A11FL to begin play in May on ESPN2

[FaceMask]

How am I being "ignorant" to a term I know? That makes no sense. That sounds like an emotional response. I don't see the point of being angry about it. I know the term, that doesn't mean I have to like it as the name of a football team.

Because I dislike the sound of something doesn't make me ignorant, or a person who does somehow not ignorant. Ignorance has nothing to do with anything. Let's have a little more class and not call each other names, okay? Thanks.

You mentioned hearing the Bay Area come up in conversation more than New England. Well, that's probably because you live in a geographic location where the Bay Area is part of every day conversation. If you lived in a region near New England, you'd hear about it more than you would the California Bay area. That's just common sense. This is no different than when I lived in Florida and the "Tampa Bay area" was part of every day conversation because of where we were located. That doesn't mean I'd think a team called the "Tampa Bay Area" somethings would be a good idea just because the name is commonly referred to in that area.

[FaceMask]

Quote: Originally Posted by ImTellinTim

"Bay Area" is the entire term that is commonly used to describe that region. I don't get why this is hard to understand. Of course they wouldn't add "Area" to all these other examples listed. It's because "Area" isn't part of the common term associated with them.

Everyone understands it. But understanding it and liking it as the name of a football team are two completely different things, and I'm not getting how you're confusing them.

[Beantown]

Quote: Originally Posted by FaceMask

Everyone understands it. But understanding it and liking it as the name of a football team are two completely different things, and I'm not getting how you're confusing them.

But you don't seem to understand it if you were trying to compare "Bay Area" to calling something "New England Area" or "Carolina Area."

[FaceMask]

I'm currently traveling near the Fairview Heights area in Illinois, and I've been living in this state for a little while now. I can tell you right now that if a team came up called the Fairview Heights Area Grizzlies, that's not going to fly nationally and I certainly couldn't accept it, even without the word area. It just wouldn't sound right for a pro football team when looking at the way names have been chosen in our recent history.

There is a reason why pro teams never use the word "Area"; they know better to assume that because the people of that region accept it, everyone else will look at it the same way nationally.

[FaceMask]

Quote: Originally Posted by Beantown

But you don't seem to understand it if you were trying to compare "Bay Area" to calling something "New England Area" or "Carolina Area."

People do say "New England area", and people do say "Bay Area" so the comparison is perfectly relevant. And if they had named themselves the New England Area Patriots, I doubt it would've flown, but luckily they didn't. They could have, but they didn't. Same with Tampa Bay, etc. each could've added "Area", but they didn't.

As I said earlier, I get what they're trying to do. It's obvious that they're trying to draw on the fanbase of the whole Bay Area, but that's a separate thing from what people will think of the name nationally. People who live there shouldn't assume that nationally people don't know what the Bay Area is (everyone knows that and it's amusing to me to see people explaining it as if we don't) any more than they should assume that just because people know of the area nationally that everyone will like it being used for the name of a football team.

[ubernoob]

Quote: Originally Posted by FaceMask

Everyone understands it. But understanding it and liking it as the name of a football team are two completely different things, and I'm not getting how you're confusing them.

In which case, I hope you hate the fact that they are named the New England Patriots.

Everyone understands what New England is, but it makes no sense to name a football team after a region that is known by it's proper noun and not based off a city or state that it plays in.

New England = Proper Noun for the area.
Bay Area = Proper noun for the area.

Tampa Bay area = describing the area around Tampa Bay.

[FaceMask]

Everyone I knew in Florida always considered Tampa Bay to include: Tampa, Clearwater, and St. Pete's.

New England's name is fine, but if they'd called it the New England Region Patriots, well, then that would've been different. Eventually it would've grown on people, but still.

[Beantown]

Quote: Originally Posted by FaceMask

People do say "New England area", and people do say "Bay Area" so the comparison is perfectly relevant. And if they had named themselves the New England Area Patriots, I doubt it would've flown, but luckily they didn't.

I've lived in New England for 25 years and have never heard a single, single person call it the "New England area." Ever. It's New England. The word area is redundant and pointless.

And they would never have named them the New England Area Patriots because that is not the name of the part of the country. It's just New England. It's not "New England Area."

It IS however, known as "The Bay Area." That's the name. Bay Area. Just like New England. Your argument is "The Bay Area Area"/"New England Area," neither of which make sense. Bay Area, however, does because like New England, it's the nationwide-known name of the region.