kaufman wrote:
zog741 wrote:
kaufman wrote:
So what kind of beverage is Metrostar?
The MetroStars were renamed as the Red Bulls in 2006 when they were purchased by Red Bull GmbH, the Austrian company that sells the drink.
-- RWM
Yes, I know.
I'm also a traditionalist who will proudly stand in front of the corporate whoring bulldozer.I still call the Houston Astros' ballpark Enron Field; let them sow what they have reaped!
Good thing you don't follow the Japanese Baseball League teams. Over there, the teams are not named after the cities they play in; they are named after the corporation who owns (or sponsors) them.
Some examples:
(1.) The Japanese baseball Giants play in Tokyo, but Yomiuri is the parent company of a major Japanese newspaper, the
Yomiuri Shimbun. So, instead of being called the Tokyo Giants, it's officially known as the Yomiuri Giants.
(2.) Another team is called the Fighters. Their sponsor is a meatpacking company called Nippon Ham, and they're called the Nippon Ham Fighters. Several American sportswriters have joked about it, and said, "What the hell is a 'ham fighter'?"
(3.) There's a team called the Swallows, after the bird, and not what you do while eating!
They also play in Tokyo, but instead of calling the Tokyo Swallows, they are named after the team's owner: The Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd., a milk-like beverage company. The Yakult Swallows.
(4.) The Hanshin Tigers are named after Hanshin Railways.
Imagine this happening in MLB today: The Enron Astros? The McDonald's Padres? The Budweiser Cardinals? The IBM Yankees? The Nintendo Mariners? The Wrigley Chewing Gum Cubs?