The joke is on them because they removed the name as on of the choices? Seems like the joke would be on them if they kept the name as one of the choices.
Here is what is going on: Some rich guy in Utah bought the Phoenix NHL team and moved it to SLC. The purchase did not include the name of the team, so it was just called Utah Hockey Club.
The fans are getting to vote on a new name. The proposed list of names was Wasatch, Mammoth, Utah Hockey Club, Venom, Yeti, Blizzard, and Outlaw.
Surprisingly, Utah Hockey Club is pretty popular name. It is so clunky that it is kind of cute in a troll doll sort of way.
Yeti, Blizzard and Venom were dropped because of trademark issues with other products. Not sure why Outlaw was initially dropped. Did it not sound sufficiently pious? :)
Apparently Wasatch didn't get a lot of votes, and Outlaw did get a lot of requests even though it wasn't on the list.
So, the finalist list got updated to be: Outlaws, Mammoth, Utah Hockey Club.
As for the etymology of Wasatch, wiktionary lists two possibilities, a Ute word meaning "mountain pass" or "low spot in the mountains", or the name of a Shoshone chief, that translates as Blue Heron.
The "frozen penis" origin comes from a reddit post. Take that for what it's worth.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2025 01:11PM by Brother Of Jerry.
Bingo. The "rich guy" is Provo mormon Ryan Smith who also owns the Utah Jazz. "Yeti" was the fan favorite, but Smith didn't do his homework. The Yeti cooler and cup manufacturer have patents and copyrights. They could call them the Utah Yeti, but they couldn't sell shirts, hoodies, mugs, cups, hats, etc. because Yeti coolers already does.
According to Utah Native-American expert LaVan Martineau, the word "Wasatch" means frozen penis!
On page 186 of Martineau's well-researched book on Utah indian legends, lore and language he records:
"Wasatch -- the name comes from the Paiute and Ute Indian phrase pronounced Wuhu'Seai, meaning Frozen Penis. Archie Rogers of [the Shivwit Indian Band] tells the following story about the origin of this name: "The Utes told me what the word 'Wasatch' means. They said that one time many Indians lived there between Heber and Provo. One day the men were out hunting when a big blizzard came up and they lost one of the hunters. When they found him he was dead and his penis was frozen stiff. they therefore called the place Wuhu' Seai Frozen Penis.
The book referred to is 'Southern Paiutes: Legends, Lore, Language and Lineage'