Re: Acceptable Name?
 

I don't see a problem using the name B.A.N.G. as long as it's an acronym and you make it a point to tell people what the acronym means.

I remember a team around 2006/2007/2008 that used the name B.A.M.F. - anyone that's been around the internet once or twice knows what that could mean, but that team made it a point to put the meaning of the Acronym under their name anywhere it was shown. IIRC, it meant "Big Awesome Mighty Fighters".

Re: Acceptable Name?
 

This is actually a good idea. Our team, The Ultimate Protection Squad, is known as just that at regionals and to other teams, even though our members shorten it to UPS (which could run into other issues, such as trademark/copyright or other idea/word-stealing laws like that).

Re: Acceptable Name?
 

well just think about when you meet and greet parents, younger students, or very professional people and future sponsors, would you wanna be called arse? B.A.N.G. sounds fine to me, when i heard it i thought nothing sexual like

Re: Acceptable Name?
 

It would never come into my head that bang was a bad name.
What our head mentor says is "if my eight year old dauter cannot hear it do not say/write it.

Re: Acceptable Name?
 

As someone who was in the room when this discussion happened, and as a graduate of USC, shed light I shall.

Nobody around campus, or even the state of South Carolina for that matter, bats an eye when someone shortens up Gamecocks. (Matter of fact, the shortened version makes it into the University's fight song twice.) Our mascot is Cocky, our football's offense is referred to as (that)-'N-Fire by certain Head Ball Coaches. However, modern interpretations of the word have caused the University to take a careful posture with it. They still lay claim to the trademark, but their trademark licensing documents (PDF link) explicitly prohibit using it by itself without some other trademark alongside it.

Considering how easily one can veer off the straight and narrow with the term (we won't talk about some of the bumper stickers seen around here), and considering that we were talking about high schoolers potentially traveling beyond areas where USC is USC, not South Carolina, we thought better of it. (Even going with Los Pollos Locos hasn't completely cleared us; I can't think of a time we've won a judged award where whoever wrote the citation for the emcee didn't work "cocky" into it.)

The moral of the story? Context is king. Considering how many other pyro-minded team names there are in FRC (Exploding Bacon, TnT, HOT, Fondy Fire...), I doubt you'd run into much trouble from others with BANG if you were consistent with its use in the explosive sense. (Truthfully, I wouldn't even have thought about it that way if you hadn't mentioned it...but my mind is like that.)

Just one requirement, though--your arm will have to pivot out and unfurl the team logo.

Re: Acceptable Name?
 

I think BANG is just fine for a name...but I'd like to add a caution. Team THRUST is an amazing team that has been around longer then I've been aware of FIRST. They have always gone by Team THRUST with a heavy use of aviation for their theme. However, their members were getting teased at school by other high schoolers that were a bit less civil. Eventually, there was a push to change the name by the students yet they were known by everyone in FIRST as team THRUST and they'd have to rebuild their name. I don't think they ended up changing their name, but I can't recall. I don't see BANG as suggestive, but some high schoolers might and it could lead to troubles in that manner. However, it really depends on the school and the way you present it within the school. I'd consider announcing the team as that name around the school(kind of a trial run) and see what kind of response you get. I don't think you'd get anything bad, but its better safe then sorry.

Disclaimer: I'm not on the team nor was I on their school. If anyone was or can correct anything I might have misspoken, I'd appreciate it.

Re: Acceptable Name?
 

So you're looking for a name, which you want everyone to 'know' stands for Bad A$$ something something *and* has a 'plausibly deniable' sexual connotation?
If you tiptoe on the edge of suggestive, you will occasionally fall on the wrong side.
And nobody will think your team is 'bad'.
You're nerds like the rest of us. :)

Re: Acceptable Name?
 

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

my grandma swears more than me :P

Re: Acceptable Name?
 

I go to an all boys high school where even the slightest sexual innuendo (in your endo *snicker*) is met with all kinds of hootin' and hollerin' and have been there for 3.5 years now, so my mind is pretty much trained to be dirty. When I saw BANG, my first thought was a gun shot, more specifically, the type of gun BillFred posted. I think you'll be fine.

Re: Acceptable Name?
 

I agree that BANG could be used very well as a team name. If you do make an abbreviation for that I would avoid using any sort of expletive even though some companies do (they actually did some work at the business my mom works for that is how I know them).

I think the sexual connotation you are worried about with bang as a singular term is starting to phase out, attach an -ing to that and it is more likely to have a sexual connotation though.