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

[neo_prankster]

Padres: Even though I've been wanting the Pads to bring back the brown/orange/gold for a while, the navy blue is okay, but reminds me too much of the Dodgers. Copper would be a good complement to the navy blue as a compromise.

 

All those years I followed the Chargers till they left, I never liked how there was so much blank space between the bolt and the ear hole on the helmets. It always seemed like the bolt was intended to be more of a stripe than a logo. Something...anything...would've looked good in that empty space I am referring to.

[JonBoy]

22 hours ago, -Akronite- said:

 

Wow this is amazing to me because I like both of those identities a lot! The Orioles, especially at home and especially with their white-paneled cap, look gorgeous to me. The cartoon bird has grown on me and at this point I think I prefer it to the real bird.

 

VCU has a generic look for their uniforms, but I like the horn on the V and can at least live with white letters.

16 hours ago, WavePunter said:

I almost disagree completely on the Orioles.. I'm a big Orioles fan and love the cartoon bird and the white panel cap.. I also really like their orange jersey.. I'm with you 100% on the "O's" cap though.. it's very unnecessary and tries too hard.. it's just  too gimmicky for me

 

I realize that I'm in the minority, at least on these forums, about the white panel hat, but in general, I just don't like them.  They look too softballish to me, stuck in the 70s/80s.  As for the cartoon bird, I can live with it, I would just prefer something different.  Though a cartoon was a good representation of the last year and a half.  The orange jersey isn't bad; I would prefer if the letters and numbers were white w/ a black outline.  And the sleeve stripes for some reason ruin it for me.  They seem so inconsistent with the other uniforms and the orange on orange aspect just doesn't look right to me.

 

For VCU, I don't really mind the minimialistic nature of the uniforms.  The logos and wordmarks are my primary issue.  The shield logo is another one that has some elements that just irritate me.  But I'm glad to hear that others recognize and like them. 

[VancouverFan69]

On 12/5/2018 at 6:27 PM, M4One said:

 

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

 

I simply wear my Johnny Canuck and Stick in Rink gear and for a few times, my Flying Skate and Flying V paraphernalia. I will never ever wear nor purchase any corporate orca gear. Every Canucks Store/Vancouver sports store employee/manager knows it.

[Dilbert]

Reds- Black needs to be eliminated from the teams colors.

Bengals- I miss the leaping tiger, the striped B is just too simple.

FC Cincinnati- a little too early to tell. Ill wait until it takes the field with their new look.

Cincinnati Cyclones- I still think it looks like a toilet flushing. Colors arent bad but I miss the Twister

[Digby]

New England Revolution fan checking in here. I don’t want to buy Revs gear partially because of the infamous logo, partially because they aren’t any fun to support so I don’t really care to spend money on them.

 

I solve both of these things in my ownership of some very 2000s kits and a very 90s snapback. Going full retro takes the edge off that logo for obvious reasons. And buying vintage also keeps any more unearned money from lining the Krafts’ pockets. Win win!

 

(I did buy a new snapback last year that just had Revolution in a fun Mitchell and Ness script font across the front, thinking I’d avoid the logo that way, but it turned out the logo was embroidered on the right side, so I sent it back. I hate side patches in caps but especially that logo.)

 

(Also many soccer teams can solve this in the form of supporters group merch. Like every year it seems like the Timbers Army Van has the hottest menswear line around. Doesn’t seem to exist for the Revs though.)

 

 

[BC985]

I’d like to get a Cardinals dugout jacket, but I want it to say Cardinals and not St. Louis across the chest. 

[Digby]

I should add that I realize non-soccer fandoms have unofficial artist designed shirts too, but for those of us in Boston those are limited to YANKEES SUCK and LEBRON IS A BITCH options.

[DustDevil61]

On 12/5/2018 at 4:33 PM, kimball said:

 

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.

 

I also don’t mind the Jazz in Navy Blue, Dark Green, and Gold, though as I’ve said before, the blue and/or green could be brightened a bit.  (Royal Blue and Dark Green or a medium blue and Kelly Green, though the richer shade of gold has grown on me and can stay). Or they could bring back purple permantly, either as-is on the throwbacks or keep it as dark as the navy blue.

 

Probably why I don’t mind the Utah Jazz in either navy or purple is that (unpopular opinion) I feel they’d look best as a green-first team, with gold accents and a hint of either purple or blue. I don’t even care if they go back to Kelly green, stick with the current dark green, or use a more medium shade of green (like that of the Dallas Stars, for instance); any of those shades look awesome when paired with their shade of gold (as demonstrated by the “Earned” jersey that was leaked and their 1980s throwbacks). Wearing green uniforms has been something the Jazz have done while only in Utah IIRC.

 

The other option is to lighten at least one of the shades of green or blue (or purple) and make whatever color that is not the primary team color the next-most used color, with plenty of gold and white for trim.

[DouglasQuaid]

On 12/7/2018 at 2:01 PM, neo_prankster said:

All those years I followed the Chargers till they left, I never liked how there was so much blank space between the bolt and the ear hole on the helmets. It always seemed like the bolt was intended to be more of a stripe than a logo. Something...anything...would've looked good in that empty space I am referring to.

 

Yeah I thought numbers would work like they use to on the throwbacks, but I now think they look fine the way they.

[Olmec]

For me being out in Tampa, I just stick to  sporting the original looks for all 3 major teams. I despise the current looks for the Bolts, Bucs, and Rays (although I do love my faux throwback hat) 

[M4One]

9 hours ago, VancouverFan69 said:

 

I simply wear my Johnny Canuck and Stick in Rink gear and for a few times, my Flying Skate and Flying V paraphernalia. I will never ever wear nor purchase any corporate orca gear. Every Canucks Store/Vancouver sports store employee/manager knows it.

 

I'm the same.  Got the stick in rink alternate jersey and Johnny Canuck t-shirt.

[DeFrank]

I strongly dislike my favorite football team’s branding because <REDACTED>. So I have a jersey from pre-2002 with no team name on the front, a customized crew neck I made, and a winter hat that just says “Washington.”

 

 

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

13 hours ago, M4One said:

23 hours ago, VancouverFan69 said:

I simply wear my Johnny Canuck and Stick in Rink gear and for a few times, my Flying Skate and Flying V paraphernalia. I will never ever wear nor purchase any corporate orca gear. Every Canucks Store/Vancouver sports store employee/manager knows it.

 

I'm the same.  Got the stick in rink alternate jersey and Johnny Canuck t-shirt.

 

Yes, it's nice to be able to take refuge in a team's past. This is what I do with the Nets. I have completely abandoned the caps with the alienating current logo; I wear only caps from the New Jersey Nets and the New York Nets, to which I feel an emotional connection.

[DrJack]

9 hours ago, DeFrank said:

I strongly dislike my favorite football team’s branding because <REDACTED>. So I have a jersey from pre-2002 with no team name on the front, a customized crew neck I made, and a winter hat that just says “Washington.”

 

 

I absolutely love this.

[Gothamite]

So looks like there’s a lot of agreement; if you don’t like it, don’t buy it.

 

I won’t buy anything with the modern Brewers logo.  I’m not a huge fan of the ball-in-glove, but that’s the available alternative, so when I want to buy a cap or T-shirt, that’s the one.  And I suspect I’m not alone, which is why the Brewers have been using the old logo more and more. 

[Glover]

I don't own one of the Nike redesign Browns jerseys. I will probably give in at some point and buy one for a former player just because I have a collector mindset when it comes to jerseys. But as of now I will continue to wear my Joe Thomas Reebok jersey. 

[DTConcepts]

The Avs and Isles are my two favorite teams, and both of them got screwed over in the Edge cut. For all those years, I didn't buy one Avs or Isles jersey from the Edge templates. I had a few gifted to me, but I never wore them, and they've since been sold since I just don't like them. The best way to show your disliking of a team's identity is just to not show any support for it, physically. No merch, no nothing.

[Gothamite]

2 hours ago, selby56 said:

I don't own one of the Nike redesign Browns jerseys. I will probably give in at some point and buy one for a former player just because I have a collector mindset when it comes to jerseys.

 

Wait until the inevitable replacement is announced - not only will you get one of the Nike monstrosities on sale, but your purchase won’t be mistaken by the team as a vote to keep them around. 

[Glover]

1 hour ago, Gothamite said:

 

Wait until the inevitable replacement is announced - not only will you get one of the Nike monstrosities on sale, but your purchase won’t be mistaken by the team as a vote to keep them around. 

I've seen a few for very cheap pop up on eBay for guys like Joe Haden and Gary Barnidge. But I think your idea might be the route to go. Can always get a guy that is still on the roster at a bit of a discount. Of course it might not matter who the player is, I'll probably never even wear it and it'll just be part of my "collection" of Browns jerseys. 

[Sport]

My only experience with really hating my favorite team's brand is the Bengals. I grew up loving the Bengals uniforms both with the Super Bowls set and the 97 redesign. In 2004 they went full 2004 and I was pretty upset. Amazing all these later they still haven't looked back and I've never felt great about buying one of their jerseys since. The way I dealt with it was I wore jerseys from the 97-03 era for a long time, but eventually they get worn out and you gotta move on. I've bought a couple throwback 1980's jerseys and those are my usual go-to's just because they kick so much ass. I do own a couple of the modern jerseys because at some point you just get to used to them and you run out of options. 

 

Thankfully the uniform got a little better looking on the Nike template and they gave use the White Tiger color rush set, which was the first time I've liked a Bengals uniform since 2003.