name whether they moved or not.

IIRC, the Carolina Panthers wanted fans outside of Charlotte, whether in North or South Carolina.

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: zzuupp

Originally posted by: ja1484

Market demos.

Pretty much. DonVitoCorleone has the other part. If the city itself isn't quite big enough to support a team, don't piss off the rest of the area.

For a few years, there was a team called the Phoenix Cardinals.

In baseball-land, the ____ Angels have changed their name whether they moved or not.

IIRC, the Carolina Panthers wanted fans outside of Charlotte, whether in North or South Carolina.

The Phoenix Cardinals were renamed the Arizona Cardinals when the bubbas in Phoenix pushed through a law to spend state tax dollars to build the rich boys a new stadium. The name change was supposed to make all Arizonans feel included in this great opportunity to blow our tax dollars on this crap. Bastards. I just learned this week that the Superbowl was Sunday and that the Cardinals are supposed to be playing in it. Whoopee. I want my tax dollars back.

 

[nanette1985]

There's our local NJ football team, the NY Giants.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
The Minnesota Twins were the first team to be named after a state, and it was done so the team could be ecumenical between Minneapolis and St Paul. Some subsequent teams have taken the same approach for largely the same reason, sometimes because no one city in the state was really large enough to support the team (e.g., the Carolina Panthers).

Makes sense to me. Here in NJ our teams are named after the state (except the Giants and Jets :| ) because who wants to be associated with Newark? :Q

Now, someone explain the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim...

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: kranky
In the early days of pro sports, many states had more than one team.

In the early days of pro sports, many cities had more than one team -- Philadelphia, Boston, St. Louis, Chicago in baseball -- New York had three.

This was not the reason.

The reason was that, most certainly in the early days of Major League baseball but also for football, people not only did not travel far to go to a game (most didn't have cars but even those who did, did not use them casually for long trips) BUT there was NO TV and only, eventually, local radio stations to have any semi-live connection to a game.

One of Ronnie Ray-guns first gigs was a radio fake-caster for baseball games. There were FEW live remotes for radio. Radio play by play was handled by getting a constant stream of ticker-tape updates and the announcer re-creating them minutes later complete with made up embellishments and fake sound effects.

It was a far more parochial world that people lived in.

Technology has changed all that.