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The New York Jets were not always Jets. Founded in 1960 as the Titans of New York in the old AFL, they struggled with identity and finances in their early years. When new ownership took over in 1963, they wanted a clean break — and chose the name “Jets.” Why? Because their new home was Shea Stadium, right next to LaGuardia Airport, where the roar of airplanes overhead became part of every game. The 1960s were the dawn of the jet age, when air travel was becoming faster, cheaper, and more glamorous. Naming the team “Jets” tied them to that sleek, futuristic image and to the engines roaring just above the stands. It did not hurt either that the other two major teams in NY – the Mets and the Nets rhymed nicely. LaGuardia itself was a marvel of the 20th century. Opened in 1939, it was one of the most modern airports in the world at the time, helping cement New York’s role as a hub of global aviation. Just across the city, JFK Airport (originally Idlewild) became the gateway to the world, home to innovations in jetliners, terminals, and international travel. Pan Am and TWA made New York their base, turning it into the beating heart of the jet-set era. Even Newark, across the river in New Jersey, became one of the nation’s busiest airports. Few places symbolised modernity and speed more than New York’s skies. The Jets carved out their own place in New York sports. The city already had the Giants, who traced their roots back to 1925 in the NFL. The Giants were the established, traditional powerhouse playing in Yankee Stadium, a team with deep history. The Jets were the upstarts — an AFL team, brash and modern, a little rough around the edges. Their greatest moment came early: Super Bowl III in 1969, when quarterback Joe Namath famously guaranteed victory over the heavily favoured Baltimore Colts and delivered it. That win legitimised the AFL, paved the way for the merger with the NFL, and remains one of the most iconic upsets in sports history. Since then, the Jets have struggled to match that high. They’ve made playoff runs, produced stars like Curtis Martin, Don Maynard, and Darrelle Revis, and reached four AFC Championship Games, but they’re still chasing a second Super Bowl. Yet their fans, often defined by loyalty and frustration in equal measure, remain among the most passionate in the league. For them, being a Jets fan isn’t about glory — it’s about belonging to a community of underdogs in a city that usually expects only the best. The Jets are different from the Giants not just in league lineage but in attitude. The Giants are establishment: old money, steady, serious. The Jets are insurgent: new money, loud, defiant. They’ve been mocked, cursed, and doubted, but they still fight. And in a city that thrives on hustle, competition, and reinvention, that makes them very New York indeed.

When the NFL awarded Atlanta an expansion franchise in 1965, the city held a public contest that drew thousands of entries, but the winner came from Julia Elliott, a local high school teacher. She chose “Falcons”, explaining that the bird was “proud and dignified, with great courage and fight. It never drops its prey. It’s deadly and has great sporting tradition.” That description became the DNA of the franchise. The Falcons took the field in 1966, the first major NFL franchise in the Deep South. Their badge — a black falcon in mid-dive, wings shaped into an “F” (check it out – I didn’t see it at first either). Over time the logo has evolved, but the essence remains the same: fast, sleek, merciless. It is a genuinely an awesome logo. Sort of think you’d expect to see on the side of a tank in a Sci-Fi movie or something. It screams aggression. Atlanta itself is the perfect setting for the Falcons. Founded in the 1830s as a railroad hub, the city became known as the “Gate City” of the South, where lines of trade and migration crossed. Burned to the ground during the Civil War, it rebuilt quickly, earning the phoenix as its civic symbol. In the 20th century it rose as the capital of the New South — home to Coca-Cola, a brand created in Atlanta in 1886 that grew into one of the world’s most recognisable companies. Coke’s headquarters downtown still stand as a monument to Atlanta’s reach into every corner of the globe. Atlanta later became the spiritual centre of the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. was born there in 1929, raised in the city’s Black churches, and went on to lead a movement that reshaped America. His speeches, marches, and leadership radiated outward, but his roots never left Atlanta; he is buried there at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. The city honours him as both a son and a prophet, and his legacy gives Atlanta a moral weight that complements its economic and cultural power. In 1996, the city stepped onto the world stage with the Summer Olympics. The Games showcased Atlanta’s ability to host a global spectacle, fuelled in part by Coca-Cola’s sponsorship muscle. Just as importantly, the opening ceremony paid tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., whose message of peace and equality was held up before billions of viewers. The Olympics were Atlanta’s declaration that it had become not only the capital of the South, but also a player on the global stage — ambitious, diverse, and forward-looking. On the field, the Falcons’ story has been one of peaks and heartbreak. They reached their first Super Bowl in 1999 (XXXIII), powered by Chris Chandler and Jamal Anderson’s “Dirty Bird” dance, but fell to John Elway’s Broncos. Their second chance came in 2017 (Super Bowl LI), when Matt Ryan and Julio Jones led them to a 28–3 lead against the Patriots — only to suffer one of the most infamous collapses in sports history. Painful as it was, that moment only deepened the Falcons’ identity as a team defined by hope, drama, and defiance. Their home, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, is itself a modern icon — a retractable-roof colossus shaped like a falcon’s wing, rising in the heart of downtown as a symbol of Atlanta’s ambition. The Falcons embody the spirit of a city that rose from ashes, built the modern soft-drink industry, became the voice of Martin Luther King Jr., thrived in the spotlight of the 1996 Olympics, and the roar of fans every Sunday from the Mercedes-Benz stadium – it is a city that has become the South’s global capital.

When the NFL awarded New Orleans a franchise in 1966, the city knew exactly what name belonged on its team. They chose the Saints, unveiled on November 1 — All Saints’ Day in the Catholic calendar. It was a nod to the city’s deep French and Catholic heritage, where faith and culture intertwine. The badge carried the fleur-de-lis, the lily symbol long associated with French monarchy and New Orleans’ own identity, flown on flags and carved into iron balconies. New Orleans’ French roots run deep. Founded in 1718 by French colonists, the city grew at the mouth of the Mississippi River, a port that controlled the gateway to the continent. Passed to Spain and back to France before being sold to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, New Orleans remained distinct: French language, Catholic churches, jazz funerals, Mardi Gras parades. Out of this mix came Creole culture, blending European, African, Caribbean, and Native influences into a cuisine, music, and identity like nowhere else in the world. The city’s spirit was never clearer than in the Battle of New Orleans (1815). American forces under Andrew Jackson, joined by militia, free Black soldiers, Native allies, and pirate crews led by Jean Lafitte, defeated the British in a stunning victory. The battle, fought after peace had technically been signed in Europe, cemented New Orleans as a symbol of American resilience and cultural unity. That legacy of resilience rose again in August 2005. Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast and overwhelmed the New Orleans’ levees. The city drowned. Entire neighbourhoods vanished beneath floodwaters. I-10 was strewn with upturned cars for weeks afterwards. Corpses floated in the streets, families were stranded on rooftops, and at the Superdome, tens of thousands huddled in misery, trapped in unbearable conditions. One of the most haunting images was the prisoners of Orleans Parish Prison, herded out and held on a highway overpass, shackled in the sweltering heat while chaos reigned around them. When I personally visited just weeks later, the devastation was still raw — the roads still littered with wreckage. But even then, a strange sight emerged: churches rebuilding first, their roofs patched, their doors open. Donations poured in from parishes across the United States and even overseas. These networks of faith and community became lifelines, giving shelter, food, and dignity back to those who had lost everything. The Saints had always been beloved, but after Katrina, they became something more: a rallying cry. In 2006, with Drew Brees at quarterback and Sean Payton as coach, the team gave New Orleans hope. Each game at the Superdome — itself repaired and reopened — became a symbol of defiance. In 2010, when the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV, beating Peyton Manning’s Colts, it wasn’t just a victory for a franchise. It was a resurrection. For a city that had stared into the abyss, the Saints brought joy, pride, and unity back to the streets. The Saints’ logo — that golden fleur-de-lis — is more than design. It’s a reminder of French founders, Catholic feasts, Creole resilience, and a battle that made legends. But most of all, it’s the symbol of a city that survived Katrina, rebuilt itself from the churches outwards, and still finds ways to dance, even through disaster.

The Arizona Cardinals carry a name older than almost any other in professional football. The story begins in 1898, when a Chicago athletic club first fielded a team that would eventually become today’s Cardinals. In 1901, team founder Chris O’Brien bought used jerseys from the University of Chicago. They were faded red, and when someone called them “maroon,” O’Brien snapped back that they were “not maroon — they’re cardinal red.” From that moment, the name Cardinals stuck. Cardinal red, a deep, vivid shade between crimson and scarlet, became the club’s trademark. The name also carried a natural resonance. The northern cardinal bird, common across much of the U.S., is known for its brilliant red plumage and distinctive crest. Choosing “Cardinals” gave the team not just a colour but a living emblem: a small bird with a fierce voice, singing proudly even in winter. The franchise is the oldest continuously run professional football team in the United States. They began in Chicago, moved to St. Louis in 1960, and finally settled in Arizona in 1988. Each move brought new fans but also kept the same name, making “Cardinals” a rare thread of continuity in a league defined by change. Through much of that journey, the team has been tied to the Bidwill family, who bought in during the 1930s and still own the franchise today. The fortune that allowed Charles Bidwill to buy the team in 1932 came from a mix of law, business, and the rough edges of Chicago’s Prohibition era. Bidwill was a successful lawyer with deep ties to the city’s political machine, and he invested in enterprises linked to bootlegging and gambling. He and the family also ran Sportsman’s Park racetrack in Cicero, a major horse-racing venue that generated huge profits. That mix of legal practice, racing, and Chicago’s underworld fortunes gave the Bidwills both the money and connections to hold on to the Cardinals through decades of struggle. Today, their wealth is tied to the Cardinals themselves, now worth billions, with Bill Bidwill’s son Michael Bidwill running the team as president. Today, the Cardinals play in Glendale, part of the sprawling Phoenix metro area. Their home, State Farm Stadium, is famous for its retractable roof and its natural-grass field that rolls outside to bask in the desert sun. Glendale itself was once farmland, but has grown into a centre for sports and entertainment, hosting Super Bowls, concerts, and the Fiesta Bowl. The wider Phoenix valley is one of America’s fastest-growing regions, driven by real estate, technology, healthcare, defence, and tourism. From retirees to tech workers, waves of newcomers have helped transform the desert into one of the country’s most dynamic metro areas. Long before freeways and stadiums, however, this land was home to Native American peoples whose legacy still shapes Arizona. The Hohokam built complex canal systems in the Phoenix basin over a thousand years ago, engineering irrigation networks that modern Arizona still builds upon. To the north, the Navajo (Diné) and Hopi maintain cultural traditions tied to the land and sky. The Apache, Tohono O’odham, and many other tribes also lived across Arizona, adapting to the harsh desert environment with resilience and ingenuity. Today, more than 20 federally recognised tribes are based in Arizona, their reservations covering nearly a quarter of the state. Their history of survival in the desert mirrors the toughness of the place the Cardinals now call home. On the field, the Cardinals’ story is one of frustration punctuated by flashes of brilliance. They won two NFL Championships in Chicago, in 1925 and 1947. The St. Louis years saw stars like Dan Dierdorf and Jim Hart but little postseason success. In Arizona, they’ve had moments of glory — none brighter than the 2008 season, when quarterback Kurt Warner and receiver Larry Fitzgerald carried the team to Super Bowl XLIII. Fitzgerald’s postseason was one of the greatest ever, capped by his late touchdown sprint against the Steelers in the Super Bowl, a play still etched into football memory despite the narrow defeat. The modern Cardinals are also inseparable from the story of Pat Tillman. A hard-hitting safety who became a fan favourite for his intensity and intelligence, Tillman made the extraordinary decision to leave the NFL after the 2001 season and enlist in the U.S. Army following the 9/11 attacks. He served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan before being killed in action in 2004. His sacrifice turned him into a symbol far bigger than sport — a reminder of courage, conviction, and the costs of service. The Cardinals honour him with a statue outside State Farm Stadium, and his number 40 remains retired. Tillman’s legacy binds the franchise to a national moment of grief and respect, and his memory continues to shape how the team is viewed both locally and across the league. The Cardinals are a century old, a franchise that wore hand-me-down jerseys and turned them into a lasting identity.

The Los Angeles Rams are one of the NFL’s great travellers. They began in Cleveland in 1936, when owner Homer Marshman named the team after the Fordham Rams, a powerhouse New York college program of the era. Fordham’s “Seven Blocks of Granite” offensive line, which included Vince Lombardi, was famous nationwide. Marshman admired their grit and liked that “Rams” was short, memorable, and perfect for newspaper headlines. There wasn’t a deep economic link — it was more about brand recognition and toughness — but the name stuck, and it became one of the longest-running identities in American football. In 1946, the Rams moved to Los Angeles, the first NFL franchise on the West Coast. It was a bold, ambitious and ingenious step —professional football was now linked to the glamour of Hollywood, the sprawl of a booming postwar city, and the vast Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which became their home. The Coliseum was significant: a civic monument built for the 1932 Olympics, symbolising LA’s emergence as a world city. For the Rams, it became their stage. And on that stage, they made history. In order to play at the publicly owned Coliseum, the team was pressed to integrate. That year the Rams signed Kenny Washington and Woody Strode, breaking the NFL’s colour barrier a full year before Jackie Robinson more famously integrated Major League Baseball. Later joined by players like Marion Motley and Bill Willis in Cleveland, Washington and Strode helped change the face of the league. For Los Angeles, a city defined by migration and diversity, it was a statement: football in LA would look like LA itself. By the 1980s, the Rams shifted to Anaheim, chasing suburban fans, but in 1995 they moved to St. Louis. It was in the Midwest that they reached their highest peak. St. Louis gave them loyal blue-collar support, and the franchise rewarded the city with the “Greatest Show on Turf.” Quarterback Kurt Warner – who embodies one the greatest stories in sports became their hero. A former grocery store stocker he became the symbol of an underdog story, leading an explosive offense with Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, and Torry Holt. Together they won Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000, beating the Titans in dramatic fashion with “The Tackle” at the one-yard line. They returned to the Super Bowl two years later but lost to Tom Brady’s Patriots in a game that reshaped NFL history and set Brady’s bunch off on their own all conquering run. The economies of their two homes shaped their fanbases. St. Louis, the “Gateway to the West,” (as symbolised by the huge 192m Gateway Arch monument that dominates the skyline) thrived on river trade, brewing, and manufacturing coming up and down the Mississippi – linking North with South – and a launchpad for Westward conquest – started initially by the famous explorations of Lewis and Clark which set off from nearby the city in the 1804. By the 1990s, it was a proud but economically bruised city, and its Rams fans mirrored that: blue-collar, tight-knit, fiercely loyal. By contrast, Los Angeles grew from missions and ranches into a giant of oil, aerospace, Hollywood, global trade, and now tech. LA fandom reflected the city’s diversity and glamour — larger, more fluid, sometimes accused of being fair-weather, but steeped in star power and spectacle. In 2016, the Rams returned to Los Angeles, and by 2020 they were playing in SoFi Stadium, a $5 billion futuristic arena in Inglewood. SoFi isn’t just a stadium; it’s the centrepiece of Hollywood Park, a 300-acre development of entertainment, retail, and housing. With its translucent roof, natural ventilation, and record-breaking “Infinity Screen,” it is the NFL’s showpiece. It hosted Super Bowl LVI, will host 2026 FIFA World Cup matches, and will star in the 2028 Olympics. In 2022, the Rams lifted the Lombardi at home in SoFi, powered by Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald — a moment that tied their modern success back to their legacy of spectacle. The Los Angeles Rams are more than a football team. They are a franchise that has carried the grit of Cleveland, the glamour and diversity of LA, and the loyalty of St. Louis. They integrated the NFL in 1946, lit up the league in 2000 with the Greatest Show on Turf, and now shine again from the NFL’s most dazzling stage.

The Green Bay Packers are one of the most storied franchises in all of sports, and their name goes straight to their roots. Founded in 1919 by Curly Lambeau and George Calhoun, the team took its name from the Indian Packing Company, where Lambeau worked. The company provided $500 for uniforms and equipment, and in return the new team was called the Packers. The name stuck, and over a century later, it remains a badge of pride.   The Indian Packing Company was part of Green Bay’s growing food industry. It specialised in canning and distributing meat products, particularly canned beef, and shipped them across the United States. Wisconsin, much like Chicago further down the coastline, was becoming a transit hub of for the produce of the Mid-West. The Erie Canal had linked the Great Lakes to the East Coast and suddenly all those city dwellers demanded all the agricultural goods it could produce. Indian Packing was a vital part of this industry - packaging, preserving, and moving goods from the Midwest to the nation. When the Packers took that name, it wasn’t just about football sponsorship: it was a direct link to the labourers who kept Green Bay alive. It made them their team.   Building on these links to the community is the Packer’s unique ownership model. They are the only publicly owned franchise in the NFL, held by thousands of shareholders who are fans, not billionaires. Decisions are made through a board of directors, and profits go back into the team and community. In an era of corporate takeovers and billionaire vanity projects, the Packers stand as a reminder of football’s small-town, communal roots. Green Bay, with a metro population of just over 300,000, is by far the smallest city to host a major pro sports team in the U.S. That makes the Packers’ survival — and success — a story of loyalty and community pride.   On the field, the Packers are giants of the game. Under coach Curly Lambeau, they won six NFL championships between 1929 and 1944. In the 1960s, under Vince Lombardi, they became a dynasty: five NFL titles in seven years, including the first two Super Bowls (1967 and 1968). Lombardi’s name now adorns the championship trophy itself. Later stars like Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers carried the team into the modern era, each winning a Super Bowl and cementing Green Bay’s legacy as a quarterback powerhouse.   Their home, Lambeau Field, opened in 1957, is itself hallowed ground. Known as the “Frozen Tundra”, it symbolises the toughness of Wisconsin winters and the resilience of its fans, who famously endure snow, wind, and sub-zero temperatures in green-and-gold parkas. Lambeau is more than a stadium — it’s a shrine to football itself.   And then there are the Cheeseheads. Wisconsin has long been the dairy capital of America, producing more cheese than any other state. Rival fans once used “cheesehead” as an insult, mocking Wisconsinites as farm folk. Instead of rejecting it, Packers fans embraced it. In 1987, a foam-rubber wedge of cheese was first worn at a Milwaukee Brewers game and quickly spread to Lambeau Field. Today, the yellow foam “Cheesehead” is one of the most famous fan symbols in the world. It remains a proud, humorous emblem of both Wisconsin’s dairy economy and Packers fandom. Similar imagery can be found in the Wisconsin state quarter coin, which features a cow, a round of cheese, and an ear of corn — icons of the same farming and dairy traditions that make Cheeseheads such a perfect fit.   Community-owned pride, meatpacking grit, dairyland humour, Lombardi discipline, and Lambeau tradition. Their “G” logo may be simple, but it represents the biggest heart in the NFL — proof that greatness can come from a factory town on the frozen banks of the Fox River.

The Las Vegas Raiders are one of the NFL’s most iconic teams — not just for their football, but for their identity and their unmistakable crest. Born in 1960 as a charter AFL franchise, the team’s name originally came from a fan contest that briefly suggested “Senors.” That was scrapped quickly, and the owners settled on “Raiders” — short, sharp, and perfectly matched to their black-and-silver look. The pirate shield and crossed swords became symbols of menace and rebellion.   They began in Oakland, a gritty, blue-collar port city across the Bay from San Francisco. Oakland’s economy was built on shipyards, railways, and docks, and its identity was tied to the sweat and strength of working-class communities. The pirate imagery matched perfectly, even if Oakland wasn’t historically a pirate haven. California’s Pacific coast had seen occasional privateers raid Spanish galleons, and during the Gold Rush, San Francisco Bay became a wild frontier of abandoned ships and hustlers. Against that backdrop, the idea of “Raiders” felt right for Oakland: a team of dockworkers and underdogs, rougher – and tougher – than their polished rivals across the bay,   The 49ers’ name tied to the Gold Rush prospectors — dreamers chasing fortune — and the team’s image developed around a more glitzy, West Coast glamour: Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and later Silicon Valley wealth. The Raiders were the opposite: hard edges, spike-helmeted fans in the “Black Hole,” a symbol of defiance.   Under Al Davis, who became head coach, general manager, and later owner, the team fully embraced its outlaw reputation. His motto, “Just Win, Baby,” summed up the ruthless pursuit of victory. In Oakland, the Raiders won three Super Bowls (1976, 1980, 1983) with legends like Ken Stabler, Howie Long, Marcus Allen, and Lester Hayes.   Davis wasn’t just a football man — he was a maverick. He constantly clashed with NFL leadership. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Davis fought the league in court for the right to move the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles. The NFL tried to block him, but Davis won in the courts, proving that no one told the Raiders what to do. That fight set legal precedents about franchise freedom and made the Raiders the ultimate symbol of independence. Later, when stadium issues mounted, Davis wasn’t afraid to uproot the team again. Every move — from Oakland to LA, back to Oakland, and finally to Las Vegas under his son Mark Davis — was done on the Raiders’ terms.   In Los Angeles, the Raiders became a cultural force, embraced by Latino communities and immortalised in West Coast hip-hop — N.W.A. and Ice Cube wore Raiders gear as a badge of defiance. Few teams fused sport, music, and culture so powerfully.   By 1995 they returned to Oakland, greeted with open arms despite the scars of departure. But again, stadium struggles drove change. In 2020, the Raiders moved to Las Vegas, their latest reinvention. Their new home, Allegiant Stadium - on Al Davis Way - is a gleaming black dome nicknamed “The Death Star,” sitting just off the Strip. With its futuristic design and ability to host Super Bowls, concerts, and global events, it has made the Raiders central to Las Vegas’s transformation into a sports capital.   The Raiders’ fan culture remains unmatched. They’ve always been a team for outsiders: the dockworkers of Oakland, the street kids of LA, now the dreamers and gamblers of Vegas. Their black-and-silver uniforms, pirate logo, and intimidating swagger created one of the most recognisable brands in sports. Even through decades of ups and downs, the identity has never wavered.

And now finally – to one of my alma maters…. Arkansas. Few college teams have an identity as fierce — or as unique — as the Arkansas Razorbacks. Their badge, a charging wild hog bristling with tusks and fury, is one of the most recognisable in American sport. The razorback hog is a descendant of feral pigs brought by early settlers, lean and aggressive, able to survive in the harsh backwoods of Arkansas. In 1909, after an upset win over LSU, coach Hugo Bezdek told reporters that his squad had played “like a wild band of razorback hogs.” The old “Cardinals” nickname, taken from the team’s red jerseys, was dropped, and Arkansas had a new identity: the Razorbacks. he true wild boar—often referred to as the European or Russian boar—is not native to the United States. Their domesticated ancestors were first introduced to the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1493. Some historians believe wild boars arrived later with Hernando de Soto, who reportedly brought thirteen hogs on his 1539 expedition. Although later historians have cast doubt on this story – either way – they got there somehow and it was clearly European settlers that introduced them. Many of the domestic pigs brought by these settlers escaped and adapted to the wild, establishing breeding grounds in the hills and even roaming town streets. Over time, these feral pigs interbred with wild boars, creating the hybrid population now commonly referred to as “wild boars.” Settlers trapped these hogs in large pens and sold them at market—a practice that persisted into the twentieth century. However, the Great Depression prompted many farmers to abandon rural life for urban stability. Today, feral hogs are found in over fifty counties across Arkansas, a lasting legacy of centuries of adaptation and interbreeding. The university itself was a product of a sweeping national reform. Established in 1871 under the Morrill Land-Grant Act, Arkansas Industrial University (later renamed the University of Arkansas) was built to provide practical education in agriculture and mechanical arts. Its most iconic building, Old Main, completed in 1875, still stands watch over campus. With its red-brick towers and stately halls, college tour kinds still lower their voices in respect at such an old building – the amusement of many incoming European students. The Razorbacks’ home is Fayetteville, a city with roots stretching back to early pioneers in the Ozark Mountains. Originally known as Washington Courthouse when it was founded in the 1820s, it was later renamed for Fayetteville, Tennessee, itself honouring the Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette. Fayetteville became an important regional centre, scarred by battles during the Civil War but rebuilt into a thriving town. In April 1863, Confederate forces under General William L. Cabell attacked Union troops in the Battle of Fayetteville, fighting on College Hill where the university now stands. Union defenders held firm, securing control of northwest Arkansas for the remainder of the war. Earlier, the larger Battle of Pea Ridge (March 1862), fought just north of the city, had already shaped the fate of the region, keeping Missouri in Union hands. By war’s end, Fayetteville lay battered, its courthouse destroyed, its people scattered. Old Main’s construction a decade later symbolised a community rising from ashes into education and renewal. Another chapter in the university’s story came from Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. Based in nearby Bentonville, Walton built the world’s largest retailer from humble Arkansas beginnings. His family and company have poured millions into the University of Arkansas, funding scholarships, research into technology like RFID, and entire colleges, such as the Sam M. Walton College of Business. Just as Old Main symbolised the land-grant vision, Walmart’s support has made the Razorbacks’ home institution a flagship not only for the state but for the wider South. On the field, the Razorbacks have built a proud tradition. They claimed a share of the 1964 national championship, have won 13 conference titles, and regularly send players into the NFL. Their fans, the Hog Callers, have made “Woo Pig Sooie!” one of the loudest and most distinctive chants in American sport, shaking stadiums across the South. Amongst their was Darren McFadden. The explosive running back twice finished as Heisman runner-up in the 2000s before heading to the NFL as a first-round pick of the Oakland Raiders. He joined a long line of Razorbacks who carried that Fayetteville fire into the pros, including Steve Atwater, Dan Hampton, and Joe Ferguson. The Razorback logo itself — that snarling, leaping hog — perfectly reflects the program’s identity: toughness, speed, defiance, and survival. In a state without a major professional franchise, the Razorbacks are more than just a team; they are the beating heart of Arkansas. Fayetteville’s population doubles on gameday as people from all over the state drive in for the tailgating, festivities, marching bands and gameday. ‘Tusk’ the mascot is a Russian boar that is paraded around the field on gameday while cheerleaders do backflips from the top of his carriage. It is hard to find a more genuine college football experience. The Arkansas Razorbacks are a living symbol of their state’s history: born from a land-grant vision of education, fortified by Walton family philanthropy, forged on Fayetteville’s battlefields, redefined by a wild hog’s charge, and kept alive by fans whose call drowns out any stadium speaker.

The Dallas Cowboys , otherwise known as “America’s Team,” are nonetheless, about as Texan as you can get. When the franchise was awarded in 1960, the original plan was to call them the Dallas Rangers. That idea was scrapped quickly because the city already had a baseball team by that name. Instead, they chose Cowboys — a word that carried the essence of Texas and its frontier spirit. It evoked independence, toughness, and the open plains. The cowboy identity was rooted in the real cattle industry of Texas. After the Civil War, cowboys drove millions of longhorns along the Chisholm Trail and Goodnight–Loving Trail to railheads in Kansas, where cattle were shipped east. Dallas and Fort Worth became booming stockyard and meatpacking centres, drawing workers, railroads, and capital. By the early 20th century, barbed wire, refrigerated railcars, and feedlots transformed ranching into modern agribusiness. The image of the cowboy — resilient, fearless, enduring — remained a cultural icon even as the industry moved on. Naming Dallas’s NFL team the Cowboys tied modern football to this history of grit and commerce. But Dallas itself didn’t stop at cattle. The city grew into a centre of oil wealth, banking, real estate, and later technology. By the late 20th century, it was the beating heart of North Texas’s “Metroplex,” a sprawling hub of highways, glass towers, and global companies. That mix of old cattle wealth and new corporate ambition defined Dallas’s identity: tough yet forward-looking. The city’s profile was boosted even further by the 1980s TV drama Dallas, which broadcast images of oilmen, skyscrapers, and Texas swagger to millions worldwide. Just as J.R. Ewing symbolised Texas business on screen, the Cowboys came to symbolise Texas sport on the field. On the turf, the Cowboys built dynasties. Under Tom Landry, the stoic coach with his fedora hat, Dallas became a model of innovation: the flex defence and the shotgun formation – staples of the game today – were Landry inventions. They appeared in five Super Bowls from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, winning two (VI, XII) with Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, and “Too Tall” Jones as stars. In the 1990s, under owner Jerry Jones, coach Jimmy Johnson, and the “Triplets” — Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin — the Cowboys won three Super Bowls (XXVII, XXVIII, XXX). With five Lombardi trophies, they remain one of the NFL’s most decorated franchises. Their home reflects that ambition. The Cowboys play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, opened in 2009 and nicknamed “Jerry World.” It cost over $1 billion, funded partly by public money: in 2004, Arlington voters approved a sales-tax hike to help cover construction. The result was a football palace: a retractable roof, the world’s largest HD video board at the time, and space for 80,000 fans (expandable to over 100,000). Like Texas itself, it was built to impress. Owner Jerry Jones, who bought the team in 1989, is as famous as many of his players. A relentless businessman and showman, Jones turned the Cowboys into the most valuable sports franchise in the world, worth billions. He embodies the same bravado as the team’s star logo, blending oilman boldness with modern corporate power. No story of the Cowboys is complete without the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Founded officially in 1972, they revolutionised cheerleading with glamour, choreography, and mass appeal. They became international icons, appearing on TV, touring with the USO (to armed forces locations across the world), and starring in the 2024 Netflix series America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. They remain perhaps the most famous cheerleading squad in the world, adding to the Cowboys’ brand as both sport and entertainment empire. The Cowboys’ fanbase is vast, stretching far beyond Texas. Branded “America’s Team” in a 1978 NFL highlight film, the name stuck because it reflected reality: the Cowboys’ silver star became a national symbol. The Dallas Cowboys embody the spirit of the cattle trails, the swagger of oilmen and bankers, the glamour of cheerleaders, and the power of a billion-dollars. Their lone star shines not just for Texas, but for the scale of their ambition: to be the biggest and brightest in America.

Nestled in the far northwest of England, just eight miles from the Scottish border, Carlisle United Football Club stands as a proud emblem of its city’s rich history and unique geographical position. So let’s explore the meaning behind the Carlisle United FC badge, the history of the area, the club’s evolution, and the significance of its key elements. Carlisle, known as the "Great Border City," is the closest English city to Scotland, located in Cumbria, just south of the Solway Firth, which marks the Anglo-Scottish border. The city sits in a vast district spanning 1,039.97 square kilometers, with the River Eden and its tributaries, the Caldew and Petteril, shaping its flood-prone landscape. Carlisle’s strategic position has defined its history, from its days as the Roman settlement of Luguvalium to its role as a medieval fortress contested by English and Scottish forces. The city’s early history began with the Carvetii, a Brittonic tribe, and the establishment of Luguvalium around AD 73 to support Roman forts along Hadrian’s Wall. Carlisle’s proximity to the border made it a military stronghold, with Carlisle Castle, built in 1093 under William Rufus, serving as a key defensive structure. The castle, a prominent feature on the club’s badge, housed Mary, Queen of Scots in 1568 and endured multiple sieges during conflicts like the English Civil War and the Jacobite Rising of 1745. Carlisle’s medieval city walls, cathedral (established in 1133), and its status as the seat of the historic county of Cumberland further cement its historical significance. The city’s industrial growth in the 19th century transformed it into a hub for textile mills and railways, with Carlisle Citadel station becoming a vital link on the West Coast Main Line. Despite challenges like flooding (notably in 2005) and economic shifts, Carlisle retains its compact historic core and is a charming visit. Formed in 1904 from the merger of Shaddongate United and Carlisle Red Rose, Carlisle United FC adopted its iconic blue kit, earning the nickname "The Blues." The club, based at Brunton Park since 1909, has had an eventful journey through the English football pyramid, marked by periods of success and struggle. Formed in 1904, Carlisle United joined the Lancashire Combination in 1905, winning Division Two in 1906–07, and the North Eastern League in 1921–22. Elected to the Football League in 1928, they reached the First Division in 1974–75 for one season. Promotions under Alan Ashman (1964–65) and Bob Stokoe, plus a 2005 play-off win under Paul Simpson, marked their history. They’ve reached the Football League Trophy final six times, winning in 1997 and 2011. As of 2025, they compete in the National League, embodying the spirit of their "Cumbrian" supporters.   The club’s badge mirrors Carlisle’s coat of arms, first used in 1950–51 during an FA Cup tie against Arsenal. It incorporates symbols tied to the city’s ancient and medieval past, reflecting its borderland identity.The Red Cross and Gold RoseAt the badge’s heart is a golden shield with a red patonce cross, its ends expanded, derived from Sir William de Carlyell, a 13th–14th-century landowner in Cumberland and Scotland. His marriage to Margaret Bruce linked him to Robert the Bruce, tying the cross to the Anglo-Scottish conflicts, including the First War of Scottish Independence and the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. This cross symbolizes Carlisle’s role as a contested border city. As if to ‘hammer’ the point home (excuse the pun) the gold rose at the cross’s center, is the badge of King Edward I who was known as "The Hammer of the Scots," due to his campaigns in Scotland.   Above the shield sits a mural crown, a heraldic symbol representing a fortified city. This element nods to Carlisle Castle, a dominant feature of the city’s skyline and history. Built in 1093 and rebuilt in stone in 1112, the castle has been a military bastion, prison, and symbol of Carlisle’s strategic importance. Its inclusion on the badge underscores the club’s ties to the city’s martial past and its role as a protector of the border. Flanking the shield are two red wyverns, legendary dragons with wings and serpentine tails. These are a reference to Carlisle’s role in the the ancient Kingdom of Cumbria, known as Rheged. Rheged, part of the Hen Ogledd ("Old North"), likely centered on Carlisle and may have into Lancashire and Galloway. Its people spoke Cumbric, a Celtic dialect. Known mostly through its surviving poetry, Rheged was led by King Urien, a figure in Arthurian legend, and fell to Northumbria by 730.   The scroll beneath the shield bears the motto “Be just and fear not,” a quote from Shakespeare’s Henry VIII, spoken by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey to Thomas Cromwell. This motto, adopted by the city in 1924,iInterestingly, this creates a subtle connection to my home town team of Ipswich Town FC. Wolsey, a native of Ipswich, is a historical figure celebrated here almost as much as Ed Sheeran is. The green mount beneath the shield represents the lush, rural landscape surrounding Carlisle, a nod to the 98% of the district that is rural despite its urban core. This element grounds the badge in the geography of Cumbria, with its rivers and flood plains shaping the city’s character and challenges. However, the club’s crest history includes a notable deviation in the 1970s when Carlisle adopted a fox motif, reflecting the local legend of huntsman John Peel. John Peel, born near Caldbeck, Cumberland, around 1776, was a farmer and fox hunter who became a local legend, immortalized in song for his hunting exploits with his hounds. The club’s nickname became "The Foxes." The badge then, featuring a golden fox leaping over the initials C.U.F.C. or later a fox’s head with Carlisle Castle and a ring of stars, became iconic. A stuffed fox named Olga (an anagram of "goal") was carried onto the pitch by the mascot. Since 1995, the club has reverted to the city’s coat of arms, though fox-themed merchandise remains popular, preserving the legacy of Olga the Fox. For Carlisle United, the badge is a reminder of their unique place in English football as the closest club to Scotland, a symbol of their borderland resilience, and a tribute to a city that has weathered invasions, floods and opposing fans every weekend who have made the long trek North to Brunton Park.

Gateshead Football Club was founded in 1977, taking the place of Gateshead United after years of clubs folding and reforming in this corner of the North East. Football in Gateshead has always been precarious but passionate, a story of resilience. The Heed – or the Tynesiders – wear their history with pride, carrying on the legacy of earlier incarnations like Gateshead AFC, who played in the Football League from 1930–1960.   It’s worth remembering that the tale actually begins across the water: in 1899 Jack Inskip formed South Shields Adelaide Athletic, the club that would climb into the League after the First World War. By 1930, financial strain pushed a move upriver: FA approval came in July and a new side, Gateshead, kicked off at Redheugh Park – a pitch carved from what locals called the “Clay Hole.” They ran out in claret shirts with light blue sleeves, then cycled through colours – even black-and-white stripes – until benefactor Bill Tulip, famous for the white orchid in his lapel, inspired the now-familiar white shirts and black shorts.   Gateshead made a mark. In 1931/32 they missed promotion to Division Two on goal average; in 1953 they stunned Liverpool in the FA Cup, then went out in the quarter-finals to a Nat Lofthouse goal for Bolton, the eventual winners. Yet League life ended cruelly: despite finishing above others, Gateshead were voted out in 1960 (Peterborough replaced them) and even a bold application to join the Scottish League came to nothing. After the rises and falls of Gateshead Town and Gateshead United, the present club was built from the wreckage in 1977.   Obviously Newcastle is famously a ‘one-team city’ (and, yes, that aura was attractive to the new owners when they bought the Premier League outfit). And only the staunchest Heed fans would wish their cross-town neighbours true ill. But it would be remiss to ignore the rising presence of Gateshead FC.   Since their rebirth, Gateshead have battled through the Northern Premier League, won titles in the 1980s, returned to the Conference (now National League), and reached Wembley in 2014. Demoted in 2019 over off-field issues, they won National League North (2021–22) to bounce back, then lifted a first FA Trophy (2024) after finishing runners-up the year before. It’s all very Gateshead: knocked down, get back up.   They play at Gateshead International Stadium – built on reclaimed industrial land once home to Victorian chemical works. Since the 1970s it’s hosted world-class athletics (five world records and the Gateshead Games), rugby league, and rollicking concerts – and while it isn’t a quaint football ground, it has become a home the Heed Army can call their own.   The people in those seats are drawn from a community shaped by coal mining, shipbuilding, steel and heavy industry. Gateshead, just across the Tyne from Newcastle, has long been a town of grafters whose livelihoods were tied to the rivers and pits. Football here belongs to them – a badge for a place too often in the shadow of its bigger neighbour.   That badge used to be rooted in civic heraldry: the old goat’s head (a nod to the Venerable Bede’s ad caput capreae), the portcullis and gateway tower for the town’s name, waves for the Tyne, and crosses recalling Gateshead’s ancient place within the Palatinate of Durham. Today, the club crest carries a different guardian – one the whole world now recognises.     Unveiled in 1998, the Angel of the North is Antony Gormley’s colossal steel angel: 20 metres tall, 54-metre wingspan – wider than a Boeing 757 – seen by an estimated 33 million people a year from the A1, A167 and the East Coast Main Line. Built in COR-TEN weathering steel by Hartlepool Steel Fabrications, its vertical ribs act as an external skeleton, shedding ferocious North-East winds into deep concrete foundations. Gormley cast the figure from his own body; the wings tilt 3.5° forward for a sense of embrace. Crucially, it stands on the site of a former colliery: men once worked in darkness below; above ground, the Angel meets the light.   Commissioned by Gateshead Council, it was contested at first – derided as a “rusty monstrosity” – but it has become a loved landmark and a shorthand for the North East’s resilience and reinvention. It is now as much a part of Gateshead’s identity as the river bridges are to Tyneside.   Gateshead are here to stay – and they’re not a million miles off the EFL, which would make Newcastle, whisper it, a two-team city. If you want the romance: the club’s badge is the Angel because football here, like the town itself, has risen from hardship to stand tall, arms outstretched, guarding the people of Tyneside.

At first glance, this isn’t the most revealing of team badges, and I initially thought I might skip it. But I was wrong – this team has an incredible history.   Let’s start with the badge. To be fair, it doesn’t take a Dan Brown to decode the four segments. The blue and white checks represent their team colours. The three lions signify their base in England. The Middlesex three swords (note, they face the opposite direction to the Essex blades) represent their location in Middlesex. And the football… well, that’s pretty self-explanatory.   However, hear me out – the team’s history is fascinating.   The origins of Wealdstone FC (though arguably, this was a different team that first took the name, disbanded, and was later re-formed) lie with two teams from the same company. The gun manufacturer Cogswell & Harrison fielded two teams: a "blue collar" team of factory workers known as The Oaks, and a "white collar" team made up of clerks and office workers, who played under the company name. Both teams competed in the same local league, and it was no surprise that the factory workers’ team proved to be significantly better. They continued playing, and in 1888, they dropped "The Oaks" from their name and became Wealdstone FC. They competed against another local team, Watford Rovers, now known as Watford FC.   I love this tale of two teams, and it seems a shame there’s no hint of their origins – perhaps some crossed shotguns – on the crest to reflect this backstory. Cogswell & Harrison still exists today, claiming to be "London’s oldest surviving gunmaker." These days, they craft high-end hunting rifles and shotguns – exquisite pieces of craftsmanship (I say "exquisite" because they’re beautifully made, not because I’m a gun enthusiast). They focus on the luxury shooting and hunting market, producing shotguns you might see slung over the shoulder of a royal on a Scottish estate.   The company made its mark in the 1870s, manufacturing weapons for the French during the Franco-Prussian War (a conflict few in Britain know much about, though it involved over 2 million men and resulted in more than 180,000 deaths). It was almost certainly the men who made these weapons who formed the early football teams.   The company was also significant in both World Wars, producing arms for the British military. During the First World War, Wealdstone FC, like other amateur teams, was suspended, and ten of their players lost their lives in the Great War. A memorial stained-glass window now stands in the team’s clubhouse in their honour.   The wars further shaped the club. Wealdstone’s ground, Grosvenor Vale (which also hosts Watford’s women’s team), has a Grade II listed WWII anti-aircraft turret in the north-east corner. Built in 1940, it guarded an underground bunker constructed in 1936 to store bombs for nearby RAF airfields and bomber squadrons.   Many of Wealdstone’s early matches were in Middlesex leagues that included RAF and Army regiment teams.   More recently, and this is a unique claim to fame, Wealdstone was part of the first-ever televised game. In 1946, the BBC recorded and later broadcast footage of a local derby between Wealdstone and Barnet (a rivalry given extra spice today, as Barnet's current manager, Dean Brennan, left Wealdstone for Barnet in 2021).   As if the tale of weapons manufacturers and anti-aircraft turrets wasn’t rugged enough, Wealdstone’s two most famous former players are Stuart Pearce and Vinnie Jones – two men well-known for making their presence felt on the pitch.   Wealdstone boasts a gritty and noble history tied to Britain’s industrial past. Love it.