Team color names [WAS: Card sharp versus card shark]
James A. Landau
JJJRLandau at AOL.COM
Wed Feb 26 21:33:59 UTC 2003
In a message dated 2/26/03 11:36:17 AM Eastern Standard Time,
laurence.horn at YALE.EDU writes:
> I'm pretty sure "the Hogs" was never a nickname for the whole Redskin
> team, but for their very large offensive line. Back in the same era
> when that was adopted (and the fans came to games with hog-masks on),
> which was I believe in the late '80s when they were a perennial
> playoff contender and won one Super Bowl decisively against the
> Broncos), the wide receivers, who were short and fast, were known as
> "the Smurfs."
You are correct; "the Hogs" was the nickname for the offensive line only.
However, it was a quite popular nickname, and the last time I watched a
Redskins game on TV the camera gave some views of fans with hog masks
(actually hog noses, I believe). The point is that if the name "Redskins"
has to be abandoned, "Hogs" has instant name recognition and will be an
obvious, albeit tref, candidate for the new team name.
A high school football player who was either a tight end or a split end (I
forget which) defined his position very simply: "I'm both a Hog and a Smurf".
- Jim Landau
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