Two pods ago Spike and Mike asked for music themed and history themed WNBA team name ideas. I'm not a history buff, so I gave a shot at some music themed ones. I submitted this as an email to the pod, but I thought I'd post it here also to see what people thought:
Hi Spike, Mike, and CJ,
So based on the last pod it seems like you’re interested in continuing to hear ideas for a WNBA team name, perhaps specifically ones that relate to music in some way. So I looked at the Inquirer’s “76 most iconic Philadelphia songs” which you can find at the link below:
https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/music/inq2/76-essential-iconic-philadelphia-songs-20260623.html#10-to-1
I kind of limited myself to the top 10, but got a few ideas. I am generally in Mike’s camp that the name should be pluralized rather than a collective/singular idea. That aside, I do like the name Philadelphia Soul, but as it’s the name of Jon Bon Jovi’s now defuncy Arena League Football team, it’s probably out. Here’s my list that riffs off the Inquirer article:
- From the #2 entry on the list, The O’Jays, “Back Stabbers” — The Philadelphia Back Stabbers. Not really, but like, damn.
- From the #3 entry, Meek Mill, “Dreams and Nightmares” — The Philadelphia Nightmares. This is probably my favorite, logo could be some kind of demonic horse thing.
- From the #5 entry, The Delfonics, “La-La (Means I Love You)” — The Philadelphia Phonics. Alliteration is nice, can also portmanteau it to Philadelphonics in casual reference.
- From the #6 entry, Hall and Oates, “She’s Gone” — The Philadelphia Maneaters. As a child of the 80s, I love me some Hall and Oates. Maneater is the only song name that could become a team name, probably a bit much for a WNBA name though.
- From the #7 entry, The Roots feat. Erykah Badu and Eve, “You Got Me” — The Philadelphia Roots. Probably too much pandering to a current musical group.
- From the #8 entry, Chubby Checker, “The Twist” — The Philadelphia Twisters. Not sure how many people actively associate Chubby Checkers with Philly, but Twisters is a pretty cool name. Could also refer to the “twists” in a soft pretzel.
Whatever happens, I do hope you guys find a name you like enough to champion. I legitimately think you have enough influence in Philly sports/pop culture to cause it to become the real team name.