FanPost

Return of the Cleveland Blues?

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Don't mean to be misleading with the title... there are no such plans in the works. It's just that recently I've been thinking about the Tribe's Chief Wahoo conundrum quite a bit. I think it was ignited by my roommate's brother trading in his birthday present (a Nationals cap) for a Yankees cap. I asked him "why not a Tribe cap?" and in short, he responded that he didn't agree with Chief Wahoo (he is of Native American ancestry). He isn't vehemently anti-Cleveland, just wouldn't feel comfortable about wearing the Chief.

So I was hoping we could have a discussion about something without sparking a rash of vitriol. What could we call the Indians if we dropped the Chief (and therefore, logically, the entire name)?

For most people, the issue with getting rid of the Chief is tradition. It is our team's identity. Our city's identity. What would happen if New York got rid of the crooked "NY" or Detroit the old English "D"? Just wouldn't seem right, would it? So for me the challenge would be to find an identity with some sort of tradition. I think we can all agree that the worst possible thing would be to rename the team something "modern" and inevitably cheesy (cough, RAYS, cough) and deck ourselves out in spiffy new duds that look like they were designed by 15 year-old extreme sports fans strung out on Red Bull (cough, "D-Backs," cough).

So where does that leave us?

  • Spiders? No thanks, I'll avoid the constant reminders of the worst team ever as well as the heightened possibility of cheesy marketing.
  • Broncos? Never seen one in Cleveland.
  • Forest Cities? Um... Nothing strikes fear into the heart of opponents like trees.
  • Naps? Just no.
  • Blues? Bingo! I feel like there are tons of benefits to this choice, namely:
    1. It's traditional in that the team actually used to exist, but it really is neutral in terms of the memories it evokes. There's no stigma like "worst team ever" and no history of dominance that would lead to unreasonable expectations or seem arrogant.
    2. It's simple and elegant. Caps could be adorned with a simple "CB" or separate "C" and "B" caps for different occasions.
    3. It plays in perfectly to the Cleveland/Cinci intrastate rivalry. Reds vs. Blues? tell me that's not a great marketing opportunity!
  • So what do you guys think? Again, I'd prefer if this thread didn' t turn into a dumping ground for Chief Wahoo gripes and that we just discuss the Blues idea.

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