76ers going back to old logo and uniforms

[BBTV]

Time for 76ers to drop bunny mascot

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/john_gonzalez/' target="_blank"> By John Gonzalez

Inquirer Columnist

Last week, the 76ers mercifully scrapped their unsightly, tricked-out, late-'90s uniforms and logo in favor of returning to the franchise's famous old-school models. A lot of people were happy about that. I was one of them.

Some Sixers employees have accused me of being overly critical of the organization, so I'd like to address them directly here. Kudos on a job well done. It was smart to go retro, and you should be commended for it.

I just have one nagging question: What's with the bunny? If you're going to erase the hideous black uniforms and outdated, overactive logo, you guys should have gone all-out and retired the mascot, too.

To this day, I can't understand what the Sixers were thinking when they came up with Hip-Hop. I can only imagine the original meeting that birthed the bunny - a vain, impossible attempt to create a mascot that's aggressive yet approachable, edgy yet lovable. I can almost hear some corporate drone pitching the winning-but-woefully-misguided concept:

What about a rabbit named Hip-Hop? Get it? He's a bunny, but he's also, like, super cool and into rap, yo.

As far as bad ideas go, Hip-Hop ranks up there with Mike Tyson's face ink.

This will put it in better perspective: My godson, Nicholas, is 9 years old. He's a sports fanatic and a Sixers devotee - so much so that he recently attended a weeklong Sixers basketball camp for kids. Not only did he play hoops all day long, but he also met some of the Sixers. He couldn't have been happier.

When I asked about his favorite players, he provided detailed analysis on Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young. But when I asked what he thinks about Hip-Hop, he didn't say anything at first. Then he shrugged.

"Eh," he said.

That was it. Just "eh." From a kid who would get a Sixers tattoo if his mother, my cousin, would let him. (She's such a prude that way.) If you can't get a dedicated fan like my godson to dig the bunny, then the marketing battle has surely been fought and lost.

For that reason and so many others, Hip-Hop makes our list of the top 10 Lamest Mascots in Pro Sports:

10. Steely McBeam (Steelers): The United States is still one of the global leaders in steel production, but it's no longer No. 1. According to the World Steel Association, China, the European Union, and Japan all produce more steel than we do. Steely McBeam may echo the Steelers name, but it's also a reminder that the American steel industry isn't what it used to be. It's the equivalent of the Detroit Lions creating a mascot that looks like one of those new Chevy Camaros and then naming it Unemployed McBailout.

9. Boltman (Chargers): He was once the official team representative then broke from the organization and went out on his own. (Or so the story goes.) Still, Boltman - a human lightning bolt that looks as if it's been doing 'roids since the late 1980s - is widely recognized as the team mascot. And a terrifying one at that.

8. Poe (Ravens): Naturally, Baltimore's mascot is a Raven. And, of course, it's named after the city's favorite poet and most famous former resident. Note to the Ravens' front office: We get it. You dig Edgar Allan Poe. Please stop now.

7. Rumble the Bison (Thunder): The Oklahoma City mascot looks a little like Teen Wolf. Sadly, it's even less entertaining than the movie.

6. Dinger (Rockies): Colorado employs a purple dinosaur. Think Barney, only not as cool.

5. Hip-Hop (76ers): It's time to move on. The Sixers should hold a mascot contest - preferably something focused on the American Revolution. Then the organization should throw a big party and serve the fans a tasty rabbit stew. It would be both symbolic and delicious.

4. Mr. Met (Mets): A few years back, Conan O'Brien did a skit where Mr. Met came home to find Mrs. Met cheating on him with the Phanatic. Whenever I'm feeling low, I think about that. Picks me right up.

3. Rowdy (Cowboys): He has a Cowboy hat and a blue bandana around his neck and a giant, over-the-top, permanent grin that makes him look as if he took one too many Botox injections. I bet Jerry Jones loves him.

2. Slider (Indians): I honestly couldn't tell you what the Cleveland mascot is supposed to be. It has strange spots all over. I think they might be leprosy lesions.

1. Wally the Green Monster (Red Sox): Entertainment is often derivative, but there's a difference between borrowing an idea (or two) and hijacking it. If Fozzie Bear and the Phillie Phanatic ever procreated, Wally would be the unfortunate, unholy result. Whoever is responsible for fathering Wally should have used protection.

[tBBP]

I don't mind when teams return to their roots. Usually, this sort of change is welcomed with open arms by fans who followed the team in that era, and by younger people who are just into this retro craze for whatever reason. This change, however, can be summarized in two words: Cheap and Lazy. That logo, which is now their official primary again, is dated and not very visually pleasing. I like when teams like the Sabres or the Pistons brick back an old logo but fix it's defaults in the process. As it stands right now, I smell a cash grab from the Sixers organisation. It costs alot less money to recycle old designs onto fabric than it does producing something brand new. But everybody is going vintage, so who could possibly complain about anything?

They didnt really take the cheap or lazy way out. I interned with the 76ers this past season with Harvey Pollack, and I can tell you first hand that the overall fan opinion was to go back to the roots. They did lots of studies, and even did a poll on the Sixers website where they asked the fans what was the favorite logo of the team's history, and the old logo won by a landslide. They are also using an updated version of the old uniforms, so its not much of a recycling of fabric when they will have to completely rehaul the actual authentic product, and just keep the current throwbacks uni's as just that...throwbacks.

That being said, I would love to see the SIXERS tailor their old school look to a lakers/heat/raptors/pistons style template. I think that would be a pretty clean way to make the uniforms look both classic and updated at the same time.

It's easy for fans to say that the old logo was their favorite one, because it's not like there were many options. I'm sure if they had a design team assemble some good new "retro-themed" marks, they could easily have come up with something superior to the one they just went back to.

Also, I feel safe in saying that the fan "reaction" to this can only be described as apathetic. The only fans who I've talked to or heard on the radio who actually care are more upset that they feel that the team is just using this as a way of a way of shifting attention away from the fact that they suck, and won't (or can't) do anything about it.

Funny how the Sixers went from being the best team in the city af far as PR goes (when they had Pat Croce in charge - coincidentally, also when they ushered in the black look) to being second to worst (ahead of only the Eagles, who are the most PR-inept franchise I think I've ever seen.)

You see...this is my problem when team officials say things like "fan vote" or "it's what the fans want" and use that as a reason--or THE reason--to do something like this.

Did the fans REALLY say that...or is that just what the officials wanted to do and just play the "fan vote" card to mask the fact that that is what they chose to do all along?

I've seen this happen too many times over the past few years, with teams doing "name the team" contests and whatnot.

But really, my total issue with this 76ers "retrobrand" (that's my new term for this mini-phenomenon that's going on in pro sports) is that they made no effort whatsoever to freshen up their "retro" look. Something like what Conrad posted several posts back would have been a better option by leaps and bounds then simply reincarnating the early 80's logo without making any changes to it, short of a color shift or so.

I don't know...it just seems lame to me for team officials to use the "it's what the fans wanted" excuse to go ahead and do what it is some head honcho wanted to do all along when some people can see straight through that veil anyway. Not saying that this is what happened with the Sixers here, but it certainly seems like it. Sometimes, the "fan" thing is genuine; sometimes, it's not.