IceCap

Reggie Miller was right. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/nets/2022/11/02/reggie-miller-calls-out-nba-players-kyrie-irvings-antisemitic-post/8247507001/

The Kings first became relevant when they got the greatest player of all time... wearing black, white, and silver. The Kings then re-adopted purple and became a dumpster fire again. Then the Kings re-adopted black, white, and silver and won some Cups. Black, white, and silver are the Kings' colours of success.

If Blazers fans wanted a uniform based on carpet- and I'll be real, I 100% doubt there was a large demand for it- then they're dumb. Oh so this is only being sold in the arena? Stop simping for shoe companies, man. If carpet is a symbol of local pride... I don't know what to tell you. Again, outside of Central Asia... that's a yikes. Because it's carpet.

"Highly regarded carpet." Ok. Unless you're talking about a rug from Central Asia? No such thing. Good G-d. First the PNW types get up in arms because I thought "Rip City" was dumb, but you know what? At least that's something a commentator for the team said. At least it's something that's part of Blazers lore. This is a carpet design. No amount of "you have to be from here to understand" will make it not stupid. It's probably the dumbest thing in this most recent batch of City Edition jerseys, and that's saying something when you have whatever it is the Cavs inflicted upon us.

They're referencing airport carpet. AIRPORT CARPET!

I read the NikeSpeak for all of these and holy it's bad. Nike and the NBA need to stop. This is ridiculous.

LeBron James: any white person involved in the league who does something racist needs to be banned for life. Also LeBron James: Kyrie gave a canned PR apology for being antisemtic, let him play you guys.

Speaking of LeBron... him https://amp.www.complex.com/sports/lebron-james-defends-kyrie-irving-nets-punishment

So I see @dont care and @WSU151 think the no politics rule is just a suggestion. Mod here telling both of you it's not. There are plenty of other outlets for you to express your political opinions on.

It's both stupid market-speak but also unfortunate. Nike was talking out of their ass when they compared their Olympic hockey sweaters to alchemy but at least they didn't allude to the swastika!

Especially from a project the Rock is involved in. He's a PR robot. He- or the people who run his Twitter- should know better.

Nice win for the Leafs against the Redneck Rangers.

Let's goooooooo!

Tampa Bay Bandits (USFL) and Orlando Guardians (XFL)

There's been a bunch of different flags flown in Texas, yeah. But only one of them comes to mind when I think "rebellion" and "diagonal line"

Vegas' status as a destination town for out of towners looking to cap off a weekend Vegas trip by watching their team play is part of why Vegas as a NFL market works. Vegas is an adult theme park, and the NFL- with a limited run time each year- is a perfect seasonal adult theme park attraction.

I can't help but feel disappointment, even after giving the new set a bit to grow on me. Renegades- That's clearly a D, and I don't understand how this logo looks like it does. Had they just kept the last version, the bandana cowboy, then this would have been fine. Instead they bothered to make a whole new logo, but the logo is an R, but also a D... and also a Confederate flag homage? REALLY? Defenders- I mean it's fine... but it's a huge step down from the last one. Roughnecks- They did what they had to do. I don't blame them for this one. They were only going to get away with ripping off the Oilers for so long. Guardians- I don't like it. Sorry. I get why they moved out of Tampa, but giving the Tampa Bay Vipers' colours to the Orlando team, but also the Guardians' identity... it's a mess. Why couldn't Orlando have just kept the Vipers name too? Brahmas- It's the Rock. I get it. I wouldn't even mind the ego stroke if the logo was any good. But it sucks. Sea Dragons- Why the change from Dragons to Sea Dragons? Easier to trademark? Eh... it's fine. Still amazed that UAB hasn't sued them over it. Battlehawks- It's pretty much unchanged from the last go-around. Which is fine! I wish the Renegades, Defenders, and Vipers-turned-Guardians had it so good. Vipers- It looks like a discount sportswear brand. Add in the generic red/black colour scheme and my saltiness over Vegas getting the Vipers name... nothing works here for me. I get that the XFL 3.0 was gonna recycle as much as they could from the XFL 2.0, and that's fine. In some cases I wish they reused more! But most of the changes to existing identities were downgrades, and the new stuff underwhelms.

It's the best of their sets that used black.

My point is that the NFL is actually the ideal sports tenant for Vegas. They're only around for 8 or 9 games a year, and only play once a week. Perfect for weekend trips to Vegas. The city doesn't have to support them over the course of a NHL or MLB season. For as hot as the Golden Knights' start was they're going to have trouble long term. Meanwhile the Raiders are set up to succeed in Vegas as long as possible. A NBA team would be like the Knights. A hot start that long term will have difficulties. Baseball would have it the worst. But the Raiders... long term? They'll be alright.

I donno, the Raiders are doing alright.

That design "worked" because the blue base gave it the feel of a stormy night sky over the sea. Making the base white ruins the whole look.

Oh I missed another Ravens/Browns argument. Good. I'm ing tired of that one. The problem with the Lions is that the Sanders-era uniforms were classic but they never had the success necessary to engrain them as untouchable. Same for the Cardinals' classic look actually. The problem with the Lions is that nothing else has stuck. They tried adding black. No dice. They re-worked it so the black was more integrated, added a custom font, and gave the logo a face lift. Still not there. Then they stripped the black away and went for a neo-retro yet still futuristic Nike set... and it's already on the way out. Just going back to the Sanders look and leaving well enough alone might be the best way forward.

I didn't mean for it to come off in that way. When I say "white antisemitism" I'm referring to white neo-Nazis and other white supremacists who traffic in antisemitic beliefs. It's not an implication that all white people share those beliefs. The reason I used the term "Black antisemitism" is because antisemitism from Black folks tends to manifest in different ways. Antisemitism, regardless of where it comes from, has common elements but white and Black antisemitism, to me anyway, are distinct as a result of a number of factors. So it becomes prudent to differentiate. Regardless, I didn't mean to imply that antisemitism was universal or widespread among Black Americans. And I apologize if I implied that. I think for me... it's weird. Because I get it. African slaves in the Americas had Christianity foisted onto them and, through that process, they discovered the Exodus narrative. And the story of a people in slavery who received their freedom resonated with them. I get it. But the attempts to take that a step further and claim that they are the true Jews or Hebrews or whatever... ... it just bothers me as a Jewish person because it's a case of someone else coming in and co-opting my religious and ethnic identity and claiming it for themselves. And in a world where a white girl wearing dreads or a white guy claiming Native ancestry because he's 1/8 Sioux gets called down as cultural appropriation... that's what this feels to me. Again, I understand why African slaves who discovered the Exodus story felt that connection, but when Black folks try to insist that Jewish heritage is really their heritage... well that's no good. Especially when it then leads to cases like this where Kyrie starts denying the Holocaust, and then has to walk it back by describing it as if his dog took a crap on his neighbour's lawn. The only thing I'll say to this is that my boss is Black. He's mostly a cool guy but work's work and sometimes he gets on my nerves or he passes along an edict I don't agree with but have to comply with because that's how life works. And maybe if I'm in a really bad mood I might :censored: about him. But in my six years at this job I've never let even a momentary frustration with him turn into a rant about Black people or an excuse to disparage all Black people. So if Kanye West, Kyrie Irving, Nick Cannon, or any other Black person has a problem with a Jewish person... maybe they need to deal with that business personally and not disparage an entire religion and ethnic group. I'm trying man, I really am. Hence the exploration of the identification of Black identity with Exodus and how that segued into Jewish identity. At the same time I grew up in a world where we thought the antisemitism of the past was just that, the past. Most of my friends went to Church, I went to Synagogue, no one thought much of it. But then Charlottesville happened. Then a slew of shootings at synagogues happened. I went to Yom Kippur services this year. I had to go through a metal detector. That's ed up. And now I see rather prominent and outspoken figures in the Black community actively spreading antisemitic talking points. Like... you'd be justifiably worried if Tom Brady and Thom York started spreading racist ideology about Blacks and a bunch of other white people were publicly agreeing. Well that's how it is as a Jew seeing this crap go down. So I'm worried for myself, and the safety and well being of my community. I'm hoping I don't attack anyone unfairly. The kicker is I expect the same in return and likely won't get it.

Someone needs to pitch the Shockmaster as the new mascot.

Well it's complicated as best I can tell... and I may move into borderline forbidden territory... but it. A NBA superstar just got suspended for this crap so it's fair game to an extent. A big part of it tends to revolve around how messed up race is a concept in America, socially. Like you have to go back to properly analyze this. I'm not sure if it's something that's necessary appropriate for this message board so I'll keep it broad. But antisemitism in the Black community is due to a confluence of African slaves identifying with the Biblical Exodus story to the point of subsuming a portion of Jewish cultural identity, mixed with a white American establishment that is understandably hesitant to get too critical of the Black community's own issues of identity. This, combined with the theory of intersectionality which holds that all struggles against bigotry are inherently interconnected, leaves many white people believing that Black Americans can't be bigoted towards other groups, especially if they support other social justice movements. When this proves to not be true- ie when Kyrie Irving or Kanye West or Nick Cannon say something blatantly antisemitic- white people who are broadly good intentioned get squicky because to either admit that you can support a good cause and still be a bigot, or to even criticize the Black community as a whole, is problematic. The result is that while white Americans are more than willing to shout down neo-Nazis and other white supremacists who traffic in antisemitic tropes they are fundamentally uncomfortable with holding Black antisemitics to account. And so antisemitism in the Black community tends to grow unchecked. Which leads to a lot of haphazardly applied "standards" of racial or social justice, doesn't it? Like Kyrie, Kanye, and Nick Cannon have all gone on about "Black people being the real Jews." Which is cultural appropriation if I ever saw it... because no. African Americans, who are primarily descended from West Africans, aren't related to Jews. They just aren't. Yet it happens and it becomes "a complex issue." But a white girl wears dreads and it's an unforgivable sin. There are reasons for all of this... but at the end of the day what's the goal? In my estimation it's a society where bigotry of all stripes is recognized as the danger that it is. So the complexities of why Black antisemitism is prevalent are ultimately going to have to be set aside for the academic arena while the ing bigots get slapped down right and proper.