Did the "Devil Rays" become the "Rays" because of pressure from christian freks?

My son claims this is not the reason but I'm so paranoid about these douchebags that I'd believe anything.

The same way the Diamondbacks are now the D-backs (sort of), and the White Stockings, and Whales, and Pilots, etc...

They even changed their colors.

There is a fundie group that's trying to get the word Devil taken out of team and food product names, such as Duke Blue Devils and Deviled Eggs, but no one takes them seriously and they didn't influence the ball team.

Tampa Bay's baseball team has not even taken the field and already it is getting booed - by Christians, for God's sake.

The problem is the name - the Devil Rays. People say they are happy to have the Rays, but many say they definitely could do without the Devil.

Some object because they think that using the word devil - even as part of a longer name - desensitizes people to evil in the world. In their view, the only one who should be happy with the name is the devil himself.

"I'm not interested in giving Satan any free publicity. He gets enough as it is," said the Rev. Bob L. Christie of Lake Maggiore Baptist Church in St. Petersburg. He said he considers Devil Rays "a lousy name."...

"I can't understand how they can choose a name with devil in it. Devil to me means death, destruction, evil," said Louis Dibileo, a Catholic from Oldsmar.

"I just don't want to be associated with anything with the word devil in it - especially if I'm going to be cheering for the Devils," said Nancy Davis, a Presbyterian who lives in Seminole.

Asked about Christian objections to the name, team owner Vince Naimoli, a graduate of Notre Dame, said, "I'm a Christian. The name has nothing whatsoever to do with the devil. It's a fish."

There is still a chance that fans can exorcise the devil from the name. Through March 17, Naimoli said, fans are invited to call (813) 288-8035 and choose between two names - the Devil Rays and the Manta Rays...

Many pastors and lay people said they're upset with team owners for choosing what they consider an offensive name when so many benign ones were available.

Elder Clarence Welch of Prayer Tower Church of God in St. Petersburg said, "As a Christian, I have to be against that kind of name." Welch often raises the specter of the devil in his sermons.

The Rev. Eldon Earnest of Bay Point Christian Church in St. Petersburg half-seriously suggested an alternative: The God Squad.

"Even if a devil ray is just a sea creature, the word devil is still in there," he said.

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/21415770.html?MAC=ad38c124ad48ca12685f5583c4f669b9&did=21415770&FMT=FT&FMTS=FT&date=Mar+10,+1995&author=MIKE+WILSON&printformat=&desc=Christians+have+no+sympathy+for+devil+Series:+TAMPA+BAY+DEVIL+RAYS

I don't think fundies or PC folks had a think to do with it...just marketing...

oh, and by the way....

headed for the world series...

the fundies hated the original name 13 years ago when it was announced, but was never a 'point of public interest' since....

they went from being permanent last place losers to being 1 game away from the World Series. It's pretty obvious that God has rewarded the team for excising Satan, the Prince of Darkness, from their jerseys. Or it could just be that several years of good scouting, developing the farm system, and shrewd trades have finally paid off. Who knows. Too bad the Mets don't have some kind of satanic reference they could also remove in the hope of reaping a similar reward.

;-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Rays

(snip)
Through the 2007 season, the franchise was called the "Tampa Bay Devil Rays", an allusion to the fierce-looking (but completely harmless) manta ray. Common abbreviations for the Devil Rays marque were "D-Rays" or "Rays".

In November 2007, majority owner Stuart Sternberg decided to make drastic changes and renamed his team the "Tampa Bay Rays", which he described as "A beacon that radiates throughout Tampa Bay and across the entire state of Florida." <1>

With the name change, the teams' primary colors were also changed from black, green, and blue to navy blue, Columbia blue, and gold.

(FEIW, I'm was born in Stockton.)

My guess is no. It's really a mouthful to say Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and I think that's the reason the name was shortened. Regardless of what, if any, influence religious zealots may have had in the decision, I'm glad it was shortened.

:shrug: