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Ranking the new NFL hashtags from first to worst

Noah Frank | nfrank@wtop.com

September 9, 2016, 3:00 PM

As NFL fans know, Twitter released hashtags for each team Wednesday. The hashtags themselves automatically attach an emoji, the same way the Rio Olympics hashtags did. But instead of simply running with their team nicknames, many clubs went in another direction. Some of these were inspired by years of team history and tradition. Some … were not. Some of the emjois look great. Others, not so much. WTOP ranked all 32, using completely arbitrary tiebreakers only an institution like the NFL could be proud of. WTOP broke down rankings into five categories: originality, likability, likelihood of fan usage, troll proofness, and an emoji score. For the fan usage metric, we used a combination of how natural the hashtag is with the estimated peak usage 24 hours after the hashtag was released. This should have helped to filter out those using the bad ones ironically or to make fun of them from Wednesday. So here we go — all 32 teams, ranked from first to worst …
1. #GoPackGo – Green Bay Packers Many people hate the Packers and their fans, and the very chant “Go Pack Go,” but all of that just makes this a more effective hashtag. You could see a “No Pack No” situation arising if they lose a big game, but the history and tradition paired with a perfect rendering of the iconic G logo makes this one the best of the bunch. Originality: 4/5 Likability: 3/5 Fan Usage: 4/5 Troll Proof: 3/5 Emoji: 5/5 Total Score: 19/25 (Twitter/@Packers)
Twitter/@Packers
2. #RaiderNation – Oakland Raiders With deep roots in the team’s rabid fan base, this hashtag is an easy fit and works very well. It’s hard to find much fault across the board, although the classic logo just doesn’t look the same on a white background as a black one, and nuance of the eye patch is lost a bit when it’s reduced that far. Originality: 4/5 Likability: 4/5 Fan Usage: 4/5 Troll Proof: 4/5 Emoji: 3/5 Total Score: 19/25 (Twitter/@Raiders)
Twitter/@Raiders
3. #HTTR – Washington Redskins Regardless of what you think of the team name, this slogan has a long history and fans have been saying and tweeting it for years. And especially given the controversy that lingers around the nickname, this is a no brainer for the team to pick. The logo is crowded, but still easily recognizable. Originality: 5/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 4/5 Troll Proof: 3/5 Emoji: 3/5 Total Score: 17/25 (Twitter/@Redskins)
Twitter/@Redskins
4. #WhoDey – Cincinnati Bengals This is one of those that looks awful to those non-Bengals fans, but actually has a rich tradition. Fans have been using the phrase since the 80s, and it resonated enough that in 1997, the team actually named its mascot Who Dey. Yes, that’s the name of the Bengal. Say what you will, but it works for Cincinnati. Originality: 4/5 Likability: 3/5 Fan Usage: 4/5 Troll Proof: 2/5 Emoji: 4/5 Total Score: 17/25 (Twitter/@Bengals)
Twitter/@Bengals
5. #Broncos – Denver Broncos Boring can be good, especially when you’re the champs. You don’t need gimmicks; you don’t need clever marketing. Who won the Super Bowl? Yes, us. The Broncos. You won’t forget it. The logo also looks good and is readily identifiable. Originality: 1/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 5/5 Troll Proof: 5/5 Emoji: 4/5 Total Score: 17/25 (Twitter/@Broncos)
Twitter/@Broncos
6. #Skol – Minnesota Vikings This originates from the Viking chant of “Skoll,” which literally meant the tradition of beheading an opponent after a victorious battle and drinking blood from his skull. Yep. Nowadays, though, it’s only evocative of a chewing tobacco. One could imagine some choice trolling opportunities here as well, thought the emoji is 100. Originality: 5/5 Likability: 3/5 Fan Usage: 2/5 Troll Proof: 1/5 Emoji: 5/5 Total Score: 16/25 (Twitter/@Vikings)
Twitter/@Vikings
7. #FlyEaglesFly – Philadelphia Eagles It’s easy to mock the Eagles, but the ability to use a long-standing team rallying cry here makes this one of the better options on the list. Of course, given the talent on the field, we may see more #CryEaglesCry this year. Originality: 4/5 Likability: 3/5 Fan Usage: 4/5 Troll Proof: 2/5 Emoji: 3/5 Total Score: 16/25 (Twitter/@Eagles)
Twitter/@Eagles
8. #GiantsPride – New York Giants There’s nothing to necessarily hate about this, which is a fairly safe play for the Giants. It’s tough sharing your name with a team in another sport, although the San Francisco Giants usually push #SFGiants to avoid confusion. #NYGiants was an option, but this works just fine, and the logo translates perfectly to emoji form. Originality: 3/5 Likability: 3/5 Fan Usage: 2/5 Troll Proof: 3/5 Emoji: 5/5 Total Score: 16/25 (Twitter/@Giants)
Twitter/@Giants
9. #Patriots – New England Patriots Another of the five teams to stick with the team nickname, you can just imagine someone handing Bill Belichick a list of potential hashtags and him crossing all of them off, or just tearing the sheet in half. The logo is ok, but not ideal in emoji size. Originality: 1/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 5/5 Troll Proof: 5/5 Emoji: 3/5 Total Score: 16/25 (Twitter/@Patriots)
Twitter/@Patriots
10. #Jaguars – Jacksonville Jaguars The Jags may not have the cache the Broncos or Pats do, but they made the right call not trying to get too cute here. Using the abbreviation “Jag” opens itself up to mockery, and a team on the rise should focus on the playing field instead of marketing ploys. Better safe than sorry. Originality: 1/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 5/5 Troll Proof: 5/5 Emoji: 3/5 Total Score: 16/25 (Twitter/@Jaguars)
Twitter/@Jaguars
11. #KeepPounding – Carolina Panthers This might rank lower on the list, but the Panthers used it last season as they ran away with the league’s best record, and even brought in celebrity fans like NBA MVP Stephen Curry to literally pound their drum to open games. Sometimes marketing slogans actually work. The panther logo gets lost a bit in emoji form, though, and just looks like a black rock. Originality: 4/5 Likability: 3/5 Fan Usage: 5/5 Troll Proof: 1/5 Emoji: 2/5 Total Score: 15/25 (Twitter/@Panthers)
Twitter/@Panthers
12. #FinsUp – Miami Dolphins Of all the “Up” hashtags, this one is the least nauseating. After all, at least dorsal fins face up. All in all, this is the most average of all across the board, including the emoji, which might look even better without the orange sun outline. Originality: 3/5 Likability: 3/5 Fan Usage: 3/5 Troll Proof: 3/5 Emoji: 3/5 Total Score: 15/25 (Twitter/@MiamiDolphins)
Twitter/@MiamiDolphins
13. #RiseUp – Atlanta Falcons I suppose falcons are birds, and birds fly, and generally up is a good direction for sports teams to go, so this is all well and good enough. It’s also the club’s marketing slogan, and not a terrible one. The best part, though, is the falcon emoji, which comes through crisp and clear. Originality: 3/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 2/5 Troll Proof: 3/5 Emoji: 5/5 Total Score: 15/25 (Twitter/@AtlantaFalcons)
Twitter/@AtlantaFalcons
14. #Chargers – San Diego Chargers I would expect nothing less of the most vanilla and easily ignorable franchise in the NFL than to simply stick with the team name. Something with “Bolts” might have played well here, but considering they went with just a lightning bolt for the emoji, I suppose the team name had to be in there to make it clear. Speaking of the bolt, if it was sharper, it would look a lot better. Originality: 1/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 5/5 Troll Proof: 5/5 Emoji: 2/5 Total Score: 15/25 (Twitter/@Chargers)
Twitter/@Chargers
15. #GoBills – Buffalo Bills Sure, it’s boring. But I applaud the Bills for not reaching here. Their notoriously rowdy and inebriated fan base doesn’t need anything fancy, and this is easy to remember and likely to be used, with little opportunity for it to be turned against them. The logo also translates well to and is easily recognizable in emoji form. Originality: 1/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 3/5 Troll Proof: 4/5 Emoji: 4/5 Total Score: 14/25 (Twitter/@BuffaloBills)
Twitter/@BuffaloBills
16. #DawgPound – Cleveland Browns The idea is rooted in Cleveland culture, but I don’t know if it’s the intentional misspelling or just the unmistakable stench of the Browns that makes it unappealing….it just is. Cleveland’s lack of a true logo or mascot gives them precious few choices, but this one is prime for mockery. Originality: 4/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 3/5 Troll Proof: 1/5 Emoji: 3/5 Total Score: 13/25 (Twitter/@Browns)
Twitter/@Browns
17. #WeAreTexans – Houston Texans This is the only grammatically and factually correct sentence among the hashtags, and it appeals to Texans’ deep love of their state. It’s may not be the most catchy or have the most cache, but it could be worse. If Houston falls flat on its face this season, though, what #WeAreTexans comes to mean might not work out so well. Originality: 2/5 Likability: 3/5 Fan Usage: 2/5 Troll Proof: 2/5 Emoji: 4/5 Total Score: 13/25 (Twitter/@HoustonTexans)
Twitter/@HoustonTexans
18. #OnePride – Detroit Lions Hey, get it? Like a pride of Lions? I’ll give them credit for originality, though I have a feeling this hashtag won’t get a ton of usage, especially if Detroit has a down season. Things could get even worse if they’re stuck on one win for a while. But hey, at least the lion emoji looks good. Originality: 4/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 1/5 Troll Proof: 2/5 Emoji: 4/5 Total Score: 13/25 (Twitter/@Lions)
Twitter/@Lions
20. #GoNiners – San Francisco 49ers This once-proud franchise somehow lacks the go-to phrase of the Packers or Raiders, but it still seems like they should have been able to do better than this lackluster effort. Meanwhile, the “F” in the logo gets swallowed up in emoji form, but football fans will still recognize it. Originality: 1/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 3/5 Troll Proof: 4/5 Emoji: 3/5 Total Score: 13/25 (Twitter/@49ers)
Twitter/@49ers
20. #SiegeTheDay – Tampa Bay Buccaneers Like “Seize the Day,” get it? No, not the Avenged Sevenfold song — like from the Latin saying Carpe Diem, from the Roman poet Horace. No, not carp like the fish. You know what? Never mind, Tampa. Originality: 4/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 2/5 Troll Proof: 2/5 Emoji: 3/5 Total Score: 13/25 (Twitter/@TBBuccaneers)
Twitter/@TBBuccaneers
21. #WeAre12 – Seattle Seahawks Seattle’s fan identity is tied to its 12th man persona, one which it may claim as its own in the NFL, but whose roots were planted at Texas A&M. Thankfully for the Seahawks, they open with three pretty bad teams, making the odds of a “we are 1-2” troll slim, but any fan base that loves itself as much as Seattle’s will always be open to mocking. Also, the “12” emoji looks downright bizarre next to the “12” in the hashtag, and is the only one that has nothing to do with the team itself. Originality: 3/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 4/5 Troll Proof: 2/5 Emoji: 1/5 Total Score: 12/25 (Twitter/@Seahawks)
Twitter/@Seahawks
22. #ForTheShoe – Indianapolis Colts Yikes. The team claims that this is a popular saying among the players, but it reeks of a forced marketing campaign. And it’s hard to get super inspired by playing for some inanimate design. Besides, most football fans probably associate “The Shoe” with Ohio State. But hey, you do you, Indy. Originality: 3/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 1/5 Troll Proof: 2/5 Emoji: 4/5 Total Score: 12/25 (Twitter/@Colts)
Twitter/@Colts
23. #HereWeGo – Pittsburgh Steelers I understand that “Here We Go” has been a fight song for the Steelers for decades, but could there be a more generic slogan/hashtag in the English language? This was literally Bud Light’s marketing campaign in 2012. Your Pittsburgh Steelers: The Bud Light of the NFL. At least the emoji would be top notch, if it weren’t for the illegible team name scribbled in the logo. Originality: 1/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 3/5 Troll Proof: 2/5 Emoji: 3/5 Total Score: 11/25 (Twitter/@Steelers)
Twitter/@Steelers
24. #ChiefsKingdom – Kansas City Chiefs The Chiefs avoided a potential disaster by trying to coopt any Native American history or imagery here, but what kingdom, exactly are they trying to reference? The franchise’s last title came the year we first put a man on the moon. A simple #Chiefs would have been better and given them a higher spot, even if the emoji is mediocre. Originality: 2/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 3/5 Troll Proof: 2/5 Emoji: 2/5 Total Score: 11/25 (Twitter/@Chiefs)
Twitter/@Chiefs
25. #MobSquad – LA Rams This is another slogan pulled from the players into team marketing. But it’s worse than Indy’s because it was born of the St. Louis Rams before their owner left the city high and dry for the riches of LA. The least the Rams could do is attempt a clean start, not constantly torment their old fans with an identity born in that city. Also, that emoji looks like it’s got hoop earrings. Originality: 5/5 Likability: 2/5 Fan Usage: 1/5 Troll Proof: 2/5 Emoji: 1/5 Total Score: 11/25 (Twitter/@RamsNFL)
Twitter/@RamsNFL
26. #Saints50 – New Orleans Saints This is a tough one for Saints fans, who had “Who Dat” coopted by the NFL and couldn’t fall back on their familiar rallying cry. Nobody will use this instead of just #Saints, which is what the team should have stuck with. The emoji would be an easy 5/5, but the outline can get fuzzy and muddled when reduced in size. Originality: 2/5 Likability: 1/5 Fan Usage: 1/5 Troll Proof: 3/5 Emoji: 4/5 Total Score: 11/25 (Twitter/@Saints)
Twitter/@Saints
27. #FeedDaBears – Chicago Bears Wait, why not just go with #DaBears? Does SNL have some sort of trademark over that phrase? Aren’t we supposed to not feed the bears? This seems like a missed opportunity, much like many of Jay Cutler’s deep passes to open receivers. Even a classic emoji can’t save this disaster. Originality: 2/5 Likability: 1/5 Fan Usage: 2/5 Troll Proof: 1/5 Emoji: 5/5 Total Score: 11/25 (Twitter/@ChicagoBears)
Twitter/@ChicagoBears
28. #RavensFlock – Baltimore Ravens A group of ravens, if you can believe it, is actually called an “unkindness.” It can also be called a “conspiracy.” And never mind what a group of that other black bird is called…I guess flock doesn’t sound so bad when dealing with Baltimore’s football team. That being said, it’s hard to imagine anyone getting to excited about this one. Why not just stick with #Ravens? Originality: 2/5 Likability: 1/5 Fan Usage:  1/5 Troll Proof: 3/5 Emoji: 3/5 Total Score: 10/25 (Twitter/@Ravens)
Twitter/@Ravens
29. #DallasCowboys – Dallas Cowboys I understand the plight of the Cowboys, as there are plenty of other uses for #Cowboys out there, but it feels like they could have done something better here. Honestly, I’m kind of surprised we didn’t see #AmericasTeam here. The double outline on the star keeps what could have been the best emoji from looking sharp. Originality: 1/5 Likability: 1/5 Fan Usage: 1/5 Troll Proof: 4/5 Emoji: 3/5 Total Score: 10/25 (Twitter/@DallasCowboys)
Twitter/@DallasCowboys
30. #BeRedSeeRed – Arizona Cardinals Yikes. The Cardinals are cornered a bit by both the St. Louis baseball team and the strangely large amount of bird mascots in their sport, but this is terrible. Originality: 2/5 Likability: 1/5 Fan Usage: 1/5 Troll Proof: 2/5 Emoji: 3/5 Total Score: 9/25 (Twitter/@AZCardinals)
Twitter/@AZCardinals
31. #JetUp – New York Jets This seems like a missed opportunity for simplicity. While #JETSJetsJetsJets might be a bit much, a simple all caps #JETS would do the trick, mimicking the logo and still registering even if fans forget to type it in all caps. And Jet Up? What? This is a flop. Originality: 2/5 Likability: 1/5 Fan Usage: 1/5 Troll Proof: 2/5 Emoji: 2/5 Total Score: 8/25 (Twitter/@NYJets)
Twitter/@NYJets
32. #TitanUp – Tennessee Titans Wait, is this supposed to evoke the phrase “tighten up?” Because that makes me uncomfortable in several different ways. It’s also prime trolling territory, and hard to imagine the fan base getting, uh, behind. Even the logo gets swallowed up in this one, which is a general disaster. Originality: 2/5 Likability: 1/5 Fan Usage: 1/5 Troll Proof: 1/5 Emoji: 2/5 Total Score: 7/25 (Twitter/@Titans)
Twitter/@Titans
(1/33)

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