By Kirk Seminoff, The Wichita Eagle-
The Wichita River Kats. The Wichita Cracker Jaxx. The Wichita Wing Nutz. Or, please, none of the above. With the city's new professional baseball franchise beginning a name-the-team contest today, it seems the right time to review Wichita's past sports team nicknames. What good is history if we don't learn from it?
Especially bad history. (The Jobbers? C'mon.)
Joe Greene, director of group ticket sales for the Thunder and the new American Association baseball team, said there are few limitations to a winning nickname. It has to be in good taste, of course, and he'd like it to be creative and have a tie to the community.
And you know what that means.
"A lot of teams have tried something related to the Air Capital," Greene said. "We would like something not necessarily similar to that, but we're Wichita's team and we're going to be here for a very long time."
Wichita has already been home to the Blue Aces, Wings, Aeros, Jets, Pilots, Stealth, Aviators, Bombers and Dreamliners.
What's left? The Wichita Runways? Exit Rows? Tray Tables?
Starting with the Wichita Wolves in 1914, more than a third of Wichita's 20 professional sports franchises have adopted "W" nicknames over the years. The double W is pleasing to the ear, but what's left after the Warlords, Wild, Wind, Wings, Witches, Wolves, Wranglers, Warriors, Weller, Wheatkings and Wolverines?
Maybe Water Bugs? Warblers? Werewolves? Whirligigs?
With one office running the Thunder hockey team and a new baseball club, it's natural to think they might like being the Thunder and the Lightning.
But it's been done. Stockton, Calif., has the Thunder minor-league hockey club and the Lightning Arenafootball2 team. Greene didn't rule out the same names here, but didn't sound all that excited about the duplication, either.
Lawrence-Dumont Stadium is located at the intersection of Maple and Sycamore. Anyone interested in a tree nickname? The Wichita Trunks? Twigs? Saps? Branches?
Isn't it time we take pride in our flatness? How about the Wichita Flatlanders?
Or combine ideas and make it the Wichita Planesmen.
Greene said the franchise doesn't have to start with "Wichita." Keep in mind "Kansas Jayhawks" is taken, however.
Please, step away from the nicknames with an X or Z ending. Red Sox, White Sox and Jazz are enough in this world.
Sports editor Kirk Seminoff, who requests the nickname be no longer than seven letters for the sake of Eagle headline writers, can be reached at 316-268-6278 or kseminoff@wichitaeagle.com.
