What do you do as a fan when you strongly dislike your team's branding?

[Mingjai]

I curious what my forum members do when they strongly dislike or even hate their team's branding, logos, jerseys, etc.? Of course there are various degrees to the ways you can dislike your team's branding ranging to hating your team's uniforms to hating the entire branding package, from the colors to the logo to the uniforms.

 

Here's an example for me: As many here might be aware, I am a 3rd generation BYU grad and felt a sense of nostalgia when BYU brought back some traditional elements to their athletics brand back in 2005.

 

I was fine with the continued use of navy blue instead of reverting to royal, but two things annoyed me about the resurrection of the past aesthetics: First, the oval-Y logo is completely overused, especially compared to the past. Before, the oval-Y was basically a football-only logo, and the other athletic teams used other logos like the simple block-Y or the BYU with the cougar on top. Beginning with the 2005 revival, the oval-Y became ubiquitous, on basketball uniforms, on volleyball courts, etc. That said, this overuse is basically only an annoyance, causing me to roll me eyes when I see the logo on, e.g., basketball shorts.

 

The second item--pertaining to the treatment of the oval-Y on a blue background--goes beyond annoyance, reaching levels of strong dislike bordering on hate. In it's glory days of the 1980s and 90s, the oval-Y was only seen on the football helmets, and therefore only as a blue oval with white Y.* When it was resurrected in 2005, the logo's colors were inverted into a white oval with blue Y when put on a blue background. This makes the Y appear as negative space in the logo, and has always bothered my eye. What should have been done was basically what the Packers do with their G logo on a green background--i.e., don't recolor the logo, just add a stroke around the oval.

 

My dislike for the inverted-color oval-Y logo was strong enough that I decided to not purchase any item of clothing with this logo on it. Since then, I've stuck to my principles, except that given my love for jerseys, I've had to compromise on the football jerseys, which have the logo as a small patch on the collar. But that's it--I don't own any other apparel or accessories with this logo on it.

 

I'm curious what fans of other teams (e.g., Buffalo Sabres, Miami Dolphins) have done when their team's aesthetics bother them?

 

 

* I recognize that for a few years in the late 60s, BYU football used a helmet logo with a white oval and blue block Y, but those were during the obscure, pre-LaVell Edwards years of BYU football.

 

 

[_DietDrPepper_]

Bengals should step out of the basement, uniform wise, stuck in the 2000s

[IceCap]

I just don't buy their gear. I think I bought one "Black Jays" cap for that identity's tenure? Other than that I didn't buy anything. Same with the Leafs and their initial EDGE sweaters that lacked hem stripes. I just didn't buy a Leafs sweater until they changed.

 

It's easier than you might think, especially if you have gear in the previous style that you like.

[joekono]

I hated the BFBS Mets. As Ice Cap stated, DON'T BUY THE GEAR. I wanted to throw paint on someone's black Mets jersey like they do to fur wearers but he wasn't finished with his bottle yet.

[PrimalCookie]

I’ve never been in this situation before, but if the Texans switched to a Titans-style look tomorrow I just wouldn’t buy any of the gear.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

My dislike of a team's uniform profoundly affects my level of interest in the team.  I have pretty much stopped caring about the Nets, on account of their uniform.

I'd like to say that I followed @Ice_Cap's suggestion and didn't buy the gear.  But in fact I have several Nets hats that I got right after they changed uniforms upon the move.  I was motivated partly by relief that the uniform wasn't garish and ugly, which is something that I had feared.  I also was pleased to see the shield logo retained in the new look, as a matter of continuity with the old logo. 

Then two things happened.  The first was that I was able to consider the uniform on its merits, and I soured on it.  The uniform wasn't garish; but it was totally devoid of character, and it didn't even say the team name.   The second thing was that the Nets began using their secondary ball logo in places where the primary shield logo belongs, such as in press conferences, in the score bug on television, and — worst of all — at centre court.  This is a huge turnoff and very alienating.  

I tried to hang in there; and for a few years I did so quasi-successfully.  The television broadcasts are very entertaining, as Ian Eagle is amongst the best in the business.  His chemistry with Mike Fratello and with Jim Spanarkel was brilliant.  But my annoyance at the team's ignoring of the primary logo and at their bad uniforms eventually became too much to ignore.  Add to that my strong dislike of the locality name, and the result is that my interest is at the lowest ebb it has ever been at, even lower than during the days of the embarassing tie-dye road uniforms. 

 

If the Nets ever change to good uniforms, my interest might recover to some degree.  But I don't think that I can ever regain the emotional connection that I had had with the New Jersey Nets, and that I had as a kid with the New York Nets (unless they were to become the New York Nets again, which is pretty unlikely).  It's ironic that the team's move into my city amounted to a move away from me.

[hawk36]

Great question. I'm a huge Sounders fan, season ticket holder from day one BUT I hate the logo. I've wanted for years to get a good cap but always balk due to that ugly logo. I'm just a tiny drop in the bucket but over the years I would've spent a lot on merchandise had I actually liked the look of the logo. 

 

[Pengin.]

I dislike the Cardinals uniforms as a whole. They have too much piping and the designs outlived the template. Their white jerseys are awful and their reds are serviceable only because it barely shows the flaws in their design, which is why I have two red jerseys. I support the team that I'm a fan of but it won't deter me from critiquing their designs. 

 

 

[FinsUp1214]

If my team(s) have a bad identity but have throwback gear available, I buy that instead. With the exception of a hat given to me by my sister for Christmas, all of my Jazz gear is throwback purple. I’ve expressed my disdain for the Jazz in navy before and I won’t wear it to games.

[M4One]

 

The Vancouver script is part of the logo, by the way.  

[kimball]

14 minutes ago, FinsUp1214 said:

If my team(s) have a bad identity but have throwback gear available, I buy that instead. With the exception of a hat given to me by my sister for Christmas, all of my Jazz gear is throwback purple. I’ve expressed my disdain for the Jazz in navy before and I won’t wear it to games.

 

I don't mind the Jazz in navy now, but I refused to buy anything in their Navy and Baby Blue era -- I hated the branding. And, really, to think of it ... I never had much Jazz mountain logo gear either. The stuff I did have was a gift.

 

I love the Jazz note.

[Chromatic]

Well luckily for me the only team I cheer for with branding aspects I truly hate is the Canucks, and that’s limited to the orca. And that’s okay because the team has had such an identity crisis I usually have several logos to pick from if I’m buying merch or something.

[FinsUp1214]

9 minutes ago, kimball said:

 

I love the Jazz note.

 

Oh I do too, for sure. I just like it better in purple.  

[VikWings]

I've never really ran into that with any of my teams. I'm a mut when it comes to my fandom (and uniforms are part of the reason I'm like that!) and the STL Cardinals and Red Wings both have traditional gorgeous uniforms that only changef subtly. if at all, for forever. 

 

I had a few of the 06-12 Vikings jerseys, but 15 year old me liked them at first, I have Antoine Winfield, Peterson and Jared Allen and all were got before I realized "meh these really aren't that good." (All of those players were on the team by year 3 of that set. I came to my realization by like year 5).

 

For the NBA Sixers, I never got the late 2000s piping mess update of the AI set, but I don't really buy/wear bball jerseys like that either. Still haven't got a current jersey and they're my favorite in the NBA right now.

 

When they come out with an ugly alt like the Red Wings stadium series, color rush, etc I just don't buy it. As for non-jersey merch in general if they happened to change their logos/colors to something ugly I'd probably just stick with would I have.

 

I like to have at least one updated jersey, but I think if my team trotted out some real monstrosity like what the Bucs, Diamondback, etc are wearing, I'd might have to refrain.

[joey joe joe jr. shabadoo]

I understand this is (likely) changing but I dislike how they altered our logo into some nondescript oval from a football shape

 

[CaliforniaGlowin]

The only team I've had to endure major changes is with the LA Kings.  I was mad when they dropped their purple. the only gear I have is Stanley Cup gear.  

[BrandMooreArt]

make mean tweets at the team. if there's enough and they're funny, the Dolphins won't ever wear an orange uniform again. i think it was the circus peanut comparison that really sold it

[Discrim]

Until last year, had this issue with the Avs, and still have it with the Cubs' road grays.  Granted, the fact that I was generally broke made it a moot point

[schlim]

49 minutes ago, joey joe joe jr. shabadoo said:

I understand this is (likely) changing but I dislike how they altered our logo into some nondescript oval from a football shape

 

Man, while I agree with you about the shape, I wish this was the change in the Jets identity that would make me worry about liking them with the upcoming Nike changes on the horizon.

[joey joe joe jr. shabadoo]

13 minutes ago, schlim said:

Man, while I agree with you about the shape, I wish this was the change in the Jets identity that would make me worry about liking them with the upcoming Nike changes on the horizon.

 

Everybody is very worried about that. Especially when you look at the language Nike is using.

 

The recent landscape has been filled with uniform abominations. In the clip that ran on the Jets site Nike mentioned this project was in the pipeline since 2014, well since then the Browns and Bucs, debuted new uniforms which were met with enormous scorn and ridicule(the Jags were in year 1 at the time of their abominations). The Jets have no reason to make the same mistake after watching this unfold in front of them.