Wow, the Lerners Really Hate the Nats' DC Logo

[BallWonk]

For anyone who was still hoping that the Nats curly-W logo might one day be replaced, you can surrender now. Ain't gonna happen.

When a team puts a four-story neon logo on its scoreboard like the Nats' curly-W clock, well, that can be changed. But when a team puts its logo on every piece of cast and wrought iron in a ballpark with lots of iron, that logo is not going anywhere.

How much do the team-owning Lerners and team president Stan Kasten hate the Nats' DC logo? Let me count the ways:

1. The Nats wore spring training / BP jerseys for their exhibition Saturday, not their red DC-emblazoned alts.

2. In the two ballpark team shops I visited Sunday night, the DC-logo alt caps were not for sale.

3. If you order online or visit a regular sporting-goods store, the Nats have two Majestic thermabase fleece undershirts, in red and blue, both with the DC logo. In the team shops, these thermabase fleece undershirts have the curly-W logo.

4. Last year, at RFK, the team store featured the DC logo on a number of t-shirts and sweatshirts. In a quick survey of the team stores at Nationals Park, I saw no such DC logo merchandise.

5. In fact, the only DC logo I saw on any official team material anywhere in the park was on the unchanged-from-last-year left sleeve patches on the players' uniforms.

(The only counterexample from the store was the red alt shirts, which were available for sale.)

Anyway, given the lengths to which ownership has gone to minimize the presence of the DC logo on merchandise at the team store, I will be very surprised if the DC logo remains on the team's shoulder patches or alt jerseys next year.

[SmoothieX]

Good I like the Curly W look. I don't like the DC logo.

[BrySmalls]

For anyone who was still hoping that the Nats curly-W logo might one day be replaced, you can surrender now. Ain't gonna happen.

When a team puts a four-story neon logo on its scoreboard like the Nats' curly-W clock, well, that can be changed. But when a team puts its logo on every piece of cast and wrought iron in a ballpark with lots of iron, that logo is not going anywhere.

How much do the team-owning Lerners and team president Stan Kasten hate the Nats' DC logo? Let me count the ways:

1. The Nats wore spring training / BP jerseys for their exhibition Saturday, not their red DC-emblazoned alts.

2. In the two ballpark team shops I visited Sunday night, the DC-logo alt caps were not for sale.

3. If you order online or visit a regular sporting-goods store, the Nats have two Majestic thermabase fleece undershirts, in red and blue, both with the DC logo. In the team shops, these thermabase fleece undershirts have the curly-W logo.

4. Last year, at RFK, the team store featured the DC logo on a number of t-shirts and sweatshirts. In a quick survey of the team stores at Nationals Park, I saw no such DC logo merchandise.

5. In fact, the only DC logo I saw on any official team material anywhere in the park was on the unchanged-from-last-year left sleeve patches on the players' uniforms.

(The only counterexample from the store was the red alt shirts, which were available for sale.)

Anyway, given the lengths to which ownership has gone to minimize the presence of the DC logo on merchandise at the team store, I will be very surprised if the DC logo remains on the team's shoulder patches or alt jerseys next year.

Did you manage to checkout the back of the scoreboard? There's a huge DC logo there next to the image of Zimmerman's walkoff against the Yankees.

[cappital92]

My only problem with the W is that it's not symmetrical.

[Erik121]

Being an employee for this wonderful company , I still hate that the logo looks so much like this:

[Gothamite]

When a team puts a four-story neon logo on its scoreboard like the Nats' curly-W clock, well, that can be changed. But when a team puts its logo on every piece of cast and wrought iron in a ballpark with lots of iron, that logo is not going anywhere.

Except for the Baltimore Orioles, who enshrined their bird in wrought-iron on the end of every seat in Camden Yards (not to mention two really huge ones on either side of the scoreboard), and then changed it four years later.

Been a decade now, and they haven't updated any of them.

[Yac12]

My wife and I were watching the game last night and she asked why are the Nationals using the Walgreen's logo. I thought she was kidding.

I do like the W, but I don't like it that it doesn't match the wordmarks. I know this has been talked to death in the past.

[M59]

When a team puts a four-story neon logo on its scoreboard like the Nats' curly-W clock, well, that can be changed. But when a team puts its logo on every piece of cast and wrought iron in a ballpark with lots of iron, that logo is not going anywhere.

Except for the Baltimore Orioles, who enshrined their bird in wrought-iron on the end of every seat in Camden Yards (not to mention two really huge ones on either side of the scoreboard), and then changed it four years later.

Been a decade now, and they haven't updated any of them.

The old birds are only on the weathervanes on the scoreboard. There never were birds on the seat ends (they used the original Baltimore baseball logo from the late 1800s), and the bird decals on the gates have been changed.

Also, the cap bird was changed in 1998, then again in 1999, not in 1996, which was four years after Camden Yards opened.

[BallWonk]

Did you manage to checkout the back of the scoreboard? There's a huge DC logo there next to the image of Zimmerman's walkoff against the Yankees.

Good catch, and you're right. However, that's a pretty easily removable display.

Regarding the Orioles, the changes to their bird logo are insignificant next to the power of the Dark Side difference between the curly-W and the DC logos.

Plus, the dominant architectural detail at OPACY is the beautiful curly B found on the aisle ends. Shame the O's hasn't designed new jersey scripts around that wonderful 19th century capital B.

Oh, and another bit of decorative detailing: The trash bins on the main concourse are green blue metal with a curly W cut out of them to show bright red plastic behind. But of course the inside of the W's loop has to connect to the rest of the can, so it's done stencil-style, so that it has the appearance that the right loop of the letter crosses over on top of the left loop of the letter. Sort of like the breaks in San Diego's current SD logo. This actually manages to make the curly-W look pretty good.

[BrySmalls]

The trashbins around the outfield concourse are blue with the red W logo. I have pics but am lazy to upload them.

[Gothamite]

Appreciate the corrections, tpoh59. Thought I've seen pics of the seat ends.

Oh, and another bit of decorative detailing: The trash bins on the main concourse are green metal with a curly W cut out of them to show bright red plastic behind. But of course the inside of the W's loop has to connect to the rest of the can, so it's done stencil-style, so that it has the appearance that the right loop of the letter crosses over on top of the left loop of the letter. Sort of like the breaks in San Diego's current SD logo. This actually manages to make the curly-W look pretty good.

I'd love to see that. Next time you go, can you take a camera?

[TruColor]

This is probably a topic for the Sports in General forum, but what did you guys think of the new park? I'm always curious for first-person reviews...

[BrySmalls]

This is probably a topic for the Sports in General forum, but what did you guys think of the new park? I'm always curious for first-person reviews...

I'd give the stadium a B

Here's why:

Positives:

Within walking distance from the Navy Yard Metro Stop (this is a double edge sword);

The field looks amazing;

The press box is existing and not as dominant as one would think.

A variety of food and alcoholic beverages.

The huge scoreboard;

Unique view of the Capitol Building and Washington Monument;

The Red Porch for the sportsbar.

Negatives:

If you're a diehard fan, be prepared to shell out a lot for merchandise, best option is to look elsewhere for stuff.

The upper concourse is too open. Limited locations to escape the rain if/when there is a rain delay. Did they not think it would rain during the summer?

Limited selection of food and alcohol on the upper concourse. Gotta trek to the main concourse to get good food.

Local food chains, Five Guys, Red, Hot N Blue, Hard Times Cafe, Ben's Chili Bowl, etc. ONLY have ONE location throughout the stadium. Had a hot dog and chili nachos both were subpar and cold. Maybe they can place a few on the upper concourse?

Too much concrete! The facade of the front rows throughout the stadium is bland and boring. They attempted to cover it up a bit but still doesn't work. Definitely need to finish up the paint jobs throughout the stadium.

The wires that hold the backstop in place are connected rather weirdly way down the 1st and 3rd baselines.

The mass of people waiting to get on the Metro at the Navy Yard once the game is over. If you're feeling adventurous, you can walk to the South Capitol Stop (if taking the Orange or Blue line) to get home.

Well just take my opinion with a grain of salt. Although a lot of people bash RFK Stadium, I enjoyed a game there albeit less revenue and only true fans went. At Nats Park, this is an instant cashcow something that this franchise desperately needs for the long-run. It couldn't have been developed more with the 1st game last night on ESPN and with Zimmerman winning for us with that walkoff.

But be ready to drop at least $150 or so, depending on how many people you go with.

[CC97]

How much do the team-owning Lerners and team president Stan Kasten hate the Nats' DC logo? Let me count the ways:

1. The Nats wore spring training / BP jerseys for their exhibition Saturday, not their red DC-emblazoned alts.

Nothing weird about that -- teams usually wear their spring training/bp uniforms in spring training/exhibition games.

[gueman]

This is probably a topic for the Sports in General forum, but what did you guys think of the new park? I'm always curious for first-person reviews...

Well just take my opinion with a grain of salt. Although a lot of people bash RFK Stadium, I enjoyed a game there albeit less revenue and only true fans went. At Nats Park, this is an instant cashcow something that this franchise desperately needs for the long-run. It couldn't have been developed more with the 1st game last night on ESPN and with Zimmerman winning for us with that walkoff.

But be ready to drop at least $150 or so, depending on how many people you go with.

Well not all new parks are cash cows as many cities have found out. There will be the curiosity factor this year for sure. But if the Nats tank, the people will be hard pressed to spend the cash. BUT I know I am hoping to get down there with Jake this year and check it out.

[BrySmalls]

This is probably a topic for the Sports in General forum, but what did you guys think of the new park? I'm always curious for first-person reviews...

Well just take my opinion with a grain of salt. Although a lot of people bash RFK Stadium, I enjoyed a game there albeit less revenue and only true fans went. At Nats Park, this is an instant cashcow something that this franchise desperately needs for the long-run. It couldn't have been developed more with the 1st game last night on ESPN and with Zimmerman winning for us with that walkoff.

But be ready to drop at least $150 or so, depending on how many people you go with.

Well not all new parks are cash cows as many cities have found out. There will be the curiosity factor this year for sure. But if the Nats tank, the people will be hard pressed to spend the cash. BUT I know I am hoping to get down there with Jake this year and check it out.

Hope you and Jake have a great time!

[FiddySicks]

I don't see why people have such a problem with the Nats W not matching the script. It's not a glaring problem and they're not the only team who's cap logo doesn't line up with the jersey script and nobody complains. I personally see it like this. The set is a good modern look with a slight tip of the cap back to Washington D.C.'s baseball history. I honestly feel that having the DC logo on the cap would be an overload of gold. If anything though the Nats have the same problem the Brewers have, too many good looking logos.

But I still feel the DC logo should be on a navy cap with a red bill, paired with a navy jersey.

[Gothamite]

I don't see why people have such a problem with the Nats W not matching the script. It's not a glaring problem and they're not the only team who's cap logo doesn't line up with the jersey script and nobody complains.

The Nats' problem is unique in baseball. Virtually every element of their uniform matches with the exception of the cap logo. If they even used a simple block font for the numbers, this wouldn't be so glaring. Or maybe if they had used a different font for their road jerseys, as so many teams do.

This isn't like the Tigers, who have three different fonts on their home and road uniforms. Or the Yankees, with their four different "NY" logos. That kind of mismatch is charming.

But by over-designing the entire uniform, the Nats have made their cap logo stand out, alone in the club's scheme. It's just bad design.

[RJL]

I don't see why people have such a problem with the Nats W not matching the script. It's not a glaring problem and they're not the only team who's cap logo doesn't line up with the jersey script and nobody complains.

The Nats' problem is unique in baseball. Virtually every element of their uniform matches with the exception of the cap logo. If they even used a simple block font for the numbers, this wouldn't be so glaring. Or maybe if they had used a different font for their road jerseys, as so many teams do.

This isn't like the Tigers, who have three different fonts on their home and road uniforms. Or the Yankees, with their four different "NY" logos. That kind of mismatch is charming.

But by over-designing the entire uniform, the Nats have made their cap logo stand out, alone in the club's scheme. It's just bad design.

I really wish the Nats would move away from all the red. The homes would look so much better if they wore blue caps, and changed the name and numbers to blue with red and gold trim.

[Don]

its really simple to explain, i saw at least 75% red curly W hats being worn at the game (myself included). the DC fans flock to the red curly W, its the most popular look, therefore, its the primary logo and the symbol of baseball in DC.