pete6032
Diamond Member
Professional sports team relocations sometimes lead to absurd team names for the receiving city. For example the Minneapolis Lakers relocated to Los Angeles in 1960, creating the Los Angeles Lakers - a strange irony given Los Angeles' arid climate. The Vancouver Grizzlies relocated to Memphis in 2001, creating the Memphis Grizzles. There are no Grizzly bears in Memphis. Other egregious relocation names include the Utah Jazz (formerly New Orleans Jazz. Hard to imagine Mormons rocking out to jazz music.), St. Louis Rams (formerly Los Angeles, and now again Los Angeles).
I can think of one instance where a relocation made sense in terms of team name. The San Diego Rockets relocated from San Diego to Houston, becoming the Houston Rockets in 1971. The "Rockets" name was originally after the Atlas Missile, which was being developed in San Diego. The "Rockets" name makes sense in Houston as well, since Houston is home to NASA's Johnson Space Center. I always assumed the Rockets were originally from Houston since the name fit so well.
Can anyone else think of a sports team relocation where there was no name change, but the team name still made sense after moving? I'm also open to suggestions of egregious names that make no sense for where the team is located now.
I can think of one instance where a relocation made sense in terms of team name. The San Diego Rockets relocated from San Diego to Houston, becoming the Houston Rockets in 1971. The "Rockets" name was originally after the Atlas Missile, which was being developed in San Diego. The "Rockets" name makes sense in Houston as well, since Houston is home to NASA's Johnson Space Center. I always assumed the Rockets were originally from Houston since the name fit so well.
Can anyone else think of a sports team relocation where there was no name change, but the team name still made sense after moving? I'm also open to suggestions of egregious names that make no sense for where the team is located now.
