Cleveland Gladiators

[CBOhioU]

www.clevelandafl.com

GLADIATORS TO INVADE CLEVELAND SPORTS SCENE

Arena Football League Franchise Announces Team Name

CLEVELAND (November 28, 2007) ? The Cleveland Arena Football League franchise announced today that the team will be called the ?Cleveland Gladiators?. The team also introduced their new logo and its colors of red, black and silver.

The Gladiators, which announced its move to Northeast Ohio from Las Vegas in October, will kick off the 2008 season on Monday, March 3 against the New York Dragons at Quicken Loans Arena.

?It is an exciting day for Cleveland football,? said Gladiator part-owner, CEO and president BERNIE KOSAR. ?The name ?Gladiators? epitomizes what I felt like taking the field every Sunday. We have been building this the right way with a top quality coaching staff and players that will be proud to have "Cleveland" on their uniforms.?

??Gladiator? represents an individual who sacrifices everything in the name of hard work ? which is perfect for the city of Cleveland,? said Gladiators owner JIM FERRARO. ?It?s also a familiar metaphor used for football players and for the fans who watch them play.?

[CubsFanBudMan]

By the sounds of that press release, you'd think they'd just gone through a major overhaul of name, logo and colors.

As it is everything is exactly the same, besides chopping that G in the main logo down to a C. That's an upgrade because now it references the location.

Strange that this identity/team name has survived three locales. That's not very AFL-like.

[Burning River]

I like it. It's fine. It seems that they morphed the Vegas logo from a "G" to a "C". Since it used a "Sword"... I like that there is "sort of" a tie in to the Cavaliers. They could now use the "Flaming Swords" on the Quicken Loans Arena scoreboard a few more times next year!!

Kosar was on the radio saying how difficult it was t ochange the name to anything "Dog" related. He was thinking aboud "Bulldogs" (Proper spelling, I hope), but there were too many legal hurdles.

[timparry]

I like it. It's fine. It seems that they morphed the Vegas logo from a "G" to a "C". Since it used a "Sword"... I like that there is "sort of" a tie in to the Cavaliers. They could now use the "Flaming Swords" on the Quicken Loans Arena scoreboard a few more times next year!!

Kosar was on the radio saying how difficult it was t ochange the name to anything "Dog" related. He was thinking aboud "Bulldogs" (Proper spelling, I hope), but there were too many legal hurdles.

Best of luck to Kozar. I used to cover these guys when they were the New Jersey Gladiators. Jim Ferraro couldn't put fannies in the seats at the Meadowlands (no one cared) or Las Vegas (bad move, and failure at 2 arenas). Hopefully Kozar will bring new life to the franchise.

Nice logo adjustment though.

[Mac the Knife]

Strange that this identity/team name has survived three locales. That's not very AFL-like.

You're counting Pittsburgh in that list, and that was a different franchise... but yeah, that's strange.

Have we finally run out of useful team nicknames?

[Burkell007]

Nope I don't like it, it looks like the C is eating the sword.......should of done a whole new logo and name and colors.

[Viola73]

Ah, The Gladiators..the Boston, New Orleans, Portland Breakers (USFL) of the AFL.

[Mac the Knife]

Ah, The Gladiators..the Boston, New Orleans, Portland Breakers (USFL) of the AFL.

The AFL has about a half-dozen franchises with similar histories, only changing their name with each move.

[Sport]

Now the Destroyers can have a natural rival. Boo cleveland, I hate you.

[ClutchIsEverything]

Kosar was on the radio saying how difficult it was t ochange the name to anything "Dog" related. He was thinking aboud "Bulldogs" (Proper spelling, I hope), but there were too many legal hurdles.

I'm guessing they tried to go for Bulldogs and when push came to shove there was just not enough time to wade through the NFL trademarks. Plus getting on the wrong side of the local NFL team isn't something any AFL team wants, but especially Kosar.

[powersurge]

Strange that this identity/team name has survived three locales. That's not very AFL-like.

You're counting Pittsburgh in that list, and that was a different franchise... but yeah, that's strange.

Have we finally run out of useful team nicknames?

You can give them credit for holding on to a name that is very reminiscent of the game of football, and one that isn't overly used by many professional franchises (to my knowledge)

It could be worse...they could have been the Cleveland Rockers or something like that.

[BB61]

You still would think that they'd shed their imagine and get something new, though.

Meh.

[Sodboy13]

Well, this marks the first misstep of what are sure to be many for the Cleveland franchise. I was hoping this move and the addition of Kosar would mark a turnaround or a change in direction. But with Ferraro at the helm, this team will likely meet the same fate it did in two previous locales, making all the same mistakes and backwards moves, only in a shiny new arena. This franchise might not see 2010.

[agentrygraphics]

Strange that this identity/team name has survived three locales. That's not very AFL-like.

You're counting Pittsburgh in that list, and that was a different franchise... but yeah, that's strange.

Have we finally run out of useful team nicknames?

You can give them credit for holding on to a name that is very reminiscent of the game of football, and one that isn't overly used by many professional franchises (to my knowledge)

It could be worse...they could have been the Cleveland Rockers or something like that.

...or revived the "Thunderbolts" name for that matter.

I'm a little disappointed, seeing as how this now negates a revival of the Pittsburgh Gladiators name if the steel city ever was granted another shot at an AFL franchise.

[patsox]

I don't like it. I guess I would probably like it more if it were more obvious what the thing the C is in was. I want to say it's a shield but that wouldn't make much sense IMO.

[rams80]

Ah, The Gladiators..the Boston, New Orleans, Portland Breakers (USFL) of the AFL.

The AFL has about a half-dozen franchises with similar histories, only changing their name with each move.

Columbus didn't....

[kewp80]

I thought they were going to change to the Bulldogs or something. They really should have changed the name, and try to start over with a franchise that has been very shaky lately. Bulldogs also would have been a nice call back to the time the franchise was called the Red Dogs.

[neo_prankster]

In the next few years, they'll probably move to Baltimore .

[apeman33]

I thought they were going to change to the Bulldogs or something. They really should have changed the name, and try to start over with a franchise that has been very shaky lately. Bulldogs also would have been a nice call back to the time the franchise was called the Red Dogs.

Actually, given that Arena Football fans are likely to be more regional in their following than national, I think it makes sense to keep the name at least. I mean, I don't think too many fans of the Cleveland Gladiators are going to give two whits about what the franchise did in New Jersey or Las Vegas. A lot of the new fans they're going to pick up may still think this is an expansion team. Why waste time developing a new identity when you already has a name that goes pretty naturally with football?

Now maybe a different logo should have been created. But that's a whole different issue. I don't see a problem with using the Gladiators name or colors is all.

Also, wanting them to drop the Gladiators name and pick up a name that ties in with "Red Dogs" is a bit contradictory, is it not?

[darkshadow1031]

I'm not crazy about the name but I was hoping for similar colors to the Cavaliers and the Monsters since they all are going to be playing at the Q. A recolorization to include wine and/or gold and/or navy would would work.