Actually, I've never liked the Pilgrims nickname. I'm not sure when it was first adopted actually (does anyone know?) but the Maylower crest was first used in the early to mid sixties, and what we now call the Mayflower side was, I think, only known as that after the small, seated area at the back of the terraces under the grandstand was installed in the late sixties, when the city was building up to the 'Mayflower 350' celebrations in 1970. Before that the club used the city's coat of arms as the crest.
The nickname itself has, in my experience, never really been used by fans in 'normal' conversation. These days most would say 'the greens' though when I was a kid 'the gyles' was still quite common (still use it myself when speaking to people who 'get it'). The only time I really remember anything like regular reference to it was when the Demport used to sing the old 'To Be A Pilgrim' hymn in the sixties.
Apart from that, I don't really think that naming ourselves after a miserable bunch of 17th century puritans is ideal. If they'd had their way there would be no time for such frivolity as playing football and our time would be far better spent in quiet contemplation of the God and all his works with maybe a little self-flagellation thrown in for good measure.
Yes, we should celebrate our nautical heritage, but (as Bristol Rovers have already nicked 'Pirates') we should maybe look to the exploits of Sir Francis Drake rather than a load of killjoys from the Midlands who couldn't wait to get out of the place. Maybe 'The Swashbucklers' or something.
On the subject of nicknames, there seem to be some that are genuinely used by fans, but I suspect that most of these are ones that have been established for years or that have sort of come about 'organically', whilst many are a bit contrived or have bern invented by PR departments or something. One that intrigues me is 'Eagles' at Crystal Palace. When I was a nipper they were 'The Glaziers' and the crest was an idealised picture of the Crystal Palace built in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition in 1851, then dismantled and rebuilt in South London before bring destroyed by fire in 1936. The eagle is now featured in the club crest but I had a feeling that the nickname 'Eagles' came about as a result of Palace's rivalry with Brighton (Seagulls) and was born out of the fans chanting rather than through any sort of PR exercise. Perhaps our resident Palace fan can enlighten me.
Other than that, which clubs do others think have nicknames that are genuinely used hy fans in a day to day basis (my local team, Mansfield, are regularly referred to as t'Stags round these parts gor instance) and which are just things used by journalists or on official websites etc?
And who else, like me, likes the Scottish club nicknames which just seem much more quirky and strange like 'The Bully Wee' (Clyde), 'The Gable Endies' (Montrose), and 'The Honest Men' (Ayr Utd). These are all old, established ones with stories behind them, but there are also newer, fan inspired ones like my favourite 'The Blue Brazil' which Cowdenbeath fans bestowed on their their team with great irony.
