I thought the ‘noles was the normal shorthand for the team, like “devils” for the “blue devils”, and “tide” for “Crimson Tide”, and ‘canes for “miami hurricanes”.
I can’t imagine they are trying not to use the name “Seminoles”. That is not derogatory, it is the official name of a population that is native to the area, and that tribe is apparently happy to have it’s name associated with the team.
The whole game their fans sang what I'd call a war hoop and had the 'tomahawks' out. ...surely making liberals, in their PC world, cringe.
...a war whoop?
Seminoles Nickname Not a Problem at Florida State
The university, in fact, refuses to call the horse and rider its mascots, choosing instead to call them symbols of the Seminole that represents the school's sports teams.
Neither tribal President Tony Sanchez Jr., nor Chairman James Billie responded to interview requests from The Associated Press. But in an interview last month on CNN, Billie made it clear that neither the Redskins controversy nor any other outside force would alter the position tribal leaders agreed upon decades ago.
"Anybody come here into Florida trying to tell us to change the name, they better go someplace else, because we're not changing the name," Billie said.