Go Yard Goats! Baa baa baa.
The minor league baseball team New Britain Rock Cats, who are moving to Hartford, Connecticut for the 2016 season, have officially changed their name to the Hartford Yard Goats. The change comes in thanks to thousands of votes from baseball fans all over the Internet.
The new team name is... pic.twitter.com/eTafXRvmPr— New Britain RockCats (@RockCats) March 18, 2015
The team accepted nearly 6,000 submissions, but narrowed the selections down to five, including the Hedgehogs, the Praying Mantis, the River Hogs and the Whirly Birds. And, of course, the crème of the Internet crop, Yard Goats.
SB Nation even encouraged their readers to vote for the awkward, bleating animal as the team's mascot.
According to CT Now, the term also has roots in the railroad industry and “honors Hartford’s rich rail history," but fans of the Internet know better.
Fans have not been sheepish about tweeting their hilarious suggestions for the team's next steps at they clop their way to their new home.
when I saw "yard goats" trending I thought I'd find videos of goats on the loose, getting chased or something... and then... baseball. -__-— Rachel A DeMita (@RADeMita) March 18, 2015
THEY'RE ALREADY PRACTICING #YardGoats pic.twitter.com/GQxaJSPx8q— BURTS (@emburr1) March 18, 2015
Altho the Hartford yard goats... the crowd chant could just be everyone screaming like screaming goats— Travis McHugh (@travisaintagoat) March 4, 2015
Hoping this will be the logo. #YardGoats pic.twitter.com/fng43MqmYz— Darren Kramer (@DarrenKramer8) March 18, 2015
Hartford Yard Goats hat should feature a goat eating a hat, on which a goat is eating a hat, and so on into infinity.— Steve Rushin (@SteveRushin) March 18, 2015