Club nicknames

[Patrick Thistle]

Can't find a thread on this.

Anyway, on the Twitter today:

https://twitter.com/CavershamUnited/status/1064561714878914560?s=19

https://twitter.com/CavershamUnited/...878914560?s=19

[Duncan Gardner]

What do ye call a goat on a boat?

Billy Ocean

[Benjm]

That's more than a bit sad (the poll, not Dunc's joke. The joke is tragic ;-) ).

It reminds me of the 'iconic' tall buildings that get chucked up in London. Since the Swiss Re building attracted its Gherkin tag (before it had actually been built), the towers built in its wake have come with nicknames predecided at the design stage, as if the affection of the people can be bought as easily as planning approval.

[Bored Of Education]

I have mentioned before that one of the reasons I started getting involved in producing fan t-shirts at Bath City was to promote the nickname of "The Romans" as people insist on calling us "Stripes". To be fair, this isn't as bad as us having a pig as a mascot instead of a Roman which, along with getting a less boring badge, is part of the trifecta of details about the club that I thought part-owning it would solve but still remain stubbornly extant. Aside from the pig mascot, the nickname - like the badge - is, if anything, bland rather than offensive but still, "Stripes"? I ask you. I suppose we could have ended up with Zebras or some such.

[ad hoc]

Bath should be "The Salts" or "The Robes" or "The Mats" or something. Romans? Pah

[Benjm]

In defence of Stripes, it is quite admirable when fans of smaller clubs use generic nicknames because it demonstrates a world view that doesn't allow for any confusion potentially arising from it. I've come across Walsall fans who scorn Saddlers and Swifts in favour of referring to them as the Reds and, let's face it, if you hear someone talking about the Reds who else could they possibly mean?

[Patrick Thistle]

Chester's Roman heritage is why they're known as the Deviants (at least in Salopia)

[Simon G]

When we celebrated our 125th anniversary in 2012 we decided to go for a ruby kit as per our founding years - this led to a lot of fans (myself included) referring to the club as the Rubies, which was also our original nickname.

There was a minor campaign to stick with ruby and the nickname after the 11/12 season, but the club fought against it and went back to red and white stripes and maintaining our nickname of The Robins - like so many other clubs.

[Billy Casper]

I've never heard Barnsley fans refer to us as 'Tykes'. Like Walsall, we are The Reds.

[EIM]

Personally I only ever refer to Manchester United as The Heathens and to Old Trafford as The Theatre of Dreams (TM).

[3 Colours Red]

Personally I wasn't that bothered when we officially changed our nickname to the Dragons* (although it was for cynical marketing reasons), however I still think that Rockin' Robin was a better mascot than Wrex will ever be.

* Whatever the majority opinion of the rabid Red Passion nutjobs is, I will end up thinking the opposite to disassociate myself from those mouth breathers.

[Patrick Thistle]

the club fought against it and went back to red and white stripes and maintaining our nickname of The Robins - like so many other clubs.

The thing is Robins aren't striped so that nickname is just daft.

[EIM]

Palace aren't the Eagles
Reading aren't the Royals
Anyone who says otherwise is a liar and engaging in chicanery for nefarious purposes.

[Simon G]

The thing is Robins aren't striped so that nickname is just daft.

Stripes is a relatively recent thing for the club. We didn't wear them until the 50s, then went to all red for the 70s and the vast majority of the 80s before going back to them in the early 90s. Even then in 96/97 we wore a plain red shirt with black trim and from 2008-2010 we had a fully red kit.

The less said about our crest the better as well - it's meant to be a robin in flight, it looks like a pigeon wearing a jester's hat.

[tee rex]

Say 'Caversham' and only one thing springs to mind. Given the well-established tradition of club nicknames referencing jobs that places no longer have, they should really go with The Eavesdroppers.

[Sits]

Reading aren't the Royals
Anyone who says otherwise is a liar and engaging in chicanery for nefarious purposes.

Thank you. Biscuitmen is a fine and unique name. It also doesn’t disenfranchise followers of the team who might not happen to sit in a particular camp on the topic of the monarchy. Berkshire is only royal because of Windsor anyway and that’s miles away.

[Me Old Flower]

Doncaster were known for a time as the Butterscotch Boys, the town being the home of confectionery firm Parkinson's. I think most people tend to refer to them as The Rovers, although older fans who recall the era before we readopted the hoops still call us The Reds.

[Snake Plissken]

Bath should be "The Salts" or "The Robes" or "The Mats" or something. Romans? Pah

The "Rhymes With Grass".

[Billy Casper]

Surely Bath should be 'The Bomb'?

[Nefertiti2]

The earlies.

[Uros Predic]

Doncaster were known for a time as the Butterscotch Boys, the town being the home of confectionery firm Parkinson's. I think most people tend to refer to them as The Rovers, although older fans who recall the era before we readopted the hoops still call us The Reds.

Not just the home of Parkinson's, but the home of all butterscotch. It was invented in the town. I tried to launch a campaign to get us known as the Butterscotch Men again through the fanzine. Sadly most folk weren't interested (in the campaign not the fanzine... although...). Anyway, turns out there's a stronger feeling that our nickname is The Vikings, because there's one on our crest and that time the club bought a job lot of Viking helmets and gave them out at Conference games. I'll try again in a year or two.

[Simon G]

I like The Vikings nickname for Doncaster, surprised it hasn't really taken off.

[Benjm]

Does the association of Vikings with York lessen its appeal to some?

[Me Old Flower]

Yeah, I think the Viking connection to York is more obvious. Doncaster was founded as a Roman colonia but I don't think it was a particularly important Viking town, especially when compared to York.

[Me Old Flower]

York City ultimately settled on the Minstermen but I'm pretty sure they (or their predecessors) did have a confectionery-based nickname for a while too, at least unofficially.