Minor things that annoy you-sports edition

[jeffandnicole]

The Utah Jazz that is about the worst name in all sports.

Real Salt Lake is so much worse.

At least it’s not the Fake Salt Lake, nobody likes Fake Salt Lake. 

Real, United, FC. You know soccer could be fun if they tried.

But aren't we the uneducated heathen Americans that doesn't understand such as eloquent low scoring sport?

Like baseball?

(*DUCKS* and *RUNS*!!!     )

BTW, 'Real' in that case is a Spanish word that means 'Royal' (adjective).

Mike

In baseball, when there's 8 individual "scores", that means 8 individual runners crossed the plate. 

In Football, you could have a 21-3 game, yet only 7 individual "scores" occurred (3 Touchdowns, 3 extra points, 1 field goal).

[1995hoo]

There's a vocal and annoying portion of the soccer fandom that are self-hating Americans and thus turn their backs on American-style names (which I prefer). Some of the classic NASL names (Sounders, Timbers, Whitecaps, Earthquakes) hold up well after 40 years of use, while the modern Uniteds just don't feel right (except D.C.)

It seems to me having three teams in the one league named "United" is kind of dumb. If they were established franchises from other leagues that then joined MLS, that might be different (such was the case with the CFL's Ottawa Rough Riders and Saskatchewan Roughriders, for example–both existed prior to the CFL and kept their names upon joining).

[Max Rockatansky]

The Utah Jazz that is about the worst name in all sports.

Real Salt Lake is so much worse.

At least it's not the Fake Salt Lake, nobody likes Fake Salt Lake. 

Real, United, FC. You know soccer could be fun if they tried.

But aren't we the uneducated heathen Americans that doesn't understand such as eloquent low scoring sport?

Like baseball?

(*DUCKS* and *RUNS*!!!     )

BTW, 'Real' in that case is a Spanish word that means 'Royal' (adjective).

Mike

Yes, I'm aware of the Real/Royal translation...tis part of the sarcasm that I wasn't sure would translate through forum message.  My favorite out west is when people talk about "El Camino Real"  but phrase it as "The El Camino Real"  which comes out to "The The Royal Road."  

[Max Rockatansky]

There's a vocal and annoying portion of the soccer fandom that are self-hating Americans and thus turn their backs on American-style names (which I prefer). Some of the classic NASL names (Sounders, Timbers, Whitecaps, Earthquakes) hold up well after 40 years of use, while the modern Uniteds just don't feel right (except D.C.)

Orlando City Soccer Club sounded strange to me over "Orlando Lions."   More so Orlando is a surprisingly small for such a large Metro Area, wouldn't "Orlando Metro Soccer Club"  be way more fitting and inclusive?

[SP Cook]

There's a vocal and annoying portion of the soccer fandom that are self-hating Americans and thus turn their backs on American-style names...

That pretty much covers it.  The point, for example, about "Real" is that it is an affectation.  Self-hating Americans, adopting names which have no relationship to the USA/Canada.  "Real" is from Real Madrid, meaning "Royal", an honor bestowed upon Madrid by the King of Spain 100 years ago.  The USA is a republic, the nominal claim of Spain to Utah (which would have been news to the natives living there, just like all the nominal claims of various Europeans to most of western North America, despite having never been there) ended in 1821, and no king has ever honored the Salt Lake City team with a patronage.  Similarly the various "United" clubs are an affectation of Manchester United, referencing the fans putting aside religious differences to "unite" behind the team, something totally inapplicable to the USA.  Then we have the Houston Dynamo.  Back in the communist years the Russians divided their leagues not so much by cities, but by occupations.  So people in this industry were supposed to root for "their" team.  Dynamo, pronounced DEEE-nay-mo in Russian, means "power plant workers", although it was actually the KGB's team.  Then you have Inter Miami, an affectation upon Inter Milan; and the ultimate, Sporting Kansas City, an affectation upon Sporting Lisbon.  That team used the English word "Sporting" to ape the UK at the height of the British Empire.  So KC's use of it is an affectation of an affectation.

[formulanone]

There's a vocal and annoying portion of the soccer fandom that are self-hating Americans and thus turn their backs on American-style names...

That pretty much covers it.  The point, for example, about "Real" is that it is an affectation.  Self-hating Americans, adopting names which have no relationship to the USA/Canada.  "Real" is from Real Madrid, meaning "Royal", an honor bestowed upon Madrid by the King of Spain 100 years ago...

Americans are fond of re-appropriating...well, nearly everything: rhyme and reason are optional. (Though alliteration counts.)

But on the other hand, I think many feel that there's a lot of stock team names which are too generic, or lose a lot of their impact from over-use. While many teams are drawn from public input, do we really need another team named for a predatory bird, feline, or type of warrior? You might not like the more unusual hokey names of minor league teams, but there's something about each one trying to create an identity out of many choices.

[CoreySamson]

Things that annoy me- Houston Sports Edition

- Rockets trading a great center in Clint Capela for a couple mediocre players and not having a starter over 6'6" .

-Bill O' Brien. Need I say more?

-The Astros cheating scandal.

-How other baseball fans bash the Astros for cheating and don't bash the Red Sox for doing the same thing.

-That Coronavirus stopped the XFL and put an end to the dream season of the Roughnecks, the only dominant pro football team Houston ever had.

[Bruce]

There are a few explanations for the acceptable European-styled MLS names:

Houston Dynamo - referencing the local energy industry and quickly put together after the initial name (Houston 1836) was rejected for offending the Latino community

Inter Miami - Not entirely bad considering that there are other leagues with their own teams named "Inter" (Brazil) and that Miami is an international city. The full club name is also in Spanish instead of Italian. The Milan club did sue and the outcome is still pending, so we'll see what happens there.

Sporting Kansas City - The original plan was to launch teams in rugby and lacrosse under the Sporting brand, but the recession and some other hiccups prevented it from happening. This is a successful rebrand of the Wizards, with a new stadium and revitalized support, so I'm not complaining.

For the rest, a proper name would be welcome. Many of the teams have their own nicknames that could eventually come to surpass the official name, but it will take time. A few of the early MLS era names have stood the test of time even if the teams are struggling to keep up with the hot new entrants.

Two of the four future expansion teams are still unnamed: St. Louis and Charlotte. Charlotte has a few options, but the "traditional" name of Charlotte Town FC is my favorite among the field, since it recalls the city's original name and rolls nicely off the tongue. St. Louis has a few names they can choose from their early 20th century dominance of American soccer, but I doubt they'll be choosing the likes of "St Leos" and "Stix, Baer and Fuller".

[Verlanka]

- Rockets trading a great center in Clint Capela for a couple mediocre players and not having a starter over 6'6" .

I don't think Robert Covington is that mediocre.

As for the starter thing, having a small-ball lineup could come back to haunt them later on.

-How other baseball fans bash the Astros for cheating and don't bash the Red Sox for doing the same thing.

Since when are the Red Sox cheating? Unless you're confusing them with the Patriots...

[1995hoo]

....

Sporting Kansas City - The original plan was to launch teams in rugby and lacrosse under the Sporting brand, but the recession and some other hiccups prevented it from happening. This is a successful rebrand of the Wizards, with a new stadium and revitalized support, so I'm not complaining.

....

I think Sporting Kansas City is a lame name, but that team's original name back when MLS was founded was "Kansas City Wiz" (not even Wizards back then), so just about anything is an improvement on that!

[CoreySamson]

- Rockets trading a great center in Clint Capela for a couple mediocre players and not having a starter over 6'6" .

I don't think Robert Covington is that mediocre.

As for the starter thing, having a small-ball lineup could come back to haunt them later on.

-How other baseball fans bash the Astros for cheating and don't bash the Red Sox for doing the same thing.

Since when are the Red Sox cheating? Unless you're confusing them with the Patriots...

I thought the Red Sox were being investigated for stealing signs, just like the Astros.

I'm just annoyed because if you look at the Dodgers for instance, they lost to the Astros in the WS in 2017, and lost to the Red Sox in 2018, yet there is no hate directed toward the Red Sox from their fans, but there is tons of hate towards the Astros.

Here's the link to one of numerous articles about the Sox:

https://www.mlbdailydish.com/2020/3/26/21195793/red-sox-cheating-investigation-rob-manfred

I'm not saying what the Astros did was right. I'm just saying the Red Sox should get the same punishment as the Astros if they did the same thing.

[Max Rockatansky]

- Rockets trading a great center in Clint Capela for a couple mediocre players and not having a starter over 6'6" .

I don't think Robert Covington is that mediocre.

As for the starter thing, having a small-ball lineup could come back to haunt them later on.

-How other baseball fans bash the Astros for cheating and don't bash the Red Sox for doing the same thing.

Since when are the Red Sox cheating? Unless you're confusing them with the Patriots...

I thought the Red Sox were being investigated for stealing signs, just like the Astros.

I'm just annoyed because if you look at the Dodgers for instance, they lost to the Astros in the WS in 2017, and lost to the Red Sox in 2018, yet there is no hate directed toward the Red Sox from their fans, but there is tons of hate towards the Astros.

Here's the link to one of numerous articles about the Sox:

https://www.mlbdailydish.com/2020/3/26/21195793/red-sox-cheating-investigation-rob-manfred

I'm not saying what the Astros did was right. I'm just saying the Red Sox should get the same punishment as the Astros if they did the same thing.

The fact that the Red Sox have a much larger fan base and media draw probably plays a factor in why what they did gets downplayed.

[Takumi]

Similarly, I liked Jeff Gordon because he is from Indiana and didn't stop liking him because of annoying fans.

I once saw a quote attributed to Ryan Newman around 2005, that said Jeff "isn't really a Hoosier. He's just not proud of being from San Francisco."

For me:
Fernando Alonso and his fanbase. For me, he's the biggest diva in motorsports this century, which is a very high bar. His toxic attitude and continual burning of bridges override his admittedly considerable talent for me, and I don't understand why he has so many people defending his every move even to this day.

[formulanone]

Similarly, I liked Jeff Gordon because he is from Indiana and didn't stop liking him because of annoying fans.

I once saw a quote attributed to Ryan Newman around 2005, that said Jeff "isn't really a Hoosier. He's just not proud of being from San Francisco."

For me:
Fernando Alonso and his fanbase. For me, he's the biggest diva in motorsports this century, which is a very high bar. His toxic attitude and continual burning of bridges override his admittedly considerable talent for me, and I don't understand why he has so many people defending his every move even to this day.

Most social media fanbases are toxic, period. It's hard to eloquent in a few words.

Alonso is a diva, that's for certain. He's talented in nearly every car and team he's driven, but he needs a lot of attention focused on him, which isn't good as a supporting team role to any newcomer in a mid-pack team. That attitude always seems to be an excuse for any lost time on the track. He wilted when Hamilton was faster than him. He came out smelling like a rose after the debacle of the 2008 Singapore GP (Crashgate) and everyone else was to blame. He just stopped trying in his last season at McLaren, which seems to be a common trait with champions in their last season (or a season in a bad car).

Honestly, it's hard to find world champs which aren't or weren't petulant at times...once they're champions or proven winners, there's a tendency to feel like they're bigger than the team which helped with their success. Senna was a diva, Prost was a diva, Mansell was a diva, and so forth.

Most drivers aren't all that good after a few years away from F1. Kimi Raikonnen is an exception, and so was Niki Lauda. Mansell lucked into a single win, but nearly everyone else who'd been away over a year or two has disappointed or just didn't belong.

[Takumi]

Alonso is a diva, that's for certain. He's talented in nearly every car and team he's driven, but he needs a lot of attention focused on him, which isn't good as a supporting team role to any newcomer in a mid-pack team. That attitude always seems to be an excuse for any lost time on the track. He wilted when Hamilton was faster than him. He came out smelling like a rose after the debacle of the 2008 Singapore GP (Crashgate) and everyone else was to blame. He just stopped trying in his last season at McLaren, which seems to be a common trait with champions in their last season (or a season in a bad car).

Yeah, I never really liked him in the first place. I started paying attention to F1 in 2005, when he and Kimi were dueling for the title since Bridgestone shit the bed that year (the obvious exception of Indy notwithstanding). There was just something about him that rubbed me the wrong way. His actions in 2007 and 2008 confirmed my suspicions. His tendency of pointing fingers at everyone but himself reminds me of a certain someone, now that I think about it...

Honestly, it's hard to find world champs which aren't or weren't petulant at times...once they're champions or proven winners, there's a tendency to feel like they're bigger than the team which helped with their success. Senna was a diva, Prost was a diva, Mansell was a diva, and so forth.

Yeah. I’ve noticed it with Hamilton and Vettel as well, though maybe not as extreme as the likes of Senna* and Alonso. Even somewhat with Verstappen and Leclerc, even though they haven’t won a title yet. Kimi is just Kimi.

Most drivers aren't all that good after a few years away from F1. Kimi Raikonnen is an exception, and so was Niki Lauda. Mansell lucked into a single win, but nearly everyone else who'd been away over a year or two has disappointed or just didn't belong.

That’s true. Between that and the state of Renault under Cyril, I don’t expect much, but I’ve been wrong before.

*ETA: it pains me to compare Senna and Alonso, because even though I was 8 when Senna died, he’s my all time favorite racing driver. Yes, he was a diva, but he seemed like he genuinely cared about people off the track, with his concerns for safety and his well-documented charitable causes for his home country. An aside: earlier this year his former agent claimed Williams had offered him a contract for 1992, but Honda convinced him to stay with McLaren, as they said at the time they were building an engine to be a better match against the Renault V10 that Williams were using, though that obviously never materialized and Honda’s factory efforts ended after 1992. (You of course had Mugen tuning old Honda units in the interim until the factory effort returned in 2000 with BAR.) Imagine if he’d gone to Williams for 1992. We’d probably be talking about Lewis trying to match his records, not Schumacher’s. Alas, we’ll never know.

[I-55]

How the Bengals always lose in the worst way possible and can't win in primetime

[thspfc]

How the Bengals always lose in the worst way possible and can't win in primetime

Conversely, it really annoyed me how much the media ripped on them during that weird run of years from 2011 to 2015 where they would always be good in the regular season but faceplant in the playoffs. They were one of only three teams, with the Patriots and Packers being the others, to make the playoffs every year during that stretch, yet if you only listened to the talking heads you'd have thought they were the 2008 Lions.

[SP Cook]

Watching more baseball this year. 

Uniform rants:

First, wearing the "batting practice" colored tops, rather than white or gray, is just lazy.  Its like not wearing a tie to work or church.  It is saying "hey, this game really is not that big a deal, I really didn't have to dress up for it."

Second, back in the 70s and 80s about a third of the league wore what they called "victory blue" on the road, rather than gray.  Basically a baby blue, close to UNC blue.  Fine.  It was a nice change up.  Last year, and more so this year, teams are having "throwback" days, and wearing the old baby blue uniforms.  At home.  So you have one team in road grays and  the other in road baby blues?  It is an AWAY uniform.

[SEWIGuy]

Watching more baseball this year. 

Uniform rants:

First, wearing the "batting practice" colored tops, rather than white or gray, is just lazy.  Its like not wearing a tie to work or church.  It is saying "hey, this game really is not that big a deal, I really didn't have to dress up for it."

Second, back in the 70s and 80s about a third of the league wore what they called "victory blue" on the road, rather than gray.  Basically a baby blue, close to UNC blue.  Fine.  It was a nice change up.  Last year, and more so this year, teams are having "throwback" days, and wearing the old baby blue uniforms.  At home.  So you have one team in road grays and  the other in road baby blues?  It is an AWAY uniform.

I stopped regularly wearing ties to work years ago and, outside of a wedding or funeral, never wear one to church.

[hbelkins]

Here's one thing that doesn't necessarily annoy me, but has piqued my curiosity.

When did putting "Jr." on the back of your uniform become a thing? Seems like it's been the last 5-10 years for college athletes.

[SEWIGuy]

Here's one thing that doesn't necessarily annoy me, but has piqued my curiosity.

When did putting "Jr." on the back of your uniform become a thing? Seems like it's been the last 5-10 years for college athletes.

Sounds about right.  There is someone on the LA Clippers that has Sr. on his jersey as well.

Just a nice way to honor one's father / son I guess.

[Alps]

Here's one thing that doesn't necessarily annoy me, but has piqued my curiosity.

When did putting "Jr." on the back of your uniform become a thing? Seems like it's been the last 5-10 years for college athletes.

My guess is we're starting to see more family legacies in sports. As athletes become more and more trained and conditioned, you'll see more and more lineage in sports vs. new generations having different families, because it's more likely to get progeny into sports if the parent(s) knows what it takes.

[Takumi]

Here's one thing that doesn't necessarily annoy me, but has piqued my curiosity.

When did putting "Jr." on the back of your uniform become a thing? Seems like it's been the last 5-10 years for college athletes.

I'm surprised Ken Griffey Jr. didn't start this trend. When he debuted in 1989, alongside his father, his uniform just said Griffey.

[hbelkins]

Here's one thing that doesn't necessarily annoy me, but has piqued my curiosity.

When did putting "Jr." on the back of your uniform become a thing? Seems like it's been the last 5-10 years for college athletes.

I'm surprised Ken Griffey Jr. didn't start this trend. When he debuted in 1989, alongside his father, his uniform just said Griffey.

That was my first thought as well. NASCAR has highlighted the "Jr." thing for years, even if the "Sr." wasn't all that well-known. Bobby Hillin Jr., Martin Truex Jr., etc. And of course Dale Jr. had to be Dale Jr., even though dad didn't adopt the "Sr." suffix. Leaderboard rundowns show "Truex Jr." even though there's no Truex Sr. in the race.

Contrast the way Kyle and Kurt Busch are listed ("Ky Busch" and either "Ku Busch" or "Kt Busch") to the way the Harrison twins' names were listed on their backs when they played basketball for UK. No "Aa Harrison" (Aaron) or "An Harrison" (Andrew) but just "Harrison" for both of them.

My guess is we're starting to see more family legacies in sports. As athletes become more and more trained and conditioned, you'll see more and more lineage in sports vs. new generations having different families, because it's more likely to get progeny into sports if the parent(s) knows what it takes.
[/quote]

Could be. Seems like a lot of UK football players have done it over the past few years, and increasingly, basketball players as well, even though their fathers had no ties to the Wildcats program. Lynn Bowden Jr. and Keion Brooks Jr. being two recent examples.

It's a curiosity for which I never heard or read an explanation, and it's something I've wondered about.

[1995hoo]

Quarterback Robert Griffin III wore "III" on the back of his jersey at Baylor because there was another Robert Griffin, an offensive lineman, playing for the team.

The NFL changed the rules to allow for the generational suffix prior to the former player's signing with the Redskins, though I don't think I ever saw anything saying why they decided to allow it or why they might not have allowed it previously.