Should The Utah Jazz Change Their Name?
On June 8, 1979, the New Orleans Jazz left the city of New Orleans and embarked on a new journey to Utah. The team was in New Orleans for only five years before making the move. In those five years, the team was awful, winning only 161 games of 241, giving them a win percentage of .392%. The team relocated to Utah where they're now the FOURTH highest rated team (in terms of win percentage) in the history of the league! They've definitely found their home in Utah!
SHOULD THEY GIVE THE NAME BACK TO NEW ORLEANS?
Jazz music is synonymous with the city of New Orleans. It was a perfect fit for that city. But with the team being in Salt Lake City for the past 40-something years, should they return the name to New Orleans?
Jazz owner, Ryan Smith, mentioned the other day that the General Manager of the New Orleans Pelicans asked for the name back. He even mentioned that the NFL team in New Orleans, the "Saints", would fit a lot better in Utah. Is there a possibility that the Jazz could trade that name to the city of New Orleans for the Saints?
In 2013, the New Orleans Hornets changed their name to the New Orleans Pelicans, and gave the "Hornets" name back to Charlotte. But could that have been an even better trade than the Jazz/Saints deal? New Orleans would have gotten the Jazz, the Jazz would've gotten the Hornets, in Utah... The BEEHIVE State! Now, I'm not huge on the name Hornets, but they could've turned it into the Bees, Hive, or Swarm and it would have instantly fit the state better that the Jazz fits.
TEAMS ALWAYS DO THIS!
Over the history of American Sports, teams ALWAYS move to new cities and keep their names. It doesn't exactly have to fit the city!
- Los Angeles Lakers - Came from Minneapolis. Not many lakes near Los Angeles, right?
- Memphis Grizzlies - Came from Vancouver. Grizzlies do not exist in Memphis, or the entire state of Tennessee. The only Grizzlies in Memphis are at the Memphis Zoo!
- Los Angeles Dodgers - Came from Brooklyn. They were named the Trolley Dodgers, because the trolleys in Brooklyn were quick and deadly! You had to look out for them! Would've made more sense as the San Francisco Dodgers.
At this point, nearly 50 years down the line, I don't see the Jazz ever changing their name. Nor should they! What do you think?