Animals are usually used to symbolize a group's or
individual's desire. A particular characteristic which the chosen
animal clearly would possess and exhibit would be the reason why they
would be chosen. Indians use to do this in their traditional ways in
order to harness the strengths of that person. In Kung Fu, various
styles and techniques would be based on animals in order to take
advantage as to how they protect themselves and attack their opponents.
It is no wonder that even modern times, the same concept would be
adapted. In various sports clubs, in is no surprise that animals such
as rams, bulls, cougars, panthers, and other animals are used as names
and logos. They somehow help drive the players in order to be able to
be that driving force behind whatever it is that they are attaining
for. But the question now is how far each team would go for in order to
get that specific name that they are after. What are the costs of this
and how many names do they actually go through before selecting just
one?
Let us then take the Seattle Seahawks as an example. This
club started as an extension group together with the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers. In 1974, it then awarded to Seattle its 28th franchise
which then had its 64,984-seat Kingdome to call its home. This team did
not easily get its name. It had to run through 20,365 entries and 1,741
different names. Imagine all of those entries and all you would need is
one. That would be a tough call for anyone in position to select. The
name "Sea Hawks" which was another word for Osprey was selected and was
publicly announced on June 17, 1975. From here we can see that the fact
that they opened the door to the public for suggestions and they went
through this suggestions thoroughly, you can just imagine what a
nightmare it must have been to be the ones to organize, analyze, and
select which one would be best fit for the club. Not only would it have
been tough, one would also have enough courage to stand up to those who
had a different opinion. After all, the name chosen would be more than
just a name announced to the public; it would be the identity by which
the whole franchise would be recognized. From the name, logos would
have to be made, uniforms would have to be designed, and marketing
items for the fans would be sold in order to solidify the house name of
the club. If this is not enough, don't forget that the mascot for the
football club should also match the name. You can't have a sea hawk as
your name and a pigeon as your mascot right?
Indeed selecting a
name is tough enough. But the Seattle based club did a pretty good job.
Not only does the name Seahawk have a nice ring to it, as well as being
unique, it also symbolizes accuracy, precision, speed, and
intelligence. Not a bad choice for a football club!