Wildcat: Up or down?

Even though I think it's a proper noun (because it came from the name of a team) AP won't capitalize it some of its stories. I'm sure there's no "proper" style, but what does everyone else do?

 

At my last shop the style was down.

At my next one, when I'm back in the driver's seat, it'll be up.

 

Our style has always been formation names are up -- Wishbone, Run-and-shoot, Wildcat, Veer, Wing-T, etc. The only exception I see in our stylebook is shotgun, and I have no idea why.

 

I think Herald style was lower-case, but I forget. Most of the papers, magazines, etc. I read use capitalization on formation names. Actually, what the W/wildcat needs is a better name altogether.

 

I put specific schemes; i.e. Wing-T, Wishbone up.

But spread is so generic that I go down.

So I suppose the argument is whether the Wildcat is specific enough to warrant upstyle.

I made my choice just there.

 

What about west coast offense?

 

How about calling it what it really is -- the Single Wing.

 

Joe, it isn't a single wing, because there are two, not three guys in the backfield between the tackles. It's a double-wing, because the quarterback is split out. Of course, the double-wing was just a frill placed on the single wing when teams actually had guys who could pass. Then they cut to the chase and went to the T-formation.

 

West Coast is capitalized on its own, so West Coast offense would be as well.

Zeke, I think wishbone is generic enough to be down. And I think I've used wing-T in the past, but I could be making that up.

 

coke or Coke?

 

It's a basic formation. It just has the running back lining up at quarterback, which wouldn't make him a running back at all.

 

My paper has it lowercase now, and I disagree. It's taken from a proper noun, and just because that proper noun also exists as a common noun doesn't mean you take away the word's origin. If it were called the Genesee or the Pasqualoni, you wouldn't lowercase it, right?

I think the term is getting overused, to where any offensive play not involving the starting quarterback taking the snap is called a Wildcat formation. There are variations where the regular QB lines up as a receiver that aren't necessarily Wildcat plays.