Valley this... Valley that... (Phoenix, Tucson: homes, neighborhoods, scorpions)

[miamiman]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Let's be honest, do you reallly think the people in Tuscon or Prescott are not going to support the Cardinals if its named the Phoenix Cardinals? Do people in Spokane not support the Seahawks because they are called the Seattle Seahawks? Give me a break! People are going to support the team that's closest to them. Do you think Wisconsin residents have issues because the Packers are called the Green Bay Packers and not the Wisconsin Packers. Honestly, if the Cardinals want more people in the state to support them then maybe they should start winning for a change. That's going to have more of an impact than a silly name change.

I don't know what teams people in Spokane support. I know for a fact that the MAJORITY of people in Tucson would not support a team called the Phoenix Cardinals. Tucsonans try to do anything and everything to disassociate themselves with Phoenix. Tucson IS the anti-thesis of Phoenix, and Tucsonans like it that way. With the name Arizona Cardinals the team sounds much more like a state franchise whose homebase just happens to be in Phoenix.

I don't know why the fact that these teams have the name Arizona in front of them is so irritating to everyone. They would still be just as horrible as they are now. At least now everyone in the state can feel equally ashamed . By including the whole state name is our professional sports there IS a larger fanbase. Look at the New Jersey Nets or the New England Patriots. Do YOU think that support for the Patriots would be as strong as it is ALL OVER New England if the team was called the Boston Patriots. I think not.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by miamiman

I don't know what teams people in Spokane support. I know for a fact that the MAJORITY of people in Tucson would not support a team called the Phoenix Cardinals. Tucsonans try to do anything and everything to disassociate themselves with Phoenix. Tucson IS the anti-thesis of Phoenix, and Tucsonans like it that way. With the name Arizona Cardinals the team sounds much more like a state franchise whose homebase just happens to be in Phoenix.

The people in Spokane support the Seahawks as does everyone else in that state. Regarding Tucson, explain why there is overwhelming support for the PHOENIX Suns in Tucson? Yes, they sure hate the Suns so much that there are Suns banners and gear all over Tucson.

Look at the New Jersey Nets or the New England Patriots. Do YOU think that support for the Patriots would be as strong as it is ALL OVER New England if the team was called the Boston Patriots. I think not.

Yes, let's look at the Nets. They are moving to Brooklyn because no one in Jersey watches them because they are Knick supporters and the Nets are terrible. Were people supporting the Patriots outside of Boston prior to their Superbowl years? No, heck, people in Boston didn't even support the Patriots then. The bottomline is no one cares about the name change. Fans are not that stupid. They will support a team that is good and located in their home state or close to them.

[ZonyPony]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

I agree, I think there is this silly and overstated fear that the rest of the state won't support their own professional sports franchise if it doesn't include Arizona in the title. People support teams that win. If the Cardinals were winning Superbowls, it wouldn't matter to people in other parts of the state if they were the Phoenix Cardinals. Likewise, if the team is terrible, it doesn't matter if the term Arizona is in the title, they won't support them.

Okay... then perhaps it would've been all right to call them the Valley Cardinals.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by ZonyPony

Okay... then perhaps it would've been all right to call them the Valley Cardinals.

LOL...touche

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by miamiman

I don't know what teams people in Spokane support. I know for a fact that the MAJORITY of people in Tucson would not support a team called the Phoenix Cardinals. Tucsonans try to do anything and everything to disassociate themselves with Phoenix. Tucson IS the anti-thesis of Phoenix, and Tucsonans like it that way. With the name Arizona Cardinals the team sounds much more like a state franchise whose homebase just happens to be in Phoenix.

Frankly, who cares what Tucson thinks and what teams they root for? If they honestly want a pro football team (and I say that loosely) that they can support, then poor little Tucson can try with all their might to land a franchise of their own. Sorry, but it doesn't have to be all about the entire state of Arizona. If the home base is Phoenix, or the Phoenix metro area, then the team should be named after Phoenix. A few other states & regions do this also ... but it's very few & far between. The vast majority of professional teams in the nation are named after the major city (or metro area) in which they are played, which is the way it should be.

Originally Posted by miamiman

I don't know why the fact that these teams have the name Arizona in front of them is so irritating to everyone. They would still be just as horrible as they are now. At least now everyone in the state can feel equally ashamed . By including the whole state name is our professional sports there IS a larger fanbase. Look at the New Jersey Nets or the New England Patriots. Do YOU think that support for the Patriots would be as strong as it is ALL OVER New England if the team was called the Boston Patriots. I think not.

The name "New England Patriots" is even more ridiculous because nobody knows their home base is Boston ... unless they are diehard fans, or look it up. And just where are the New Jersey Nets based? Newark? Jersey City? Atlantic City? The base city receives no recognition, which is pathetic. Pro sports teams have always been named after the city, with only a few minor exceptions such as these. Phoenix has very little national/world identity for a major city, and it's for these reasons: Arizona DBacks, Arizona Cardinals, Arizona Republic, etc.

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Frankly, who cares what Tucson thinks and what teams they root for?

I don't know what Tucson thinks, but I don't give a rat's patootie about any team, be it in Tucson, Phoenix, or the Moon.

[YAZ]

I find it peculiar that the NY Jets & the NY Giants don't even play in their "home" state, let alone their "home" city.

[YAZ]

Oh, and who's the home team when they play each other?

[blueeyz911]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Because a lot of those towns or cities are next door to one another and occupy the same region. It would be a pain to say the "Chandler Gilbert Mesa Tempe" area instead of something as simple as the East Valley. I don't know about Tucson but the Phoenix metropolitan suburbs all bleed into one another so that half the time, you don't know which city you are in. For example, a morning traffic jam on the 60 can influence members coming from all the cities in the East Valley, do you want to have repeat "Chandler Gilbert Mesa and Tempe" every single time? Also, cities like Scottsdale occupy a huge area and parts of it are in the East Valley while other parts are in the North Valley. Flagstaff is a lot smaller too. "Towns" like Glendale, Chandler, Tempe and Gilbert each have 200,000+ people which are all bigger than Flagstaff so there is probably a reason why they don't have designations like East and West Mountain when describing Flagstaff.

Great explanation. I don't see why it bothers people anyway.

[miamiman]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Frankly, who cares what Tucson thinks and what teams they root for? If they honestly want a pro football team (and I say that loosely) that they can support, then poor little Tucson can try with all their might to land a franchise of their own. Sorry, but it doesn't have to be all about the entire state of Arizona. If the home base is Phoenix, or the Phoenix metro area, then the team should be named after Phoenix. A few other states & regions do this also ... but it's very few & far between. The vast majority of professional teams in the nation are named after the major city (or metro area) in which they are played, which is the way it should be.

Obviously the sports franchises in Phoenix care . A significant portion of the 1 million people in the Tucson metro care. The fact of the matter is that the team names aren't going to change. How do you explain the Carolina Panthers, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, Utah Jazz, New England Patriots, Texas Rangers, Golden State Warriors, etc? I am not sure that it's that few and far in between.

Originally Posted by Valley Native

The name "New England Patriots" is even more ridiculous because nobody knows their home base is Boston ... unless they are diehard fans, or look it up. And just where are the New Jersey Nets based? Newark? Jersey City? Atlantic City? The base city receives no recognition, which is pathetic. Pro sports teams have always been named after the city, with only a few minor exceptions such as these. Phoenix has very little national/world identity for a major city, and it's for these reasons: Arizona DBacks, Arizona Cardinals, Arizona Republic, etc.

Most sports fans know that the Patriots' home base is in Boston. Whenever they won a Superbowl, where was the parade? Everyone knows that they are centered in Boston. The New Jersey Nets are in East Rutherford, NJ, the same town as the New York Giants. Most people on the East Coast know that, but I am not surprised that people out of the Northeast don't know. I personally think it would be ridiculous for them to be called the East Rutherford Nets. Doesn't flow off of the tongue well, does it? Again, the Carolina Panthers, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, Utah Jazz, New England Patriots, Texas Rangers, Golden State Warriors, New Jersey Devils. Just be happy Arizona has professional sports. I hate to admit it, but on MANY levels Phoenix is definitely NOT a major city.