[PVCpirate]

Most FRC teams with this type of name are simply following suit with their school. I find that using the school's established mascot or a variation on it is a great way to get the rest of the school to treat the robotics team like any other team at the school, and not "those nerds that are always in the shop". I consider my team's decision to use a different name (before I was on it) from the school mascot as a mistake.

Regarding the names themselves, there shouldn't be a problem with a team calling themselves the Bears or the Velociraptors or the Raiders or anything they chose that isn't intentionally offensive to any group. I'm not going to judge a team based on their name, I'm going to judge them on their actions. I don't care if they're called the Fluffy Bunny Friends or the Velociraptor Bears. Also, I don't think this has anything to do with Gracious Professionalism, which is about doing your best work while being respectful to others, as I understand it.

EDIT: I read the thread you linked at the beginning, and this issue didn't come up.