Why Team Names Are Really Not That Important

Seeing the funny side of team names.

How the world ends. Illustration by Author

When the U.S. voted in their first leader, George Washington, nobody could agree on his title. Popular choices included “Your Highness” or “Your Excellency”. Congress didn’t like that. They didn’t want something that gave their leader an inflated sense of ego or ideas of monarchy. But at the same time, they were concerned other countries would not take them seriously.

A political gridlock ensued for three weeks. In the end, congress settled on a “temporary” solution using the lowest, least-impressive title they could think of — President. Hard to believe today.

There are two lessons from this:
1. A “temporary” solution will likely become the “final” solution
2. Names do not bestow power; power changes how we see names

These were the very thoughts circulating in my mind as my colleagues voted in our new team name — ‘Running Chicken’. Who would take a team called ‘Running Chicken’ seriously?

A Running Chicken Presentation. Illustration by Author

To be fair though, it’s a bit funny. And at least more memorable than something like the ‘Data…