A Grip on Sports: Washington’s decision relegates another nickname to the dustbin of history
A GRIP ON SPORTS • While wondering what Washington’s NFL franchise is going to be called now, it hit me there have been a bunch of teams in my lifetime that have either changed names or disappeared. And I neglected to invest in memorabilia from any of them.
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• So long name offensive to Native Americans. Hello … ya, no one has said just yet. But this morning Washington team owner Daniel Snyder bowed to economic pressure – the type of pressure that is most effective with businessmen – and announced the NFL franchise will have a new nickname soon. No suggestions here – every one else seems to have one – but one piece of advice: don’t use one of those singular ones, like the Washington Crowd or the Washington Purple. They are always too jarring.
But no more so than losing a team, as what happened here in the Northwest when the Sonics disappeared. Anybody know where they went? And if they are ever coming back?
Leaving a city and locating in another miles and miles away is one way to change a nickname, though there are exceptions. The Utah Jazz seem so out of place in Salt Lake City, though the nickname was perfect for their former home, New Orleans. The same can be said of the Los Angeles Lakers (again, perfect for Minneapolis).
Heck, when Baltimore’s NBA franchise moved down the road to the nation’s capitol, it’s alliterative nickname, Bullets, went with it. But after a while owner Abe Pollin realized naming a team after a piece of hardware used to kill people wasn’t the best idea, and the Wizards, alliterative in a new way, joined Washington in the name.
Movement, however, isn’t a reason to change nicknames at the college level. No one is going to pack up, say, Washington State University in the middle of the night and move it to Indianapolis. And, hopefully, no one is going to ever object to the Cougar nickname.
Up the road in Cheney, however, people realized long ago calling their sports teams the Savages wasn’t the best way to go. Well, not the students, who voted in 1973 to keep it, but were overruled by the school’s trustees. The name was changed to Eagles, though it took a few years to get rid of the tile in the athletic compound that bore the image of the former mascot. And sparked a long-ago conversation between my pre-teen son and myself concerning respecting others’ cultures.
Eastern wasn’t the first school to leave a Native American mascot behind and it certainly wasn’t the last. In fact, thankfully, such images have been, for the most part, relegated to the dustbin of history. And now, so are the Washington Redskins.
• Here’s a thought. Maybe if the Mariners were to retire their nautical-themed nickname and re-acquire the rights to the city’s original franchise name, the Pilots, maybe they would win a World Series. After all, the Pilots are a name revered in popular culture.
How’s that again? A team that was 64-98 in its lone season, revered? Yep. The best-selling baseball book of all time, “Ball Four,” was set in Seattle the Pilots’ lone year in existence. OK, the book was only partly about the Pilots, but still.
Pilots soar, Mariners toil. Pilots fly among the clouds, Mariners are anchored to their ship. Pilots wear cool uniforms, Mariners model dungarees. Pilots can end up anywhere, Mariners are stuck by the ocean. Ever see a kid on a swing? Thinks he or she is pretending to be a captain of a ship? Heck no. They are dreaming of flying a jet across the sky.
Let’s make this happen.
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Gonzaga: Ryan Woolridge led the Zags to the NCAA title his only year in Spokane. Wait, no, that was only a vivid dream from April that followed a night of eating way too many brownies. But the North Texas transfer did help the Bulldogs win 30 games again and earn a certain No. 1 seed in the tournament when it all came to a stop. Now, as Jim Meehan relates, he will be playing in Germany.
WSU: Around the Pac-12 and college sports, it’s starting to become clearer college football in the fall is becoming an underdog to the virus. … If there isn’t a lot of football being played (or practiced) there is still a lot of recruiting news. Much of the noise being made in these parts is coming from Oregon. … In basketball news, Colorado is excited to have a 7-footer headed to school whenever it begins.
EWU: Michael Roos was not only the best offensive lineman Eastern ever produced – I hope that doesn’t make coach Aaron Best mad – he also was the driving force behind the Eagles’ signature marketing tool: the red turf. Ryan Collingwood chatted with Roos 10 years after his donation helped change the vision of the Eastern Washington football program – and led to a new name for its field.
Whitworth: A couple of Pirate athletes earned national academic honors. That news leads off out weekly local briefs.
Preps: Former Lewis and Clark High star Briann January has tested positive for COVID-19 and is in self-isolation prior to the WNBA season.
Mariners: Isaiah Campbell pitched off the T-Mobile mound for the first time yesterday as the M’s held another intrasquad game. … By the way, Kyle Lewis hit another home run. … Brandon Williamson is getting a chance to show the team his abilities.
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• Don’t bother to stop by here tomorrow. Unless something really weird happens, we won’t be around. We’re taking the day. Going to spend it with Kim having fun. After being married for almost 41 years, yes, we can still have fun together. Odd, isn’t it? Until Wednesday …