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Johnny Canuck Logo Petition


VancouverFan69

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A close buddy of mine has started a petition that will be forwarded to the Vancouver Canucks' ownership and marketing department in regards to replacing the controversial orca logo with the updated Skating Johnny Canuck logo.

This is a subject that he and I both feel very strongly about. In all due respect to the past identities the Canucks have had in their 41-year history and the Canuck fans who have cherished their favourite logo(s), colour scheme(s), and uniform(s), it's time for the Canucks to finally do the right thing - go with Johnny Canuck. As much as I love the classic and elegant Stick and Rink(original and updated), the biggest mistake this franchise had made was not going with Johnny from Day One. There are people, including myself, feel that this mistake may have "cursed" the franchise.

Now, Johnny may not be for everyone. There are critics who feel that he is cartoony and has no business being on the front of a hockey sweater. I was ONE of those fans. Back '94, when the Canucks played Toronto in the Western Final, Don Cherry on Coach's Corner talked about his playing days in Vancouver in the old Western Hockey League. He talked about Johnny Canuck and how it would look great on the Canucks' uniforms. I simply didn't want a human character for a logo and was more than happy with the Speeding Skate crest we had at the time. There is still a lot of love for the '94 look.

Two years later, Rogers Sportsnet's Don Taylor, who used to have a weekly column in the Vancouver Province had mentioned his desire to see the return of the famous lumberjack. With rumours of the Canucks replacing the Skate, Taylor was very serious in what he was talking about. "What the heck is a Canuck?", many people have asked and continue to ask, to this very day. I swallowed my Canuck pride and realized that with a name like "Canucks", there was no better identity for the franchise than Johnny Canuck. Unfortunately, the former ownership, Orca Bay Sports & Entertainment wanted their corporate animal as the primary logo. Their first mistake before signing Mark Messier. Their original plan was to even change the team's name to "Orcas", because the Canucks name wouldn't sell in the US. Even more embarrassing was reading Orca Bay's spin on the logo after its unveiling: a Canuck is a Western Canadian! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry after reading that statement.

Fast forward to now. The Canucks have been one of the best and one of the most exciting teams in hockey over the past few years. However, there are two things that the club has yet to accomplish. The obvious: Lord Stanley's Cup. The other: its true identity on the uniforms.

A Johnny Canuck jersey set will finally give this franchise the identity it has always lacked and the proud and loyal fans a crest they can be proud to wear. Johnny may have a cartoony look but it doesn't look overly animated like the Islanders' disasterous Captain Highliner logo from the mid 90s. To me, Johnny is more comparable to the Blackhawks' Chief Black Hawk crest. Even the Boston Celtics' classic leprechaun logo looks more cartoony. For those who do support the orca, I don't disagree. It does symbolize Canada's west coast and British Columbia's Haida heritage. However, an orca does NOT represent the history of the Canucks' proud name and history. The Canucks' current orca doesn't even have that true fearsome Haida look. Furthermore, the lumber industry has been big in BC for many, many years and the City of Vancouver was built on the lumber industry.

As for the colours, the blue and green aren't going ANYWHERE. They are the Canucks' original and current colours and they scream Vancouver and BC. So at least, that's a step in the right direction.

So, whether you're a Canucks fan or not, please check out the petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/scraptheorca/

Thank you for your attention. All opinions and ideas welcome.

Cheers!

**Fin the mascot can stay. Even the Jets kept their moose mascot. Got to keep the kids happy.**

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I'd love to see Johnny Canuck, either full bodied or head/V, become the team's primary mark.

That being said, internet petitions rarely, if ever, work.

It worked for Buffalo Sabre fans. Remember the SabresNotSlugs website? If you don't shoot, you don't score. It's more than worth a try.

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This belongs deep inside the Unpopular Opinions thread, but?

http://sportslogos.net/logo.php?id=ejffl1hsei2lsm9fy438 = :love:

I have one of those, I really liked the look. It stood out.

The only problem was the team wasn't much good for the most part while wearing these so I think that's what people remember.

GTA United(USA) 2015 + 2016 USA Champions/Toronto Maroons (ULL)2014, 2015 + 2022 Gait Cup Champions/Toronto Northmen (TNFF)

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1. Internet petitions are dumb.

2. If you are going to do an internet petition, you should word it more professionally and eloquently so that it gets taken seriously.

For example:

-don't point to "mistakes" the franchise has (in your opinion) made - instead, phrase it as how this is a great opportunity to go in a different direction, or to improve an already great look. You have no idea who is actually reading this thing or who was responsible for the "mistakes" that you're calling out, and you don't want to risk offending the very person who you are counting on to respond to your request.

-don't trash other teams' identities or logos. For one, it makes you sound immature (not necessarily on these boards, but in what is intended to be a professional letter that you hope gets read in a board room-type setting.) If you want to be taken seriously, you can't do that. For another thing, claiming that something is good by stating that it's not as bad as something that is bad is really a horrible way of making your case. That goes for anything in life, not just a jersey crest.

-have your letter re-read by someone with a writing background. It's very choppy and many sections could be worded better. You have a next-to-zero-percent chance of making anything happen, but if you want to have any chance at all, you need to imagine your letter being read and accepted by well-educated executives. This letter isn't going to cut it.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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I'd love to see Johnny Canuck, either full bodied or head/V, become the team's primary mark.

That being said, internet petitions rarely, if ever, work.

It worked for Buffalo Sabre fans. Remember the SabresNotSlugs website? If you don't shoot, you don't score. It's more than worth a try.

Thing is, the BuffaSlug was hated, en mass. The petition was just a side effect of the hate. The public outcry would have caused the team to drop it, petition or no. The orca, while not beloved, doesn't seem to have that same level of public hatred.

Also, what BBTV said.

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Pardon my ignorance, but what makes the orca logo controversial?

The orca logo was put in place by Orca Bay, the team's former ownership group. As such it's seen as a corporate symbol rather than a logo that truly represents the team. It's also associated with some lacklustre years of Canucks hockey. On top of that it's a killer whale. Not the first thing to spring to mind when you think of the name "Canucks."

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When I think of Canucks, the first thing I think of is the Orca. It's a great identity and a good logo. As much as I hate the team, their uniforms do not need to be messed with. They're beautiful. Though a green alt would've been cool. Oh well.

And the Johnny Canuck logo is a secondary logo. It just doesn't work as a primary.

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Johnny Canuck is so minor league-ish, I can't believe the love it has around here. The orca is a great logo for the region, it just needs some color tweaking. Most people hate it because of its tie to a corporation, why does that matter really?

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On top of that it's a killer whale. Not the first thing to spring to mind when you think of the name "Canucks."

If I didn't know hockey and its history, a rink drawn by a two year old and a flying skate don't spring to mind when I think of the name "Canucks"...

Smart is believing half of what you hear. Genius is knowing which half.

 

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I never liked the Orca. I was always partial to the flying spaghetti skate.

With the team's move towards back to the green/blue color palette, however, i think that was the time to throw Johnny Canuck on the front of the sweater. It's the superior logo of their current library of marks.

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1. Internet petitions are dumb.

I wouldn't put it quite that way. Are the efforts of internet petitions eventually all for naught? Yes, pretty much. Absolutely. But I don't see anything "dumb" about or wrong with the idea of fans wishing to vocalize their opinions on a team matter, even if in the end, that vocalization doesn't go anywhere.

As for the rest of your post, I do agree with you. If a petition/letter is to be written with this purpose in mind, all the points you made certainly should be taken into account.

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The opinions I express are mine, and mine only. If I am to express them, it is not to say you or anyone else is wrong, and certainly not to say that I am right.

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On top of that it's a killer whale. Not the first thing to spring to mind when you think of the name "Canucks."

If I didn't know hockey and its history, a rink drawn by a two year old and a flying skate don't spring to mind when I think of the name "Canucks"...

Well the Canucks, in their NHL incarnation at least, have never had truly good primary logo.

I don't like the Orca, but I wouldn't replace it with the stick in rink logo either.

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Pardon my ignorance, but what makes the orca logo controversial?

The orca logo was put in place by Orca Bay, the team's former ownership group. As such it's seen as a corporate symbol rather than a logo that truly represents the team. It's also associated with some lacklustre years of Canucks hockey. On top of that it's a killer whale. Not the first thing to spring to mind when you think of the name "Canucks."

I'd say they probably had their best years wearing the Orca. Cup finals; close to, if not, the top of the West standings nearly every year.

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As a lifelong Canucks fan, I am really torn on this issue.

On one hand I think the current jerseys are easily among the 5 best in the league. The Orca works great as a jersey crest and while I didn't like it at first, the arched "Vancouver" is a unique design feature that has become all their own. You also have to factor in how many people recently bought Orca merchandise during the 2011 run. I can't imagine these fans being too happy about a change.

On the flipside, Johnny Canuck would make waaay more sense for the teams namesake and would look pretty good on the front of the jerseys too. Just don't match it with the arched wordmark like the picture on the petition. The jersey Gothamite posted looks great... minus the vintage white of course.

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