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Why Do Soccer Teams Have Such Unusual Names?

As professional baseball got big in the U.S., a sea change occurred when it came to team names. With the help of newspaper writers, fans began referring to the men who played on their favorite teams with nicknames, or terms of endearment, of a sort.

For example, over in Chicago, according to Wrigleyville Sports, a 1902 newspaper column referred to the team that played on the North Side of the city as the "Cubs" because many of the team's players were so young. Similarly, in Pittsburgh, according to Major League Baseball, a columnist began referring to the city's team as the "Pirates" after some chicanery involving a player's contract. Those names, and others like it, stuck, and to this day virtually all American sports teams are named City + Nickname.

In Europe, fans sometimes give their teams terms of endearment as well. For example, fans sometimes call the Arsenal players the "Gunners," according to Foot The Ball, because of, well, the arsenal involved.

And while those terms of endearment may turn up in casual conversation, or get the odd mention in a sports column, they are not the standard. A Manchester United fan may say casually that the Red Devils had a good game, or a Leicestershire reporter may refer to a score as a "disappointing result for the Foxes," but to refer to a team as the "Manchester Red Devils" or the "Leicestershire Foxes" is all but unheard of.

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Martina Birk

Update: 2024-05-04