Team Names

I believe the Green Bay Packers refer to the meat packing industry that Green Bay was famous for. Same thing with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the PA Steel Industry.

Most teams seem to be named after animals or something the region/city represented is known for. Some seem a little off because the team moved from it's original location and took the name with them.

Ah, my fave example of that is the Utah Jazz. Salt Lake City isn't exactly known for a thriving jazz scene, but New Orleans is, which is where that team was originally based.

The LA Dodgers (used to be in Brooklyn, but you knew that) were the Trolley Dodgers, referring to the difficulty and danger in walking the streets of Brooklyn at the time the team was founded.

I imagine the Colts (Indianapolis now, used to be in Baltimore) refers to the Pimlico race track. Any confirmation on this?

And the LA Lakers were first the Minnesota Lakers, 'cause Minnesota is the "Land of 1,000 Lakes".

Hartford had the Whalers, even though Hartford isn't on a coast, due to the 18th and 19th century whaling trade in Connecticut and Southern Massachusetts.

The Baltimore Orioles are named for the Maryland state bird.

The Chicago Bulls and Bears both refer to the Chicago Board of Trade. Being bullish means the market is going up, whereas bearish means the market is tanking.

There are more. I need coffee to think of 'em. :-D

Ooo! That's an interesting one. I'd never heard of that before.

The Calgary Flames used to be the Atlanta Flames -- named for the
burning of Atlanta. Can't figure out why you'd want to name a team
after a disaster. But then there's the Carolina Hurricanes and the
Colorado Avalanche of the NHL and the Chicago Fire of MLS.

How about renaming the Bruins the Boston Molasses Flood?

Ha, I never knew that about the Flames. Isn't there also a Chicago Fire?

Yep, the MLS team. They're relatively new.