Are some HS Team names inappropriate for FRC teams?

[Bob Steele]

There is nothing wrong with wanting to win the competition. It is NOT somehow ungracious or professional to do your best on the field in order to win.

GP has to do with helping teams do their best on the field. It does not mean that any team should somehow NOT want to win. It also does not mean that a team would somehow sacrifice their own alliance to help another alliance win.

Gracious Professionalism is primarily about what happens OFF the field. On rare occasions it spills over to the field.

If we didn't want winners we wouldn't keep score and give trophies for winning.

I guess I don't understand how any school name (like lions or conquerors or whatever) would have any connotation that would not be GP..

I do think that some school names MIGHT be politically incorrect (as mentioned above "Redskins" is a good example")

Unless your school mascot is something like:

"The selfish whiners who never help anyone and are only here to see themselves do well without regard to other teams...." hmmm not sure what this mascot would look like but I could make a guess...

I think most mascots/names that are in good taste would be fine and fun.

My high school mascot was a Caveman....

I guess if there were still any of them around it might be politically incorrect in these days... (remember the ads a few years back?)

We never thought about clubbing other teams we played against into submission....

[IronicDeadBird]

I don't know what part of being GP says we can't play hard and play to win and have that mentality reflect in a logo or mascot.

Quick little edit:
If you are on my team and you are reading this just cause you play hard doesn't mean you can't shake your opponents hand afterwords keep it on the field or it will be addressed

[mathking]

I really don't believe that most mascot names are in any way inherently ungracious. Our team encompasses three high schools, so we consciously chose to avoid the color scheme and mascot names of any of them. Which was probably necessary, but definitely has also inhibited development of school spirit somewhat. We have been around long enough now that students not on the team generally recognize our black and yellow shirts, but I still get questions about why don't wear green (Three high schools, three different shades of green) or call ourselves the Shamrocks or Rocks (the other two high schools we represent are the Irish and the Celtics). If we were a single high school team I would have pushed for a Rocks-related name as a way to build team spirit within the broader school community.

[connor.worley]

GP doesn't exclude competition. GP is all about *healthy* competition. So unless lions, tigers, and bears like to kick their opponents when they're down, it's probably fine.

[Monochron]

There will always be a losers in competitions and in the real world, and that is a valuable lesson to learn. Striving to "beat opponents" is, I think, a very valid motivator in FIRST.
The way I see it we should aim to vanquish and destroy our opponents, but first ensure that those opponents are performing at their best.

[Whippet]

There are plenty of FRC teams who have the concept of dominating in their names ("Cockadoodle Dominators," one of my favorite teams from our regionals, comes to mind.)

Just remember that the way your team acts has a far greater influence on your perception in the FIRST community than any label you place on yourself.

Originally Posted by Bob Steele

"The selfish whiners who never help anyone and are only here to see themselves do well without regard to other teams...." hmmm not sure what this mascot would look like but I could make a guess...

*whistles innocently*

[safiq10]

In 2013 we struggled with the idea of changing our team name to something a bit more tame, but we decided to stick with and not enforce the idea of our team name. We don't know exactly where the name came from because no one, even our alumni can remember how we got it.

So I think that what truly matters is how your team presents itself. However if you have a name like "my robot is better than yours" you might wanna consider changing that.

[Jon Stratis]

As they say, a rose by any other name smells as sweet. If a team chooses to utilize their school's name/mascot to maintain a close identity with them, it doesn't reflect on their attitude our actions.

[Michael Hill]

The "C" in FRC is "competition". There's nothing wrong with wanting to win.

[IndySam]

I'm sorry but saying teams shouldn't have a "fierce animal/competitor capable of vanquishing its opponent" is utterly ridiculous. Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition are about working together not some crazy PC idea.

[mrnoble]

I don't think even PC people (like me) give a rip if schools have tigers as mascots.

[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by mrnoble

I don't think even PC people (like me) give a rip if schools have tigers as mascots.

This.

[sportzkrazzy]

Originally Posted by IndySam

I'm sorry but saying teams shouldn't have a "fierce animal/competitor capable of vanquishing its opponent" is utterly ridiculous. Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition are about working together not some crazy PC idea.

Scott you probably just think that because goats are such fearsome creatures, talk about bias haha ...

Jokes aside what does the C in FRC stand for... Its okay to have a competitive spirit and want to win. Isn't only natural that a mascot personifies that teams drive for excellence? We always want to win against the best and will be one of the first teams helping you if your down. I don't think our mascot scares people away from our pit...

[SenorZ]

Like just about every school with the VIKING as a mascot there has been talk among the staff that having a mascot that represents murderous hordes who raped and pillaged isn't a great idea. But it isn't going anywhere.

I think teams should find their own identity. Right now we're "Viking Robotics" and I think its boring more than anything (I mean, there are about 200 Viking related teams out there, all based on school mascots). Teams like Exploding Bacon, or the Cheesy Poofs, have fun and original names that represented the spirit of the team when they formed.

[IronicDeadBird]

Originally Posted by SenorZ

Like just about every school with the VIKING as a mascot there has been talk among the staff that having a mascot that represents murderous hordes who raped and pillaged isn't a great idea. But it isn't going anywhere.

I think teams should find their own identity. Right now we're "Viking Robotics" and I think its boring more than anything (I mean, there are about 200 Viking related teams out there, all based on school mascots). Teams like Exploding Bacon, or the Cheesy Poofs, have fun and original names that represented the spirit of the team when they formed.

Well if you look at the negative aspects yeah vikings did some, stuff...
But all things have bad sides vikings were incredible navigators. At the end of the day someone or something has pissed someone off, there is no mascot that won't have some negative aspect. I think the line is crossed when something is used with malicious intent.
Also if the team name is something sensitive don't make a big deal out of it. You are less likely to bother someone with your name if you don't bother them at all.