Nicknames: Top-Down or Bottom-Up?

A major difference between American sports and soccer in most of the rest of the world can be seen in the nicknames of teams. American teams generally have nicknames that are imposed on them top-down, while European teams’ nicknames are often given to them by their fans. The Guardian’s tea-time email The Fiver often pokes fun at this difference, often referring to teams that have been bought by Americans with faux-American style nicknames (Manchester United are often derisively referred to as the MU Rowdies).

American teams’ nicknames are given to them by their owners and are part of their official identity. Some names do relate to the areas in which the teams play (see San Francisco 49ers and the 1849 California Gold Rush), but many don’t (see most MLS team names, most hilariously the Kansas City Wiz). Other nicknames were given to a team that made sense when they were based in one city, but lost its grounding when the team moved (the Jazz says a bit more about New Orleans than it does about Utah).

In contrast, many European teams have nicknames that have sprung up organically. They are often firmly grounded in the area in which they are based. This has to do with history, as most clubs were founded far before marketing gurus had the idea to give them “official” nicknames (an idea which strikes me as somewhat oxy moronic). Fans in Europe have often given their clubs unofificial nicknames which have taken on quasi-official status.

The clubs of Spain provide many such examples of nicknames being created in a bottom-up process. Here are some of the most interesting ones:

Atletico Madrid are known affectionately as los colchoneros, or the mattress-makers. This nickname comes from the fact that their red and white vertically striped uniforms resembled the material used to cover mattresses in the early 20th century.

Barcelona’s fans are known affectionately as los culé. This nickname is in fact a shortened version of the Catalan word for rear end (culer). It became the team’s nickname at a time when Barcelona played in a stadium without seating. The fans who went to watch what would later become a symbol of Catalan identity would sit on top of a fence, making only their asses visible. There is a Wikipedia page on the identity of the term culé, but be warned, it’s in Catalan (who knew Wikipedia existed in Catalan?).

Celta de Vigo are known as the celtiñas, which is Spanish for Celtic. I don’t have official confirmation of this but I suspect the nickname was given to the team due to the historical connection between the province of Galicia (where the team is based) and the Celtic people.

Real Madrid are known around the world for their all white uniforms. This strip has also inspired their nickname, los merengues (the Spanish spelling of meringue). An apparent gastronomist saw the resemblance between the uniforms and the lovely French dessert and the nickname has stuck.

Recreativo Huelva are back in the Primera this season after three years in the second division. Recreativo’s nickname, however, comes from its status as Spain’s first organized team. Founded in 1889, Recreativo’s long existence has given them the nickname el decano, or the dean.

Valencia’s nickname, los che, appears to come from an interjection used often by natives of that Spanish city. On the message boards of a professional translators’ website, one member says that the word che in fact comes from the xe in the Valenciano language (it’s in Spanish). The writer says that Valencia’s fans sing “xe que bo, xe que bo,” or “look how great” to urge their team on. One can only assume the team’s nickname arose from these chants.

And finally, the Beatles. More specifically, the song “Yellow Submarine” and its usage as the nickname of the team Villarreal (el submarino amarillo in Spanish). The nickname, of course, comes from Villarreal’s distinctive all-yellow uniforms.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 22nd, 2007 at 7:26 pm and is filed under Europe, History, North America. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.