Your 2013 Houston Astros or Houston ??

[Warning Track Power]

Astros to study a possible name change for 2012

 

Wow. I don't know what to say about this. I am 100% against it I know that. If beer was never produced in Milwaukee or in Wisconsin again, I wouldn't want the Brewers to change their name as it historically significant to the region. Like the Packers in Green Bay and even in a way, the Bucks as deer hunting is such a popular sport in Wisconsin. The Astros are a historical nod to the NASA space program that was based in Houston for so long.

 

I think it should be mandatory for teams that move to leave the team name even if another team never comes to replace them. Does it really make sense for the Dodgers to be in L.A.? Traffic Dodgers isn't quite the same as the original Trolley Dodgers. If the Twins moved to say Albuquerque, what sense would the Twins name have there? Even names that have no relevance to a region (think Illinois-based teams: Cubs, Bears, White Sox) should stay with that city in my opinion.

 

Not sure I understand this move by the maybe soon to be ex-Astros.

[JohnBriggs12]

The Astros used to be the Colt 45's so it's not unprecedented.

 

The Astro moniker was the result of NASA having its headquarters in Houston. The Obama administration has drastically de-funded NASA, to the point I'm sure there are a lot of ex NASA employees around Houston. New ownership might prefer not to have it's team associated even in such a miniscule with a government agency that no longer carries the respect that it once had.

 

If you own a team, you own the name and you can call it anything you want. 2013 marks the beginning of a new era for the franchise moving to the AL. So the timing may be right.

[patrickgpe]

I don't like them chaning the name. Most of the major brewing companies have moved out of milwaukee, i don't think there would be a soul in milwaukee that would want the name change. Its a tribute to the history of the city. In general I do not like naming teams generic names (lions, tigers, bears, etc). Names like the Steelers, Packers, Brewers, Astros are cool because nobody else uses them and they have meaning to that particular city.

 

The exception to that is when there is a name like those and the team moves, ie the Jazz and dodgers. Those names mean way more to new york and new orleans. I am sure that New Orleans would much rather be the Jazz than the hornets if they were allowed to have thier name back (like cleveland did for the browns). In those cases I think its perfectly fine to change your name and give that name to the city incase anyone moves in the future.

 

If they want to change colors, logos in an effort to celebrate their move to the al and boost merchandise sales, that would be fine.

[TooLiveBrew]

The Astros are a historical nod to the NASA space program that was based in Houston for so long.

 

Agreed, but the franchise started out as the Houston Colt .45s, so it's not like they've never changed their name.

 

 

Does it really make sense for the Dodgers to be in L.A.? Traffic Dodgers isn't quite the same as the original Trolley Dodgers. If the Twins moved to say Albuquerque, what sense would the Twins name have there?

 

The brand is what you'd be retaining. Both of those franchises have had enough success that if or when they moved, keeping the team nickname could or did make sense. And I guess for the Astros, they're at the point where they want to find out if "Astros" is iconic enough to the local fans to keep. Though I have to agree with you, I think they should just stick with "Astros" -- the motivation for exploring a change is pretty transparently about dollar signs, & not necessarily long-term or big-picture planning.

[brwrsfan]

The team basically controls the right to the name, so if they choose to take it with them, they are more than welcome to do so. Hence why you have teams like the Utah Jazz, LA Lakers, etc.

 

Sometimes, they change the name and the new team moving in doesn't even take the old one (like the Oilers) and sometimes it's arranged that the name stays, like the Cleveland Browns. I just think that as an owner of a team, you can call them anything you want. There is something to be said for historical significance and whatnot, but it's their team and they can do what they want. Personally, I like the name Astros, but that's just me.

 

What I think sucks is that you have a team (not moving) just getting a new name. If the Brewers were to do that, think about all the hats, shirts, jerseys, etc, that you own that in theory, you might want to replace. That's a tremendous expense and I think would really suck as a fan. Might be part of the reason you almost never see a name change without the team moving. I can't even think of one to be honest, other than a few that were changed (like Marquette) due to political reasons.

[RightFieldCoder]

Maybe they can go back to being the Colt .45's.

[CheezWizHed]

Uh... Houston? We have a problem...

 

edit: Although, I will say that I associate the word "Astro" with the Jetsons before Astronaut. I honestly had to think a second before the real association made sense.

[jerichoholicninja]

Whatever.

 

Until they put a good team in their uniforms no one will care what it says on the front.

[1992casey]

I don't think anything should be mandatory. Each situation is a little bit different, and common sense should prevail. Having said that, common sense hasn't always prevailed. "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" sucks. Utah Jazz makes no sense. While Los Angeles Lakers doesn't make a lot of sense, the alliteration is nice and it's now too tradition-laden to change.

 

The Cleveland Browns situation is totally unique. Technically, the Ravens were an expansion team who kept the Browns' personnel. The "new" Browns were an existing franchise that took a hiatus.

 

Colt .45s was a nickname worth changing. I believe that they usually ended up being referred to as the Houston Colts. People who didn't know better were likely to think that the nickname had to do with horses rather than a gun.

[jeffy]

The Obama administration has drastically de-funded NASA, to the point I'm sure there are a lot of ex NASA employees around Houston. New ownership might prefer not to have it's team associated even in such a miniscule with a government agency that no longer carries the respect that it once had.

 

Fixed that for you.

 

Really, massive defunding? Looks like a 12% increase over the last 4 years to me. I wish my paycheck had suffered massive defunding like that.

 

NASA budget http://en.wikipedia.org/w...nual_budget.2C_1958-2011

 

2004 15,152

2005 15,602

2006 15,125

2007 15,861

2008 17,318

2009 17,782

2010 18,724

2011 19,000

2012 (est.) 19,450

 

 

Going back to the Colt '45s would definitely seem to be a better fit with the gun-loving, government hating people of Texas.

[RockCoCougars]

I can think of one reason for this:

 

$

[thebruce44]

The Astros used to be the Colt 45's so it's not unprecedented.

 

The Astro moniker was the result of NASA having its headquarters in Houston. The Obama administration has drastically de-funded NASA, to the point I'm sure there are a lot of ex NASA employees around Houston. New ownership might prefer not to have it's team associated even in such a miniscule with a government agency that no longer carries the respect that it once had.

 

If you own a team, you own the name and you can call it anything you want. 2013 marks the beginning of a new era for the franchise moving to the AL. So the timing may be right.

I know this isn't the political forum, but Obama requested almost a billion more for NASA than its going to get for 2011. The House lowered that amount, and the only reason it wasn't lowered even more dramatically was because they wised up on the sunken costs and massive importance of the Webb telescope and decided to save it rather than axe that budget too.

Anyway, not meant to be a political post in any way.

The major reason the city of Houston would want to move away from the Astros name (besides how bad the team has been the last few years) is the cancellation of the Shuttle program. I don't blame them if they want to move in a new direction.

[Invader3K]

You'll never see a major professional sports team in the United States with a gun/weapon related name again; it's just seen as being too un-PC.

 

I think the Astros name is fine, but I could see how the franchise might want to "re-brand" with moving to the AL. Let's face it, the Astros aren't really all the prestigious in terms of their history anyway.

[dlk9s]

It's probably going to be the name of some feeling or emotion or something intangible. It's going to be the Houston Sensation or something.

[Team Canada]

It's probably going to be the name of some feeling or emotion or something intangible. It's going to be the Houston Sensation or something.

If it were a WNBA team, definitely.

[Invader3K]

The Houston Exceptionalism.

[GB12]

Well they play in Minute Maid Park, so how about the Houston Juicers. The Houston Purple Drank would be my second choice.

[Patrick425]

RockCoCougars[/b]]I can think of one reason for this:

 

$

This. If the "NASA not relevant any more" argument was true, then why don't the Rockets change their name also?

 

 

[Warning Track Power]

You'll never see a major professional sports team in the United States with a gun/weapon related name again; it's just seen as being too un-PC.

 

I think the Astros name is fine, but I could see how the franchise might want to "re-brand" with moving to the AL. Let's face it, the Astros aren't really all the prestigious in terms of their history anyway.

Unforutnately, you could make the same argument about the Brewers; and I for one would have been furious if the Seligs had tried to change our team's name when we moved to the NL.

 

 

[Warning Track Power]

Well they play in Minute Maid Park, so how about the Houston Juicers. The Houston Purple Drank would be my second choice.

Johnny Jolly could do some community service as the team's mascot.

 

Too soon?

 

 

[1992casey]

…why don't the Rockets change their name also

 

For what it's worth, the Rockets had their nickname before they moved to Houston.

[RyDogg66]

Teams have been so awful at choosing nicknames for a while now.

 

The Houston Oilers would be interesting.

The Houston Briskets

 

I cant think of anything as original and as applicable as Astros though.

[Patrick425]

…why don't the Rockets change their name also

 

For what it's worth, the Rockets had their nickname before they moved to Houston.

Hmmm...I wasn't aware of that. Just looked it up on Wikipedia. Interesting how the name still fit when they moved.

 

[carniesandrubes]

Maybe they'll incorporate the train they have. Houston Railmen or something like that.

[TooLiveBrew]

This is probably just an 'exploratory' poll, and my guess is they'll find that the vast majority of fans want to stick with "Astros"... because like RockCo said, this is about $