AFL Teams and Their NHL Equivalents
The first in a series of stories looking at other sports around the world, and around Australia, and finding some similarities between the AFL teams and the teams in other sports. First up is the National Hockey League.
Adelaide Crows:
New York Rangers
The Rangers are one of the richest NHL teams, based in the middle of New York City they regularly fill the Madison Square Garden. While the city of Adelaide may not rank up there with New York, the Crows are one of the AFL's most profitable clubs and tickets to their games are always sold quickly. The Crows and Rangers are also the big, and original, teams in two-team towns. The Crows brought in an older star, Wayne Carey, to try to win another cup but it didn't work. The Rangers brought in an older star, Mark Messier, to try to win a cup and for them it was a success.
Brisbane Lions:
Colorado Avalanche
Some Fitzroy players as well as the Lions name went to Brisbane and the team had a reversal of fortunes soon after. The Avalanche were originally the Quebec Nordiques, they were an unsuccessful team until they moved to Colorado and have since been a title winner.
Carlton Blues:
St. Louis Blues
More of a name is the same similarity. While many teams in world sports have "Blues" as more of an unofficial team name, St. Louis has always had it as their name. But the type of music is also a reason for the name, as well as their team colours.
Collingwood Magpies:
Philadelphia Flyers
There have often been times when the Flyers were a team that other fans despised. Sometimes that was because the Flyers were winning, other times it was due to their aggressive style of play, and aggressive could be another name for thuggish. Plenty of AFL fans also despise the Magpies, but just like the Flyers, Collingwood not only accepts that but they relish it.
Essendon Bombers:
Edmonton Oilers
Both teams had a good run in the first half of the 1980s. Edmonton once had Gretzky who was his sports greatest ever scorer, but Edmonton didn't have him for as long as they would have wanted. A long time ago Essendon had John Coleman, one of the best full forwards ever, and his career with Essendon was also not as long as the Bombers would have liked.
Fremantle Dockers:
Anaheim Ducks
The Dockers are one of the newer teams in the AFL, while the Ducks joined the NHL not too long ago. In Fremantle's early seasons they had a bit of a Mickey Mouse team, the Ducks were actually named after the Disney Mighty Ducks movie. The Ducks once brought in a big-name star, Sergei Federov, to try to win the title and the Dockers have also acquired a couple of stars to help them win in 2007.
Geelong Cats:
Detroit Red Wings
Both teams are in cities that were built thanks to Henry Ford. They also both have a long history in their leagues. One difference is that the Red Wings have turned their team around in the last decade and have won several titles. Both cities also cheered on a big star with a name starting with the letter G, Gary Ablett for Geelong and Gordie Howe for Detroit.
Hawthorn Hawks:
Chicago Blackhawks
A couple of teams called hawks, and they also have a long history of winning but have struggled in recent times.
Kangaroos:
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins are always a team that is about to relocate, the Kangaroos also know the problems that occur when the fan base is not big enough or the income is too small. But both teams have won and have also had star players, Carey for the Kangaroos and Lemieux for the Penguins.
Melbourne Demons:
New Jersey Devils
There are Red Devils in soccer, and Blue Devils in NCAA sports, and the NHL also has an evil-sounding team. The NHL's Devils have had a lot more success then the AFL's Demons over the past decade.
Port Adelaide Power:
New York Islanders
The Islanders are New York's "second team". The Power know what that is like. But both teams have had a period of success where they overshadowed their more famous city rival.
Richmond Tigers:
Toronto Maple Leafs
Richmond used to win a lot, but it was many years ago. The Maple Leafs also have a lot of titles, but it was so long ago that few remember them now.
St Kilda Saints:
Minnesota Wild
Maybe "saints" isn't the best word to describe some of the players who have been at Moorabbin over the years. There have certainly been some "wild" ones there.
Sydney Swans:
Los Angeles Kings
The VFL experimented with their move of a team to Sydney. This was the first step in making their league a national league. The NHL experimented when they put a team in L.A. many years ago, it also opened up a lot more areas for their sport. Sydney only became successful when stars like Lockett and Hall were brought in, while the Los Angeles Kings achieved their best results after trading for Wayne Gretzky.
West Coast Eagles:
Dallas Stars
The Eagles have the big state of Western Australia and plenty of resources to build contenders. The Stars have the big state of Texas and are also able to find the best players.
Western Bulldogs:
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes were once the Hartford Whalers. The Whalers were struggling financially for many years and eventually had to change their location. The Bulldogs were once called Footscray, but they have been able to stay together and overcome many financial problems. They did alter their name, but are still in the same place.
Next time: European Soccer teams and their AFL equivalents.
Adelaide Crows:
New York Rangers
The Rangers are one of the richest NHL teams, based in the middle of New York City they regularly fill the Madison Square Garden. While the city of Adelaide may not rank up there with New York, the Crows are one of the AFL's most profitable clubs and tickets to their games are always sold quickly. The Crows and Rangers are also the big, and original, teams in two-team towns. The Crows brought in an older star, Wayne Carey, to try to win another cup but it didn't work. The Rangers brought in an older star, Mark Messier, to try to win a cup and for them it was a success.
Brisbane Lions:
Colorado Avalanche
Some Fitzroy players as well as the Lions name went to Brisbane and the team had a reversal of fortunes soon after. The Avalanche were originally the Quebec Nordiques, they were an unsuccessful team until they moved to Colorado and have since been a title winner.
Carlton Blues:
St. Louis Blues
More of a name is the same similarity. While many teams in world sports have "Blues" as more of an unofficial team name, St. Louis has always had it as their name. But the type of music is also a reason for the name, as well as their team colours.
Collingwood Magpies:
Philadelphia Flyers
There have often been times when the Flyers were a team that other fans despised. Sometimes that was because the Flyers were winning, other times it was due to their aggressive style of play, and aggressive could be another name for thuggish. Plenty of AFL fans also despise the Magpies, but just like the Flyers, Collingwood not only accepts that but they relish it.
Essendon Bombers:
Edmonton Oilers
Both teams had a good run in the first half of the 1980s. Edmonton once had Gretzky who was his sports greatest ever scorer, but Edmonton didn't have him for as long as they would have wanted. A long time ago Essendon had John Coleman, one of the best full forwards ever, and his career with Essendon was also not as long as the Bombers would have liked.
Fremantle Dockers:
Anaheim Ducks
The Dockers are one of the newer teams in the AFL, while the Ducks joined the NHL not too long ago. In Fremantle's early seasons they had a bit of a Mickey Mouse team, the Ducks were actually named after the Disney Mighty Ducks movie. The Ducks once brought in a big-name star, Sergei Federov, to try to win the title and the Dockers have also acquired a couple of stars to help them win in 2007.
Geelong Cats:
Detroit Red Wings
Both teams are in cities that were built thanks to Henry Ford. They also both have a long history in their leagues. One difference is that the Red Wings have turned their team around in the last decade and have won several titles. Both cities also cheered on a big star with a name starting with the letter G, Gary Ablett for Geelong and Gordie Howe for Detroit.
Hawthorn Hawks:
Chicago Blackhawks
A couple of teams called hawks, and they also have a long history of winning but have struggled in recent times.
Kangaroos:
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins are always a team that is about to relocate, the Kangaroos also know the problems that occur when the fan base is not big enough or the income is too small. But both teams have won and have also had star players, Carey for the Kangaroos and Lemieux for the Penguins.
Melbourne Demons:
New Jersey Devils
There are Red Devils in soccer, and Blue Devils in NCAA sports, and the NHL also has an evil-sounding team. The NHL's Devils have had a lot more success then the AFL's Demons over the past decade.
Port Adelaide Power:
New York Islanders
The Islanders are New York's "second team". The Power know what that is like. But both teams have had a period of success where they overshadowed their more famous city rival.
Richmond Tigers:
Toronto Maple Leafs
Richmond used to win a lot, but it was many years ago. The Maple Leafs also have a lot of titles, but it was so long ago that few remember them now.
St Kilda Saints:
Minnesota Wild
Maybe "saints" isn't the best word to describe some of the players who have been at Moorabbin over the years. There have certainly been some "wild" ones there.
Sydney Swans:
Los Angeles Kings
The VFL experimented with their move of a team to Sydney. This was the first step in making their league a national league. The NHL experimented when they put a team in L.A. many years ago, it also opened up a lot more areas for their sport. Sydney only became successful when stars like Lockett and Hall were brought in, while the Los Angeles Kings achieved their best results after trading for Wayne Gretzky.
West Coast Eagles:
Dallas Stars
The Eagles have the big state of Western Australia and plenty of resources to build contenders. The Stars have the big state of Texas and are also able to find the best players.
Western Bulldogs:
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes were once the Hartford Whalers. The Whalers were struggling financially for many years and eventually had to change their location. The Bulldogs were once called Footscray, but they have been able to stay together and overcome many financial problems. They did alter their name, but are still in the same place.
Next time: European Soccer teams and their AFL equivalents.
It is always hard for a city's second team to compete with the more established team in its area, and the Dockers know all about that, but both the Port Adelaide Power and New York Islanders did find success. That is a rare thing, as Manchester City never win in England and Torino never win in Italy for the soccer, and West Sydney never win in basketball here.
In NFL, maybe the Giants are the Crows and the Power are the Jets. Although that would mean that Tredrea might be compared to Joe Namath. The Cats won't be the Jets, even with the Ben Graham link, as there is a perfect team for the Cats to be compared to in the NFL.