Whatever they are going to be, the NBA’s New Orleans franchise is not going to be the Hornets much longer. Even David Stern said he would help speed along a name change for the franchise.
But are they going to be the Pelicans? A lot of people on online ripped that name when it leaked out, but it was frankly better than the other four names the league has taken out trademarks on.
The blog Behind the Buck Pass went the legal route and got the info on what the league and Hornets ownership is thinking:Anil V. George, the attorney who typically handles the trademarks involving NBA brand names, filed trademarks on five new potential franchise names on behalf of the New Orleans Hornets NBA Limited Partnership….
The trademarks:
New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans Rougarou
New Orleans Mosquitos
New Orleans Swamp Dogs
New Orleans Bullsharks
Are you kidding me?
Mosquitos? The New Orleans Team That Transmits Yellow Fever? That his just horrific, New Orleans ties or not.
Apparently a “Rougarou” is a mythical monster of the region, kind of their own Bigfoot or werewolf or whatever. Since I don’t want to have to explain that in every New Orleans story for the rest of time I oppose that name.
Bullsharks live in the Gulf of Mexico and that region, and they are a shark (one more likely to attack humans than a Great White). Swamp Dogs is the local nickname for alligators, according to Urban Dictionary. Those two suck less than the rest.
But if those are the choices — and if that is the ones where the trademark was filed than those are the choices — I’ll stick with Pelicans. Or, maybe find some other options.
