A pennant is a commemorative

pennon A pennon, also known as a pennant or pendant, is a long narrow flag which is larger at the Hoist (flag), hoist than at the Fly (flag), fly, i.e., the flag narrows as it moves away from the flagpole. It can have several shapes, such as triangular ...

typically used to show support for a particular athletic

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

. Pennants have been historically used in all types of athletic levels: high school, collegiate,

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

etc. Traditionally, pennants were made of

felt Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic fiber, acrylic or acrylonitrile or ...

and fashioned in the official colors of a particular team. Often graphics, usually the

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

symbol, as well as the team name were displayed on pennants. The images displayed on pennants were either stitched on with contrasting colored felt or had

screen-printing Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a Substrate (printing), substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen i ...

. Today, vintage pennants with rare images or honoring special victories have become prized collectibles for sporting enthusiasts. While pennants are typically associated with athletic teams, pennants have also been made to honor institutions and vacation spots, often acting as

souvenir A souvenir ( French for 'a remembrance or memory'), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and trans ...

Association football

The swapping of pennants between captains before a match is also a long-held tradition in association football.

Australian sports

In Australian sports, the term "flag" is used in the same context. The first ever "flag" was awarded to Fitzroy after the club won the 1895 VFA premiership, and gave rise to the tradition of the "flag" being unfurled at the premiership club's first home match of the following season.

Baseball

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, a pennant typically refers to such a flag flown specifically by the National League and

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

champions of a given season, or to such a championship itself. The last few weeks of the regular American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

season are known as a pennant race: this is a reference to the period between 1876 and 1968 when the League championships were determined by the team with the best record at the end of the regular season. The pennant winners earn the right to play in MLB's championship series, the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

. Since 1969, the pennant winners have been determined by the National and American

League Championship Series The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, ...

-- which are similar to the NBA's and the NHL's Conference Finals and the NFC and AFC Championship Games in the NFL.

References

Association football culture Australian rules football culture Baseball culture Sports paraphernalia Sports memorabilia Association football fandom {{baseball-stub

Association football

Australian sports

Baseball

See also

References