OT-ish: How Top25 teams got their nicknames
An interesting story about each team in present Top25. There is a short paragraph tracing back the nickname for each. UM, MSU, OSU, Wisc., and Nebraska are included. Most are generally known, but a few I found interesting. Most involving a change in name for one reason or the other:
Stanford:
Knew they were originally called the Indians, but didn’t know the student body held an election to decide on a new nickname, and Robber Barons won, the school president felt the moniker was disrespectful to school founder and railroad magnate Leland Stanford, (even though he historically was considered one).
MSU:
After name change from Michigan Agricultural College, wanted a name change to disassociate from “Aggies”, after a vote the winning entry “Staters” was deemed too unimaginative for the sports editor of the Lansing State-Journal, so he decided to choose another one and started calling them the Sportans, which he later changed to Spartans..
Oregon:
Originally called the Webfoots. Californians used it as a derisive nickname for their rain-soaked neighbors to the north, while Oregonians embraced the moniker with pride. However, the present “Ducks” nickname emerged out of sportswriters’ need for a shortened version of Webfoots to appear in headlines. (Again the power of the press.)
article: How Every School in the AP Top 25 Got Its Nickname
August 27th, 2012 at 2:27 PM ^
"so he decided to choose another one and started calling them the Sportans, which he later changed to Spartans.."
lolwut
August 27th, 2012 at 2:30 PM ^
Funny that MSU actually misspelled its own nickname at first.
August 27th, 2012 at 2:38 PM ^
No, I believe the sports editor was calling only the sports teams sportans for effect, because he didn’t like the name that the actual students came up with.
I agree “staters” for State seems rather unimaginative coming from “aggies” and Agricultural. /lmao
August 27th, 2012 at 2:45 PM ^
I think both you and the OP are probably wrong. I'm willing to bet it wasn't "Sportans" (the OP was paraphrasing what the article actually said), but rather "Spartons".
August 27th, 2012 at 5:41 PM ^
August 27th, 2012 at 2:33 PM ^
"No matter the origin of Bugeaters, Charles Sumner “Cy” Sherman, sports editor for the Nebraska State Journal, was not a fan of the moniker. In 1899, Sherman, who would later help develop the Associated Press poll, suggested Cornhuskers instead" - from the article
That rather made me think of the conversation in "Men In Tights":
"You changed your name TO Latrine??"
"Yeah, used to be Shithouse."
"It's a good change..."
August 27th, 2012 at 5:48 PM ^
you don't like either "Bugeaters" or "Cornhuskers"????????????????????????????????????
August 27th, 2012 at 2:38 PM ^
It would have been AWESOME if Arkansas had gone with heliotrope for it's primary color.
August 27th, 2012 at 2:42 PM ^
True, but wouldn’t they then be called TCU? /s
August 27th, 2012 at 2:41 PM ^
Florida State Crackers??? I thought seminoles was a little derogitory.
August 27th, 2012 at 2:44 PM ^
"Crackers" isn't derogatory at all. (seriously)
August 27th, 2012 at 3:40 PM ^
August 27th, 2012 at 3:53 PM ^
August 27th, 2012 at 4:38 PM ^
delusional post is delusional.
August 27th, 2012 at 4:43 PM ^
It doesn't matter what it "means," it matters what the general connotation is...
August 27th, 2012 at 5:46 PM ^
August 27th, 2012 at 6:52 PM ^
According to a number of US History classes I have taken -- both in high school and here at Michigan -- "cracker" originally referred to the cracking of the whip a slave driver used. These men would be referred to as "crackers," and the term has since evolved to mean all white people. While it may have a different meaning in Florida, the term "cracker" definitely does have clear racial undertones, both currently and historically.
August 27th, 2012 at 7:58 PM ^
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_cracker#section_1
August 27th, 2012 at 7:19 PM ^
There are plenty of derogatory terms that have alternative inoffensive meanings that either no longer apply or only apply in certain places. You are out of touch if you think that the term cracker would still be a valid option even today for any major sports team in the US.
August 27th, 2012 at 7:52 PM ^
The thing that makes no sense at all, though, about all of your (not you in particular), is that if this word really were used in the derogatory sense (remember, the negative version you all are thinking of existed back when this naming happened), they would have been using that derogatory term against THEMSELVES. Florida State was not integrated until 1962 (the renaming discussed in the article was in 1947). They were obviously referencing the Florida history, and that was my point at the outset. The term may be derogatory to some (apparently many, judging by the reaction here), but it wasn't at the time, or now, here (historically, anyway). What counts with this is whether it was derogatory AT THE TIME and IN THE PLACE that it was used. In this case, it was not, and suggesting that it was makes no sense. I could have said that better in my original post.
August 27th, 2012 at 8:48 PM ^
August 28th, 2012 at 1:48 AM ^
Just because the general connotation is wrong doesn't mean that it still isn't the general connotation? I'm not arguing the history of the word. I'm arguing that to 85% of Americans, "cracker" is 1) a delicious treat, or 2) an offensive racial slur directed toward white people. I won't even post other examples because no good can possibly come from it, but you're wrong about this.
August 28th, 2012 at 8:42 AM ^
August 28th, 2012 at 1:03 PM ^
That's fair.
August 27th, 2012 at 2:46 PM ^
Originally, Toledo was known as the Munnies, for Toledo Municiple University. In the early 1900's, perenial power Pittsburg came to play, and the game turned out somewhat exciting, with Toledo putting up surprising fight. The Pittsburg press wanted to cable home the name story ASAP and hated the name "Munnies", and so pressured the student press editor to come up with something right there in the press box. Having nobody to consult with and decidedly lax PR standard in the day, the kid said he thought the team was impressive against the heavily favored Panthers and said he thought they flew like Sky Rockets. Pitt writers shortened that to Rockets, and the name stuck.
In the 70's, and again briefly in the ealry 90's, there was some talk about changing the team name to the Jeeps, per the Toledo Jeep plant, and changing the team colors to Olive Drab and Tan army colors, but thankfully that didn't go through.
August 27th, 2012 at 3:22 PM ^
What is Pittsburg? I can't take anything you say seriously from now on. Have you not ever watched professional or college sports? The darn word is on the television set all the time.
~Herm
August 27th, 2012 at 3:40 PM ^
"Pittsburg" was spelled without the H from 1890-1911. The time periods check out.
In 1890, the United States Board on Geographic Names decided that the final h was to be dropped in the names of all cities and towns ending in burgh. (Throughout the period 1890-1911 city ordinances and council minutes retained the h.) In 1911, after protest from citizens who wished to preserve the historic spelling, the United States Board on Geographic Names reversed its decision and restored the h to Pittsburgh.
source: http://www.carnegielibrary.org/exhibit/hname.html
August 27th, 2012 at 3:51 PM ^
I stand somewhat corrected, though it is a little confusing to read in the present. And he should have cited his sources, as I doubt he took the lack of an h at the time into consideration if he was writing that from memory.
I prefer it with the h.
~Herm
August 27th, 2012 at 6:08 PM ^
Interesting - I always thought the tobacco company screwed it up on the Honus Wagner card.
August 28th, 2012 at 9:45 AM ^
The $1M pricetag on that card must come from the typo.
August 27th, 2012 at 3:51 PM ^
Maybe he meant the mighty Gorillas of Pittsburg State University.
August 27th, 2012 at 2:54 PM ^
The Stanford story is awesome. The Stanford Robber Barons, and the mascot being a licensed version of the Monopoly guy smoking a cigar.
August 27th, 2012 at 2:55 PM ^
WebFEET!
August 27th, 2012 at 3:01 PM ^
Kansas State was originally the Aggies too. But the "fighting spirit" of their players gave them the nickname of the Wildcats.
Isn't there a dozen schools with the wildcat mascot? It's so common I wonder if the "fighting spirit" is used as a reason for all the schools getting that nickname.
Even the Simpsons poked fun at how common that mascot is.
Who are we?
The Wildcats!!!
Who are we gonna beat?
The Wildcats!!!
August 27th, 2012 at 3:09 PM ^
"Yost felt the reason for the nickname concerned the trading of wolverine pelts which occurred in Sault St. Marie for many years. The trading station served as an exchange between the Indians and other trappers and fur traders, who would eventually ship the products of to the Eastern United States. Because many of the furs were in fact wolverine pelts, traders may have referred to them as "Michigan wolverines", leading to the state nickname and ultimately to the University of Michigan representation."
http://campusinfo.umich.edu/article/wolverine-mascot
Yost disagrees with Scott Allen at Mental Floss. I tend to agree with Coach Yost on matters.
August 28th, 2012 at 7:36 AM ^
That's a great link, and thanks for posting it. I'd heard of the Toledo connection, and the fur-trapping origin before, but I had always thought that the name "Wolverines" became truly synonymous with Michigan after General Custer rallied the Michigan Cavalry Bridage with "Come on, you Wolverines!" most famously heard at the battle of Gettysburg, where the Michigan Brigade defeated JEB Stuart and protected the Union's flank, assuring victory.
But if the name was being used by 1861 by the University, then there must be something to those other origin stories.
August 27th, 2012 at 3:10 PM ^
RR will be on Finebaum today to talk about Michigan, or so it is touted. Back to your nicknames.
August 27th, 2012 at 3:15 PM ^
How I wish Arkansas' student body had voted for heliotrope as the school's official color...
Funny that the msu guy actually meant Spartans, but misspelled it at first. Lol-worthy.
And the entire entry for Louisville:
Louisville chose Cardinal as its nickname sometime around 1913. The cardinal is Kentucky’s state bird.
August 27th, 2012 at 3:19 PM ^
August 27th, 2012 at 4:43 PM ^
they misspelled their own name on the first try. I know spell-check wasn't around back then, but come on!
August 27th, 2012 at 6:39 PM ^
August 27th, 2012 at 3:50 PM ^
The students at the newly-minted MSU put their collective creative brainpower to work, and they come up with the brilliant solution of "Staters."
Idiots... the proper choice was "Staeers."
August 27th, 2012 at 4:01 PM ^
Maybe it's different where you were raised—apparently things are different in Florida or Georgia—but I've spent my entire life in SE Michigan, and I can assure you that the term has always been very pejorative, especially in usage by african-americans. Basically, "cracker" has been more or less synonymous with "redneck" for a long time in informal usage around these parts.
August 27th, 2012 at 5:48 PM ^
August 27th, 2012 at 7:11 PM ^
Last time I checked, Florida State plays games outside of Florida and Georgia, so I don't think that would've flown very well in the rest of the United States.
Analogy: A British tobacco company trying to sell "fags" in the US.
I understand your position, but I don't think it holds water.
~Herm
August 27th, 2012 at 7:56 PM ^
August 27th, 2012 at 5:52 PM ^