These hunting, fishing, and outdoor-related team nicknames keep the great outdoors alive when the big game is on.
These sports mascots, or more importantly, the team nicknames that they are born from, were created by people that understand fully what it means to be in great physical condition, love the outdoors, and get what it means to be alive. They are basically the exact thing that hunters, fishermen, and outdoorsmen are bred to be.
Between the colleges, the pros, and the semi-pros folks who love their sports and their favorite ball clubs, we can all certainly relate to the team's mascot based the nickname.
Sports and hunting and fishing just seem to go together, and some aspects have become synonymous with team logos, autographed jerseys, and pictures of the team mascot.
We would like to pay homage to all of these memorable names and characters, since they remind us so much of the outdoors. Getting to know a few of these strange, mythical, and even comical nicknames is as much fun as setting the hook on a nice largemouth!
Well, almost as much fun...
Knowing that there are many shared team nicknames on these lists, we've tried to just include the ones that are most familiar with the town or state where they originate from. Having said that, we'll list some of the highlights and favorites, and avoid being too repetitive.
First, it's worth bringing up some honorable mentions, including the Lightning, Avalanche, Hurricanes, Thunder, Hornets, Falcons, and Hawks. They are right on the edge of making this list, but aren't quite as relatable as the rest.
Without further ado...
NFL
We'll start off with the L.A. Rams, Buffalo Bills (named after Buffalo Bill Cody), and the Chicago Bears.
NBA
Since it's nearly every American hunter's favorite ungulate, the Milwaukee Bucks are an obvious entry. Then there are the Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies.
MLB
We'll count the Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays, and Colorado Rockies amongst baseball's pro outdoor lineup.
NHL
We can't forget the New York Islanders (especially because of their early fisherman logo) Hockey also includes the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, Arizona Coyotes, and San Jose Sharks.
Colleges and Universities
By far, it's American colleges and universities that have more of these outdoor-centric names than any other collection. There are some that have so many colleges using the same name it would be useless to list them all. We picked out a few favorites:
The Nebraska-Kearney and Grand Canyon (Arizona) Antelopes, St. Louis CC Archers, John Jay (NYC) Bloodhounds, Montana State and Texas State Bobcats, Oregon Ducks, Muskingum (Ohio) Fighting Muskies, Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas, Arkansas Razorbacks, Palm Beach Atlantic (Fla) Sailfish, and of course the Community College of Spokane Sasquatch.
Minor League Baseball
Again, if you are including everything from AAA down to A league teams across the nation, the list is exhaustive. Here are some highlights:
We liked the Gwinnett Stripers, Sugar Land Skeeters, Corpus Christi Hooks, Jupiter Hammerheads, Tampa Tarpons, Hickory Crawdads, Idaho Falls Chukars, and the Martinez Sturgeon.
MLS
We'll include the Minnesota United (their nickname is the Loons), plus the Portland Timbers, Colorado Rapids, and Vancouver Whitecaps.
WNBA
The WNBA list pretty much starts and ends with the Minnesota Lynx.
AHL Hockey
This list isn't too long, so we'll include as many as we can.
Hershey Bears, Chicago Wolves, Hartford Wolfpack, Cleveland Lake Monsters, Providence Bruins, Rockford Ice Hogs, Sand Diego Gulls, Springfield Thunderbirds, Bakersfield Condors, Manitoba Moose, Iowa Wild, San Jose Barracuda, Albany River Rats, Peoria Rivermen, Maine Mariners, New Haven Nighthawks.
Which is Your Favorite Outdoor Sports Team Name?
Without going across the world or investigating every High School in the nation, we'll just let it rest right there. As said, these team names and the mascots that they inspired usually stem from a unique outdoor recreational life and attitude popular in the region. These notions were spawned from the beginning of man's desire to enjoy nature, spend time in the outdoors, and live our lives in respect and appreciation for wildlife and wild places.
Plenty of outdoorsmen and women love their favorite sports teams, whether they are professional, semi-pro, or collegiate. Even for those that don't altogether care that much for sports, you can still get behind some of these interesting, lively, and very creative team names and mascots.
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NEXT: 43 HUNTING AND FISHING TERMS, AND THEIR (TONGUE-IN-CHEEK) MEANINGS
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