Ottawa RedBlacks to Return CFL to Canadian Capital City

[GFB]

I like the name Red Blacks or Redblacks (Blackhawks anyone?)... I'm a fan of picking a very abstract and vague name and then letting the identity sort itself out over time (the Columbus Blue Jackets are a recent example of this...). They could even earn an unofficial nickname along the way that will eventually make its way into their brand (Oakland A's white elephant, Cleveland Browns dog pound, etc).

[JMROWE]

Ottawa Red Raiders

[Tygers09]

I just thought up the River Rafters, it doesn't sound too bad, especially compared to other team names in the CFL...like Alouettes, Argonauts, Stampeders...

[rams80]

Why is so many people dislike the name Renegades? Just because the last franchise failed? Montreal has had what 2 franchises of Alouettes that went belly up, yet they keep coming back with that nickname for a team? A nickname shouldn't be based on how successful a franchise is or was, but the decision upon the owner of the team.

I think it's less "the franchise failed" and more "the franchise failed in 4 years"

[Sec19Row53]

So how did this go from "must begin with R" to "Voyageurs is one of the finalists"?

[NatsFan2004]

Ottawa had "Nationals" long before Washington did, with the Ottawa Nationals of the WHA...as brief as that was before they moved to Toronto and became the Toros.

"Dibs" count for very little in the sporting world.

That said, because it's a completely different sport and a completely different country, I'd say Nationals is likely OK to use. But it's a particularly boring choice for a football team name, especially a CFL team.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

Nationals works. I do like Red Blacks, but wtf is a 'red black'?

[BigBubba]

So how did this go from "must begin with R" to "Voyageurs is one of the finalists"?

The Boss made some pretty good points about that in his recent blog post.

[JH42XCC]

How come is Ottawa Regals not mentioned on the short list.

[Tygers09]

How come is Ottawa Regals not mentioned on the short list.

That actually sounds pretty good!!

[tBBP]

Nationals works. I do like Red Blacks, but wtf is a 'red black'?

Disclaimer: the following is nothing personal against the above poster...but I've seen this same question raised by several others.

Some of y'all tend to think way too concretely (if that's even a word) about this stuff. Who says a "Red Black" has to be a tangible entity? As the ghetto farm boy mentioned upthread (Ha, Kauz! ), sometimes ambiguous nicknames such as "Red Blacks" lend themselves to the best visual identities, simply because there's no pretty little defined box to limit yourself to. There's all kinds of ways they could go with that...one of which could include Canada's national rodent, the beaver (a point that shouldn't be lost on anyone, especially since this is also Canada's capital we're talking about here). In addition to that, there's also this: "Red Blacks" (and if they choose that, I hope they split it up like that) has such an awesome "old-school" connotation to it that fits perfectly into the wheelhouse that is the CFL's super-long legacy. (I mean hell, look up the lineage of the Tiger-Cats franchise, and how that nickname to see how that came about...and I think you'd probably agree with me.)

I was originally favoring "Redcoats"...but the more I see this "Red Blacks", the more I lean towards it. I still think either of those two would be their best choice.

[Brian in Boston]

Can we expect news on the Ottawa CFL franchise's name anytime soon? Apparently not...

"Are we talking weeks? No. Maybe months. The next time I'm going to speak about or mention the name is when we unveil it. It's still a work in progress. We've had the focus group, we've had discussion. Now we need to go away, hibernate and re-emerge out of the cave with a complete identity, a total branding package. We will bring it out when we think we have it right and it's something we believe in. Look at teams like the Senators and 67s... what we think about them is more than a name on the front of the jersey." - Jeff Hunt, Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group

Well, it certainly sounds as if someone is getting a bit perturbed with the less-than-enthusiastic fan reaction to names such as Red Blacks and Rush.

[Brian in Boston]

sometimes ambiguous nicknames such as "Red Blacks" lend themselves to the best visual identities, simply because there's no pretty little defined box to limit yourself to.

Sometimes... though, more often than not, ambiguity isn't the friend of effective sports branding. A sports franchise is looking to establish a "concrete" identity in the mind's-eye of potential fans.

There's all kinds of ways they could go with that...one of which could include Canada's national rodent, the beaver (a point that shouldn't be lost on anyone, especially since this is also Canada's capital we're talking about here).

I'm of a mind that working a beaver - an official emblem of Canada since 1975 - into the logo for Ottawa's new CFL franchise would be an outstanding idea. In fact, Ottawa's last CFL team - the Renegades - utilized a secondary mark featuring the creature.

That said, you needn't pair a logo featuring an image of a beaver with an ambiguous team name. You could brand the team as the Ottawa Nationals or Ottawa Capitals - neither name being in the least bit ambiguous for an Ottawa-based franchise - and use a logo that features an image of a beaver. Hell, you could just name the team the Ottawa Beavers.

In addition to that, there's also this: "Red Blacks" has such an awesome "old-school" connotation to it that fits perfectly into the wheelhouse that is the CFL's super-long legacy. (I mean hell, look up the lineage of the Tiger-Cats franchise, and how that nickname to see how that came about...and I think you'd probably agree with me.)

I don't see how "the lineage of the Tiger-Cats franchise", or its name, relates to the proposed Red Blacks sobriquet. The Tiger-Cats' name is the result of a pair of existing teams - the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats - merging, with the resulting franchise combining portions of the previous two team names to form a new brand that paid homage to its predecessor clubs. Unless the new Ottawa-based CFL team is the result of the merger of... oh, I don't know... the Ottawa Reds and the Ottawa All Blacks, the team name Ottawa Red Blacks is nothing more than a strained attempt to create faux "old-school" lineage where none actually exists.

[tBBP]

In fairness, in this current era of mental gymnastics (see NBA), I'd think that would fit right in.

(Of course I'm also aware that most if not all of my opinions only make sense in my own head, so....)

[illwauk]

In addition to that, there's also this: "Red Blacks" has such an awesome "old-school" connotation to it that fits perfectly into the wheelhouse that is the CFL's super-long legacy. (I mean hell, look up the lineage of the Tiger-Cats franchise, and how that nickname to see how that came about...and I think you'd probably agree with me.)

I don't see how "the lineage of the Tiger-Cats franchise", or its name, relates to the proposed Red Blacks sobriquet. The Tiger-Cats' name is the result of a pair of existing teams - the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats - merging, with the resulting franchise combining portions of the previous two team names to form a new brand that paid homage to its predecessor clubs. Unless the new Ottawa-based CFL team is the result of the merger of... oh, I don't know... the Ottawa Reds and the Ottawa All Blacks, the team name Ottawa Red Blacks is nothing more than a strained attempt to create faux "old-school" lineage where none actually exists.

None? Maybe no such lineage exists for this particular franchise, but football teams from Ottawa wearing red and black is a tradition that goes back to the 19th century. They're "civic" colors as much as black and gold are for Pittsburgh or blue and green are for Seattle.

[The_Admiral]

Thinking of Pittsburgh, I looked up the flag for Ottawa:

The flag of Ottawa is highlighted by a stylized O design. This stylized O is meant to represent both a maple leaf (symbolizing Canada) and the Peace Tower and Centre Block of the parliament buildings (symbolizing Ottawa). It is meant to be simple, but look festive, and to create a feeling of vibrant motion when flying.

The design uses the blue and green colours chosen to represent the new City of Ottawa. The blue is symbolic of rivers and waterways that are part of the Ottawa region, such as the Ottawa River. The large green areas speak to the large green space and quality of life in the area, as well as the forests, trees, and parkland within the city.

oh for the

That's not a flag, that's a software company

[WideRight]

Clearly the only possible logo for the Red Blacks is a Soviet propaganda styled image of a proud black man holding a sickle and hammer.

He would be a red black.

[nas1787]

Clearly the only possible logo for the Red Blacks is a Soviet propaganda styled image of a proud black man holding a sickle and hammer.

He would be a red black.

ha

[Tygers09]

If they go with the Redblacks, I can see the capital "R" on the helmets, and maybe a lumberjack or beaver for a secondary logo, just make sure it's not exactly like the beaver logo the Renegades used....

[Mounty]

Ottawa Chaperons

The Ottawa Chaperons makes for a suitable Ottawa CFL team name for the following reasons:

1. 
   Unique, there is no other pro-sport team with the same or similar name.
   
2. 
   Chaperon is both a french and english word.
   
3. 
   Common usage in the french fairytale "Le Petit Chaperon Rouge" or "Little
   Red Riding Hood" (Rouge Riding not dissimilar to Rough Riders)
   
4. 
   Two meanings: 1.) A form of Hood or Hat. 2.) A guide that ensures
   propriety (Not a stretch to assimilate Chaperon with Government)
   
5. 
   Excellent image/logo potential: 1.) Red 2.) Wolf 3.) Woodsman/
   Lumberjack (ties nicely in to History of Ottawa) 4.) Axes 5.) Riding Hoods.
   
6. 
   Chaperons can be abbreviated as Chaps. Abbreviating is consistent with
   CFL teams: Lions/Leos, Stampeders/Stamps, Eskimos/Eskies, Roughriders/Riders, Blue Bombers/Bombers, Tiger Cats/Ti-Cats, Argonauts/Argos & Alouettes/Als.
   
7. 
   Chap means Boy, which lends masculinity to an otherwise feminine "Red Riding Hood" image.
   
8. 
   Chap is quintessentially British, ideal for the Capital City of a Commonwealth Nation.
   
9. 
   Chap-er-ons is 3 syllables, consistent with CFL team names: B-C-Lions, Stam-ped-ers, Esk-i-mos, Rough-ri-ders, Blue-Bomb-ers, Ti-ger-Cats, Ar- go-nauts & Al-ou-ettes.
   
10. 
    A name referencing children's literature is not unique to the CFL. The Montreal Alouettes comes directly from the song Alouette, Gentille Alouette.