FEATURES of the nearby Brandywine River. Across the country, in Iowa, are the Cedar Rapids Kernels of baseball’s Midwest League. When heard spo- ken aloud, there seems nothing special about the nick- name “Kernels”, yet most probably assume the team is the “Colonels.” If the spelling isn’t a giveaway, the logo is: a kernel of corn. The name is an obvious and clever nod to Iowa’s corn industry. Also in the Midwest League is the magnificently nanred Lansing Lugnuts. In 1897, a Lansing resident named Ransom E. Olds drove his first car down a Lansing street. Olds eventually founded Oldsmobile, which became a division of General Motors in 1908, and a major automobile assembly line was erected in the city. In 1996, when the Midwest League’s Springfield Sultans relocated to Lansing, the name “Lugnuts” was chosen to honour its important role in the manufactur- ing of cars. Lansing’s assembly plant closed its doors in 2005, but the Lugnuts play on in the appropriately named Oldsmobile Park. Industry isn’t the only inspiration for name, though. Local landmarks are also further immortalized when incorporated into a team’s identity. The Brooklyn Cyclones play ball in the New York-Penn League, and are named after the famous Ferris wheel on the Coney Island boardwalk. Closer to home, the Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League (baseball) are named after nearby Mount Rainier, while the Oregon-based Salem-Keizer Volcanoes pay homage to the Pacific Northwest’s most famous, active volcano, Mount St. Helen’s. When the Las Vegas Stars decided it was time for a new identity, they adopted the “51s” as their new name—a reference to Area 51, a region in the southwest where aliens are rumoured to have been discovered, captured, and detained. Our own backyard Here, in British Columbia, Vancouver sports teams are no different from others across the continent. We hear these names often, and many have been in use for decades, so we take them for granted. We don’t stop and ponder, “Where did they get that name from?” As an extension, we may not even associate the name with what it actually is in a literal sense—we simply accept it as our local sports teams. But there is a fair bit of her- itage in our local sports teams. The Vancouver Canucks are, obviously, our best known sports team. Though the Canucks were founded as an NHL club in 1970, the club first competed in the old Pacific Coast Hockey League in 1945. Though the term “Canuck” is slang for a Canadian the same way “Yankee” is slang for an American, the name is actually a reference to “Johnny Canuck,” a 19th century cartoon lumberjack. The Canucks logo throughout their tenure in the Pacific Coast and the old Western Hockey League was a toque-clad lumberjack. So, though the Canucks now wear an orca logo, the team name is a reference to British Columbia’s lumber industry. Also a reference to the lumber industry is the Vancouver Giants of the current Western Hockey League. Their logo does feature a toque-clad lumber- jack, and the name was chosen to honour British Columbia’s clout in the lumber industry. ‘he Vancouver Whitecaps of the United Soccer League’s 1st Division were founded in 4 as amem : .3 : ; : ber of the now detrunct North Ame rican soccer League. The name “Whitecaps” was chosen for the snow-capped mountains and white-capped waves sur- rounding our City. When the Canadian Football League came to Vancouver in 1954, the name “Lions” was chosen as the winner of a name-the-team contest, but not just because it was an appropriate name for a football team, but also for the local geographical and mythological sig- nificance. The Lions are a twin mountain peak to the north of Vancouver, named thus because the peaks resemble two lions overlooking and guarding the city. opfeatures@gmail.com The proof is in the pudding—there is a great deal to learn about a city and its heritage, landmarks, and industry just by reading the sports section in your local paper. The next time you find yourself wondering, “What kind of a name is that?” take a few seconds to throw the name into a search engine and check it out. You never know what you might find. 838 Joyce St. Come listen, watch and disscuss about the « wood Neighbourhood House Free the Cuban AMGCMT U.S. Jails! PCT LOL “Mission Against Terror: and Discussion Forum blocks South of Joyce-Collingwood Skytrain Station f Five Cuban Heroes held in US jails, imprisoned for the sole crime of preventing Anti-Cuban terrorists in Miami from attacking Cuban people by delivering information they gathered to the US government and Cuban Government about terrorist activites and organizations in Miami and Florida. VancouverCommunitiesjin Wwith|Cubal(VCSC)) www.vancubasolidarity.com cubacommunities@yahoo.ca | 778-882-5223 Event endorsed by: The Free the Cuban Five Comittee - Vancouver This Event is not organized by the Collingwood Neighbourhood House