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NHL’s New Seattle Kraken Announce Name & Logos


crashcarson15

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2 hours ago, Bayne said:

 

I mean, yeah those names aren't ideal but you get used to them. The Wild hasn't bothered me for a while - I just don't think about it. It's just there. The Avs, Preds, Lightning, Golden Knights, Canes etc... they're, fine. The Kraken will fit comfortably in that group I think. You'll just get used to it and many will probably grow to like more than they do right now.

 

The "Kraks" are growing on me but I will never have room in my sports heart for the Wild. It's one thing for the State of Hockey to lose its iconic North Stars brand because of a carpetbagging owner. It's another to replace the North Stars brand with the WORST team name in major pro sports.

Now, if the team were called the "Wilders", like the Minneapolis Lakers were not the "Minneapolis Lakes", and still used the same bear-forest crest, I would fully be on board.

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2 minutes ago, VancouverFan69 said:

The "Kraks" are growing on me but I will never have room in my sports heart for the Wild. It's one thing for the State of Hockey to lose its iconic North Stars brand because of a carpetbagging owner. It's another to replace the North Stars brand with the WORST team name in major pro sports.

 

I'm still kind of shocked it's lasted this long.  Shocked even more that nobody in Minnesota seems to mind it.

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10 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

 

I'm still kind of shocked it's lasted this long.  Shocked even more that nobody in Minnesota seems to mind it.

 

I think its more a case that they've made peace with it than they don't mind it. After losing the North Stars I'm sure the older fans are just happy they have a team back and the younger ones grew up with it so its all they've really known.

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48 minutes ago, VancouverFan69 said:

 

The "Kraks" are growing on me but I will never have room in my sports heart for the Wild. It's one thing for the State of Hockey to lose its iconic North Stars brand because of a carpetbagging owner. It's another to replace the North Stars brand with the WORST team name in major pro sports.

Now, if the team were called the "Wilders", like the Minneapolis Lakers were not the "Minneapolis Lakes", and still used the same bear-forest crest, I would fully be on board.

 

Agreed. Losing the North Stars brand is a tragedy akin to Houston losing the Oilers brand (and the best uniforms in NFL history) for a boring, nondescript "Titans" brand name.

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1 hour ago, Chromatic said:

I think its more a case that they've made peace with it than they don't mind it. After losing the North Stars I'm sure the older fans are just happy they have a team back and the younger ones grew up with it so its all they've really known.


That’s kinda what I mean, though.  
 

I understand the lure of inertia, and how we can all become inured to bad branding.  But still, every year that goes by is another lost opportunity to fix this.  Gods forbid they win a championship, which will cement the name like nothing else can. 

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5 minutes ago, Gothamite said:


That’s kinda what I mean, though.  
 

I understand the lure of inertia, and how we can all become inured to bad branding.  But still, every year that goes by is another lost opportunity to fix this.  Gods forbid they win a championship, which will cement the name like nothing else can. 

What would they change it to though, and what would be the impetus to change it? The only scenario I can possibly see causing them to change it would be going back to North Stars if for some reason Dallas moved or was no longer called the Stars. And thats unlikely. I can't see some spur of the moment groundswell to change the team name happening in Minnesota. 

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12 minutes ago, Gothamite said:


That’s kinda what I mean, though.  
 

I understand the lure of inertia, and how we can all become inured to bad branding.  But still, every year that goes by is another lost opportunity to fix this.  Gods forbid they win a championship, which will cement the name like nothing else can. 

 

There have been pro teams to win championships and have changed or in in the process of changing their names.

5 minutes ago, Chromatic said:

What would they change it to though, and what would be the impetus to change it? The only scenario I can possibly see causing them to change it would be going back to North Stars if for some reason Dallas moved or was no longer called the Stars. And thats unlikely. I can't see some spur of the moment groundswell to change the team name happening in Minnesota. 

 

Going with "Minnesota Saints"(return to the WHA name without the "Fighting" part) would make a lot of sense. After all, the team does play in Saint Paul. They can even use the North Stars' old kelly green and yellow-gold. Whether or not the NFL Saints would want to share their trademarked name is another story. Then again, Winnipeg & NY Jets.

 

That's why "Minnesota Wilders" makes sense. There is no such thing as a "wilder" but neither is a "laker".  The "Wilders" could still use the same highly creative bear-forest crest. I would, then, just change the red to a light orange. No team in major league sports has a forest green and orange look which would look amazing.

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7 minutes ago, VancouverFan69 said:

There have been pro teams to win championships and have changed or in in the process of changing their names.

 

Yeah, but how often does that happen, though?  A logo is one thing, a team name quite another. 

 

And often when it does, it's a Washington situation where the original name becomes untenable in society.  Which won't apply here.

 

I'd love to believe this could be a San Jose Clash/Earthquakes situation, but we don't see many of those.  And now come to think of it, every example that comes to mind relates to MLS growing up.

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"Wilders" sounds just as dumb as "Wild", just gonna say. If not dumber.

 

I liked the idea of "Northern Lights", since it keeps a tie to the North Stars identity while still being unique. "Minnesota North Lights" would've been a perfect name for the team, honestly, it keeps the spirit of the North Stars brand without stepping on Dallas' shoes since people seem to insist Dallas and Minnesota both cannot have "Stars" in their name (in spite of multiple teams in leagues sharing names already, like the two Sox in the MLB).

 

Of course, the real best option would've just been for Dallas to let Minnesota be the North Stars again. 😛

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Red Sox/White Sox is grandfathered in, so the Stars/North Stars idea is a terrible one. Dallas will never change their name, because they won a :censored:ing Cup with the name.
 

I’d go with Minnesota Northern Lights, Minnesota North Lights, or (if we want to keep the logo), Minnesota Ursus (Latin name for bears). The Wild will probably never win the Cup anytime soon, so it can be done by new owners or whoever. That’s the benefit of being mediocre-to-terrible for your entire existence.

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2 hours ago, Gothamite said:

 

I'm still kind of shocked it's lasted this long.  Shocked even more that nobody in Minnesota seems to mind it.

 

Gonna need to show your work for this one.

 

Not sure what anyone can do about it, other than finding a way to prove that "Wild" is culturally insensitive.  

 

"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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56 minutes ago, Ridleylash said:

"Wilders" sounds just as dumb as "Wild", just gonna say. If not dumber.

 

I liked the idea of "Northern Lights", since it keeps a tie to the North Stars identity while still being unique. "Minnesota North Lights" would've been a perfect name for the team, honestly, it keeps the spirit of the North Stars brand without stepping on Dallas' shoes since people seem to insist Dallas and Minnesota both cannot have "Stars" in their name (in spite of multiple teams in leagues sharing names already, like the two Sox in the MLB).

 

Of course, the real best option would've just been for Dallas to let Minnesota be the North Stars again. 😛

 

Wilders is really no different than Lakers or Sounders. 

 

Northern Lights was the best option available, unfortunately. I liked it. However, anything goes in Gary Bettman's NHL, even if it is ridiculous.

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3 minutes ago, BringBackTheVet said:

 

Gonna need to show your work for this one.

 

Not sure what anyone can do about it, other than finding a way to prove that "Wild" is culturally insensitive.  

 

Speaking anecdotally, as someone who grew up in north central Minnesota, @Gothamite is correct on this one.

 

But it's also unlikely that the adoration for the team has anything to do with the name, but for the fact the team exists at all. Frankly, I don't think most fans there care at all about the name. To the layman, it's no more nonsensical than Packers or Twins. That it doesn't hold up to the standards of the rest of the league seems inconsequential. 

 

I'll admit, I also find it odd. Back in 1999 or so, when I was living in Pittsburgh, I was with a buddy at a Pens' preseason game when they showed highlights of the name reveal. He still tells the story of my reaction: "What the f*** is a Wild?"

 

I think sometimes you want something so badly that you tend to overlook its flaws. I see no evidence of a widespread movement to replace the Wild. There's significant nostalgia for the North Stars, but I don't sense the clamoring to reclaim the name that most of us seem to share.

 

Yet I like this idea of coming up with alternate name that would allow for the N-star logo to return -- or allow for its use alongside the Wild logo. (It's not unlike what may be happening with the Washington Football Team and R-names.) I'm not in love with "Northern Lights," but I've always enjoyed the idea of the "Northmen" or "Norsemen" -- a corollary to the old Memphis Southmen of the long-dead WFL that ties into the region's vast Scandinavian heritage.  Admittedly, gendering a sports team or a particular ethnicity isn't the smartest idea, but it would at least work with both the N-star and the Wild logos. 

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3 hours ago, Gothamite said:

I'm still kind of shocked it's lasted this long.  Shocked even more that nobody in Minnesota seems to mind it.

 

1 hour ago, BringBackTheVet said:

Gonna need to show your work for this one.

 

Not sure what anyone can do about it, other than finding a way to prove that "Wild" is culturally insensitive.  

 

I can't prove a negative. 

 

You're right, there's not much that anybody can do about a team name or logo.  We have ample evidence to demonstrate that (outside of racism or other cultural factors) if the owners like it, that's the most important thing.  However, the one thing fans can do is complain and mobilize online.  And there seems to be an absence of people in Minnesota doing that, which is why it seems that nobody in Minnesota seems to mind.  So while we can't prove a negative, we should be able to disprove it if false.

 

If you have any evidence of an organized fan effort to change it, or even any significant number of people complaining about it, I would really love to see it.  Because hope, after all, springs eternal.  :D 

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'Mobilizing online' wasn't a thing when the Wild were named so not sure how any voices could be heard (short of somehow organizing a protest somewhere, which would have been a lot of effort.  Not "minding" or "accepting" isn't the same as "liking", and while I can't speak for any Wild fans, the internet is full of some that do mind it.  I wouldn't expect any mass campaigns to change it, even if they hated it - it's 23 years old, and names simply don't get changed these days if not for cultural reasons or team-history-swapping deals like with the Charlotte/NO Hornets.

 

I'm not arguing if most like it or not, because I obviously don't know - but it's clear that there are people in Minnesota that mind it.

 

 

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/minnesota-wild-name-change

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It is time to get back what is ours, the Minnesota North Stars, or at least create a better name than the Minnesota Wild ...

 

 

https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-sports/20-years-ago-the-minnesota-wild-got-its-name-but-it-couldve-been-worse

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It hasn't proved a particularly popular name with fans, regularly being ranked among the worst-named teams in major American sports 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Not a big fan of the name itself, but I love the logo and color scheme and I'm willing to deal with the name

"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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3 hours ago, VancouverFan69 said:

Whether or not the NFL Saints would want to share their trademarked name is another story.

 

The National Football League franchise in question holds a trademark for the name New Orleans Saints and the logos associated with said identity. They couldn't stop a National Hockey League franchise from trademarking the name Minnesota Saints.  

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On 8/3/2020 at 9:28 AM, Ridleylash said:

I wouldn't be shocked if the mascot has nothing to do with the Kraken at all, to preserve that mystery. An osprey or even a sockeye salmon would be fun, locally-relevant mascots that preserve the Kraken's mystery very well.

 

They could also opt for a wacky, amorphous character like Philadelphia & Dallas have done.

 

5 hours ago, VancouverFan69 said:

That's why "Minnesota Wilders" makes sense. There is no such thing as a "wilder" but neither is a "laker".  The "Wilders" could still use the same highly creative bear-forest crest. I would, then, just change the red to a light orange. No team in major league sports has a forest green and orange look which would look amazing.

 

Lakers are a common name for the freight ships that are often seen in the Great Lakes & surrounding waterways. I think they could have gone with Wildcats and wouldn't have had to change a single other thing about the brand. They're already the only pro team with a green and red colour scheme, so I don't see any need to change to orange.

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16 minutes ago, spartacat_12 said:

They could also opt for a wacky, amorphous character like Philadelphia & Dallas have done.

They could, but I don't think it'd work as well; Viktor E. Green is at least explicitly an alien, so his wacky amorphous nature makes sense from that perspective. Gritty...well, what would you make the mascot of a team as generically-named as the "Flyers"? 😛 He at least embodies the culture around Philly sports.

 

I feel like they'd go for something more like the rest of the league and have a more identifiable animal-type mascot character, personally; something like a salmon or osprey could work well to tie into the branding's nautical elements without having to subvert the brand's mystery by just having a kraken be the mascot.

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1 hour ago, Ridleylash said:

They could, but I don't think it'd work as well; Viktor E. Green is at least explicitly an alien, so his wacky amorphous nature makes sense from that perspective. Gritty...well, what would you make the mascot of a team as generically-named as the "Flyers"? 😛 He at least embodies the culture around Philly sports.

 

I feel like they'd go for something more like the rest of the league and have a more identifiable animal-type mascot character, personally; something like a salmon or osprey could work well to tie into the branding's nautical elements without having to subvert the brand's mystery by just having a kraken be the mascot.

 

OK, here's a dumb idea. What if they had TWO characters: some sort of fisherman caricature, the other an unseen set of eyeballs (maybe a hint of tentacle) that appears in hidden corners of the arena, but is never caught.  Every time the eyeballs show up, the fisherman either scatters or runs toward it to catch it.  It's like a live-action cartoon playing out in every game. 

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