Sports Teams with Bird Names
By Mike • August 29, 2003 • 13 commentsThe intersection of ornithology and North American professional sports is nowhere more prominent than in the National Football League, where no fewer than five teams sport bird names. If you like Ravens, Eagles, Falcons, Cardinals, and, of course, Seahawks, the NFL is the place for you.
The sport that comes closest to that level of avian respect is the National Hockey League. Three NHL teams have bird names (Penguins, Thrashers, and, gasp, Mighty Ducks) and three sound like they are named for birds but really aren’t. The Blackhawks are named for an indigenous tribe, the Red Wings for a tire with red wings, and the Flyers for what looks like a flying letter P (very intimidating.)
Major League Baseball also has three teams named for birds (Blue Jays, Orioles, and Cardinals) but loses style points to the NHL for the lack of additional bird-like names. Of the four most popular U.S. sports, the worst in terms of naming franchises after birds is indisputably the National Basketball Association. Only the Hawks bear the name of a bird in this league. One could be forgiven for thinking that the Raptors were named for a bird, but their logo clearly screams predatory dinosaur rather than bird of prey.
Our final award goes to the city that has proudly named not one, not two, but three out of four sports teams for birds. Atlanta boasts Falcons, Hawks, and Thrashers. It sounds like a bird watching sports nut’s paradise. Too bad they inherited the Braves from Boston!
If you’re more interested in college sports, Nick Lund can tell you which schools have aligned their athletic destiny with Bald Eagles, Blackbirds, Blue Hawks, Blue Hens, Blue Jays, Bluejays, Cardinals, Ducks, Duhawks (Dubuque Hawks), Eagles, Falcons, Firebirds, Gamecocks, Golden Eagles, Golden Falcons, Gulls (former nickname: Power Gulls), Harriers, Hawks, Herons, Hustlin’ Owls, Jayhawks, Kohawks, Larks, Marauding Eagles, Mountain Hawks, Nighthawks, Ospreys, Owls, Peacocks, Pelicans, Penguins, Purple Eagles, Ravens, Redbirds, Redhawks, Red Hawks, River Hawks, Roadrunners, Running Eagles, Sagehens, Scarlet Hawks, Screaming Eagles, Sea Gulls, Seahawks, Skyhawks, Soaring Eagles, Stormy Petrels, Sunbirds, Thunderbirds, Thunderhawks, V-Hawks, and Warhawks.
Tags: baseball, basketball, football, hockey
• Have you seen the cool 10,000 Birds t-shirts? Get yours today! •
And there realy is a ninor league team the TOELDO MUDHENS
Well theres the KANSAS JAYHAWKS,and our local COLLAGE OF THE SISKIYOUS is called EAGLES and then theres the TUKE LAKE HONKERS,and minor league hockey teams the BAKERSFIELD CONDORS,FRESNO FALCONS and PHOENIX ROADRUNNERS and even though the names may not be a birds name their mascots are birds like thE MAIMI(FLA)HURRICANES(A IBIS)and the IOWA STATE CYCLONES(A BIG RED BIRD)and theres even THE GREAT LAKES LOONS a minor league baseball team
you also have the elon phoenix in college.
Minor league hocky teams BAKERSFEILD CONDORS,FRESNO FALCON,PHOENIX ROADRUNNERS and Collage DELEWARE BLUEHENS
Theres a monor league baseball team the GREAT LAKES LOONS
The FRESO PACIFIC STATE SUNBIRDS,
ST JOESEPH HAWKS,ILLINOISE STATE REDBIRDS, i heard theres even a team called THE MIGHTY BLUEBIRDS
[...] chose to name their team after a bird. Historically, this has been successful with teams in other sports but not in hockey. Other hockey teams named after birds are the Blackhawks, Penguins and Ducks. The [...]
ATLANTA THRASHERS
[...] speaking, I root against teams named after birds. Four of the NFL’s five bird teams are in the playoffs and three of them played during Wild [...]
Hey there Birdzilla…a Jayhawk is not a real bird. They get their name from the Jayhawkers prior to the Civil War. The Jayhawk is just a drawing and not very intimidating mascot.
I like to see some dove’s photos
If I was a bird & supported a Premiership team …. I`d support STORK City.
If I was a Scottish bird …. I`d support STARLING County.