Portland Beavers Name Change
http://www.portlandbeavers.com/promotions/namechange/index.html
As the Portland Beavers continue researching a potential team-name change, the team invites you to give your feedback and rankings for the following list of names, including the current moniker, below. Recognizing that fan input is integral in a decision of this nature, please read the following descriptions and rank the team names as you see fit, one being your top choice, and five being your least favorite.
The team will collect the online rankings for a period of one week, and an announcement regarding the status of a potential name change will be made at a later date.
*Please note that the logos for the potential new names are initial concepts at this point and are not final.
PORTLAND BEAVERS
As far as professional baseball in Portland is concerned, the Beavers name has endured for the better part of the last 100 years. In 1943, the team earned the nickname "Lucky Beavers" for producing a winning season after a spell of losing records. As animals, beavers have a strong work ethic. They are capable of building a dam in a day, thus the reference to "busy beavers." If a beaver dam is destroyed, they will build a new one overnight. The beaver is the state animal of Oregon and also the national animal of Canada. The beaver is also the name of the athletic teams at Oregon State University.
PORTLAND GREEN SOX
Portland is green. Our leadership in sustainable architecture is internationally renown. Portland is a bicycle-friendly, mass-transit-using, Flexcar-driving, energy-saving, recycling-crazy, Ralph Nader-loving place. Portland has more owners of the Toyota Prius hybrid car than any city anywhere. Green is Portland. City parks (among them, the largest city park and the smallest), trees, grass and gardens abound. Fly over Portland and look down - the overwhelming color is green. The most typical comment from a visitor: "It's so green and beautiful here!" The name is understood on more than one level.
PORTLAND SOCKEYES
A tough name, a tough fish. The Sockeye is an acrobatic and powerful salmon popular in sport fishing. Hook one and you are definitely in for some attitude. In the ocean, Sockeye colors are silver with blue tinged backs, a color scheme fitting with the Pacific Northwest. Their color changes to predominantly red after they migrate to fresh water. When they are ready to spawn, the Sockeye jaw becomes distinctly hook-shaped. Sockeye are not particularly attractive fish, but what do we know, really? We are not fish. Sockeyes are the third-most common Pacific salmon, but are considered endangered in certain regions.
PORTLAND THORNS
Portland is the City of Roses. Roses are regal amongst flowers. But to pick that beauty, there is a price to pay. Roses have a natural defense mechanism: thorns. Thorns are the royal guardsmen. Thorns place themselves strategically like a batting order. They are threatening like a high, inside pitch. Or like the razor-sharpened cleats on Ty Cobb's shoes as he slid into home. Thorns is a hip name. Cool. Aggressive. Interesting.
PORTLAND WET SOX
Founded on Portland's reputation as a rain-soaked place, Wet Sox is self-deprecating, yet it also takes a shot at the elite status of the two MLB Sox teams. Wet Sox is actually full of local pride. We bear the brunt of rain jokes like a badge of honor because we know that the rain brings our natural beauty, snow-capped mountains and the best-tasting tap water of any city in America. Only a minor league team could have a name as light-hearted and entertaining as the Wet Sox. However, the execution of Wet Sox should pay respect to professional baseball and honor its history. It should be presented straight and heroic like the tradition of the Yankees, so the name has a sophisticated wit. Executed properly, Wet Sox has both humor and a love for the game.
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9 comments
Comments
Keep it traditional
Keep the Beavers. It's a healthy name with a lot of local tradition and history. It's not just about the tradition in Oregon, but it's also one of the original names out of the Pacific Coast League, and a great memory from its days as nearly the third major league. Granted, there are currently two other organizations in the PCL that used to be the Beavers (Salt Lake and Las Vegas), but that's part of the minors. The name has plenty of local connections, and who cares if the college team is using it?
The other names lack the same character. Naming a team after political policy stinks as bad as corporate team naming. The Wet Sox is farcial, but Portland isn't a city that deserves it. Anyway, I connect Seattle to rain more than Portland. The Thorns and Sockeyes do have a better local touch, but I bet there are even less people who know that Portland is the 'City of Roses' than those who know Kansas City is the 'City of Fountains,' and that THAT is the reason for the backdrop of Kaufman Stadium.
Keep the tradition. Save the Beavers.
by BruteSentiment on Aug 26, 2007 4:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Disregarding tradition..
by Cherith Cutestory on Aug 26, 2007 4:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
i have a compromise
you know, from when they swim around in the scenic rivers and such
by wily mo on Aug 26, 2007 6:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
i don't always agree w you
by jrose643 on Aug 26, 2007 6:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Portland Snails
by hallofamer2000 on Aug 26, 2007 5:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
that's good
by jrose643 on Aug 26, 2007 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
How about the Portland Local Ties
Anyone who reads The Oregonian sports section knows what I mean. When Jack Cust was traded to Oakland and then went on that HR hitting binge, he's name was everywhere in The Oregonian, as the Former Portland Beaver. Then just a few weeks ago, when Rick Ankiel was called up and hit HR's for his first week, they did a whole write up about how his last AAA series was played right here in Portland. It's kind of like they make it sound like Portland taught him how to hit. Ridiculous. Now with football season starting, I will get to read in the paper the whole section devoted to "Oregon's Local Ties".
by TobyS on Aug 26, 2007 6:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

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