Chief Wahoo’s Last Season

[Gothamite]

Black and red would be a great idea. 

 

Honestly, the potential for “Spiders” is so high that I think they could definitely make the switch.  There would be an awkward first couple years but once fans got used to it the team could do very well with their new name.

 

Unlike a lot of First Nations-themed teams, Cleveland actually has an awesome name in its history from which to draw.  

[The_Admiral]

If Cleveland had good local imagery to draw from, wouldn't the Indians or the Cavaliers have done so by now? They've gone to the R&RHoF and that's about it. The Cavaliers had at least ten years where they could have done anything Cleveland-related instead of illustrating their nickname and they said "nope, how about a square and a basketball."

[andrewharrington]

2 hours ago, the admiral said:

If Cleveland had good local imagery to draw from, wouldn't the Indians or the Cavaliers have done so by now? They've gone to the R&RHoF and that's about it. The Cavaliers had at least ten years where they could have done anything Cleveland-related instead of illustrating their nickname and they said "nope, how about a square and a basketball."

 

The Cavs did a uniform inspired by the Guardians of Transportation statues last season, and all teams have done merchandise with that theme as well. Those statues are by far the most popular piece of Cleveland iconography amongst locals, and they anchor the bridge that crosses the river and ends right at the main corner of the ballpark and arena.

 

Spiders is my favorite name, but Guardians is a close second if they ever change it.

[coco1997]

How about the Barons? 

[SFGiants58]

58 minutes ago, coco1997 said:

How about the Barons? 

 

1. I still wish the North Stars adopted that name upon moving to Dallas, as the one bit of the Seals left after the de-merger.

 

2. I like it, but it’s maybe not best to have to fight with the Stars, Sharks, and the NHL for the trademarks.

[LMU]

Too bad for the A's and Tigers already laying claim on the two main Indian animals because having the Indians with an Asian elephant as a logo would be a nice way to move away from the controversy.  Plus Arizona has the snake already so a cobra's out.

 

Maybe a macaque?  A peacock?  A snow leopard?

[Morgan33]

On 9/7/2018 at 9:47 AM, McCarthy said:

The block C sucks. Just because they can't use Chief Wahoo doesn't mean they need to go the other way and avoid having any identity at all.  

 

 

Agreed, the block C is as dull and uninspired as it gets.  The only thing good about Cheif Wahoo is how it contributes to the colour balance of the uniform by adding a significant amount of red.  Which is why they should take the feather from Cheif Wahoo, give it a significant update and make it the new shoulder logo.   I don't see anything offensive about a feather and it has the potential to look really good.

 

On 9/7/2018 at 10:35 AM, NYC Cosmos said:

However, the Tribe is ok

 

Why not just go that route and call themselves the Cleveland Tribe.  Spiders might have a historical precedent but it sounds Minor League IMHO.

[Cujo]

It's just a matter of time before the Indians change their name altogether. I give it another 12 years or so.

[andrewharrington]

15 minutes ago, Morgo said:

 

Agreed, the block C is as dull and uninspired as it gets.  The only thing good about Cheif Wahoo is how it contributes to the colour balance of the uniform by adding a significant amount of red.  Which is why they should take the feather from Cheif Wahoo, give it a significant update and make it the new shoulder logo.   I don't see anything offensive about a feather and it has the potential to look really good.

 

 

Why not just go that route and call themselves the Cleveland Tribe.  Spiders might have a historical precedent but it sounds Minor League IMHO.

 

I’ll give you dull, but how is it uninspired? It’s pretty clear what it’s inspired by. Or is that just a silly buzzword used to say it’s not exciting enough for you? 

 

[andrewharrington]

33 minutes ago, LMU said:

Too bad for the A's and Tigers already laying claim on the two main Indian animals because having the Indians with an Asian elephant as a logo would be a nice way to move away from the controversy.  Plus Arizona has the snake already so a cobra's out.

 

Maybe a macaque?  A peacock?  A snow leopard?

 

That doesn’t really solve anything, though. It’s just finding a new culture to hijack.

[O.C.D]

as soon as the logo is gone, then the stories will have to be about something else

[BBTV]

They could give the spider mascot a native headdress and have it hold 8 tomahawks.  Everybody wins.

[pepis21]

10 hours ago, andrewharrington said:

I don’t think anyone wants it erased from history. They just don’t want it defining the future. 

 

But you can't defining the future without Wahoo if you don't erase him for history. Like I said people will always associate Indians with Wahoo, no matter what Cleveland and MLB will trying to do with him. He is a part of this league for over 90 years (in different forms). The right choise will be turning him from a caricature image to a more serious and that's all, it would be a win-win situation for everybody and Chef could go back as a primary logo. If not they should change name.

[Gothamite]

4 hours ago, O.C.D said:

as soon as the logo is gone, then the stories will have to be about something else

 

Well, yeah.  And when a wanted fugitive is caught, there are fewer stories about the manhunt.

 

That's kind of how life works.

[Gothamite]

1 hour ago, pepis21 said:

But you can't defining the future without Wahoo if you don't erase him for history. 

 

Of course you can.  That's how history works - "the Indians used this logo for a while, now they don't."  Nobody's suggesting that we pretend the logo never existed.

 

Things change.  Fans will get used to a new logo, or at least get used to the absence of this one.

[Placebo]

5 hours ago, andrewharrington said:

 

That doesn’t really solve anything, though. It’s just finding a new culture to hijack.

Honestly.

 

 

[The_Admiral]

2 hours ago, Gothamite said:

Nobody's suggesting that we pretend the logo never existed.

 

Just for the sake of argument, would you say with 100-percent certainty that no publication would ever explore photoshopping the logo out of old pictures? I wouldn't. I don't think it's likely, mind you, and I don't think the club itself would ever go that far, but if Deadspin doesn't go bankrupt by next Thursday, I could see them doing that, if only to prove a point. Maybe other places would follow suit. You can't call it entirely unthinkable. It's easy to justify: old pictures hurt just as much as new ones would, it's an ugly logo anyway, it's easy not to be a dick so don't be a dick.

[Gothamite]

9 hours ago, the admiral said:

Just for the sake of argument, would you say with 100-percent certainty that no publication would ever explore photoshopping the logo out of old pictures? 

 

No.  But this is a textbook example of the Slippery Slope fallacy; the nature of reality does not give us 100% certainty of the outcome of any chain of events stemming from an action, and that lack of absolute certainty is not itself a valid reason not to take that specific action. 

 

I am 100% certain of two things, though:

 

1) such photoshopping technology already exists; and 

2) no organization currently uses it in their coverage of the team, even those with an editorial stance that the logo should be retired. 

 

Given that, the Slippery Slope fallacy is also a straw man. 

 

“Don’t change the past!” is an argument used solely by those who want the team to use Wahoo in the future.  It’s a disengenuous argument, and speaks to a relatively weak position overall. 

 

[BBTV]

has anyone photoshopped swastikas off of the jerseys of the old teams that wore them prior to the Nazis appropriating the symbol?

 

[Derek]

On 9/8/2018 at 3:35 AM, MJWalker45 said:

The worst team in MLB history should not be brought back.

 

1899 was a long time ago.