Toronto Raptors to get an overhaul? Maybe name change as well?

[MDGP]

Sorry, I never liked this idea. The world of pro sports has enough "birds of prey" identities as-is. The dinosaur connection works, in my opinion. It's not traditional, but there's nothing wrong with it in and of itself. It's just that the (rarely used) primary logo is a bit goofy.

Yeah, I don't dislike the dinosaur connection, but I never liked the primary. If they were to update it in a less goofy style, I would absolutely be on board. I've always found the bird of prey to be a good alternative that I would also be fine with, though only if they went with an underused bird, such as an owl.

[nash61]

I love the dinosaur theme. It's completely unique. The primary could use an update, but that's it.

[BigBubba]

I don't get all the hate for the name "Raptors". It's a great, unique name that you can do a lot with. The problem is they're not doing a lot with it.

Since the claw logo is the de facto primary and the dino logo is very rarely used, they run into a problem of not having a strong secondary logo, which hurts their brand. I personally love the claw logo, but that's pretty much all they have and it doesn't work well enough as the primary. If they devised a new dinosaur logo to be the primary and used the claw for what it should be - a supporting mark, their look would be improved greatly.

As for their uniforms, I really don't mind them. The problem isn't that they're bad, it's that they could be doing a lot better. The maple leaf is unnecessary, the "Raptors" script on both primaries is redundant, and the colour scheme isn't very original, but they have the basis of a good set - which is why the Vince Carter-era set is so loved.

Yeah, I'm sure that dressing them up in blue and white like the rest of the city's teams - Leafs, Blue Jays, Argos, Rock, Huskies, Marlies (even though they came to town 10 years later) - would be nice, a full-scale rebrand would not be a good idea. Four very different uniform sets and three colour schemes in 20 years is never good for a team's rand, especially when the team's already developed a solid following.

I'm all for the Blue Jays going all-out with the "Canada's team" stuff, but never the Raptors. The Blue Jays came in 1977, well before baseball developed a big following in Canada. With the country's other team playing in Québec, they had a great opportunity to go with the whole "Canada" thing. With the Raptors, they came 20 years later when basketball already had a larger following in Canada, which makes it a lot harder and a lot more meaningless to try to become the country's team. Not to mention that they entered the league at the same time as Vancouver, which is vastly different than Montréal, for obvious reasons.

[nicktharipper]

What if they just make their logo actually a raptor?

[the admiral]

So, I've seen a lot of y'all say "Raptors" is a bad "identity". (In the interest of semantics, are y'all referring to the nickname itself, or their current visual identity?)

I know it's easy to be subjective about aesthetics and just say "I don't like it", but what I haven't seen anyone say is why it's a bad name/identity—and the "whys" is the whole key point of discussion. (And if a connection to Jurassic Park is the best one can come up with for not liking it, then really...that ain't saying too much.)

The name is okay, but not great. The identity, which is a recolor of a watering-down of a wacky '90s concept, is bad. Any time you're recoloring a logo that was intended to look a certain way with certain colors, you're making a turn onto Bad Street. They have the same colors as the Bulls and Blazers with none of the history. It just feels really slapdash.

"Canada's Team" is just asking for trouble. NBA territories, practically speaking, tend not to penetrate far beyond their metropolitan areas, and even with the Raptors basically having a national channel, I'm not sure you're reliably going to get the rest of Canada, which doesn't always have the best relationship with Toronto, to embrace the Raptors as Canada's Team because Toronto said so. I'm guessing there are a lot of cherry-pickers as far as non-GTA NBA fans go, and why not? If you're in Edmonton, the Raptors are just as much your own as the Lakers are, and maybe you liked the Lakers as a kid, I dunno.

[Digby]

Their MLSE colleagues at Toronto FC have gone for the "Canada's team" aesthetic since their inception -- even though there are 2 other teams in Canada, but hey. But anyway TFC use navy blue in addition to the red and white, and used to use grey as well. Wonder if they'll go that route, maybe a basketball version of this year's new kaleidoscopic maple leaf...

[SCL]

Their MLSE colleagues at Toronto FC have gone for the "Canada's team" aesthetic since their inception -- even though there are 2 other teams in Canada, but hey. But anyway TFC use navy blue in addition to the red and white, and used to use grey as well. Wonder if they'll go that route, maybe a basketball version of this year's new kaleidoscopic maple leaf...

Is Dark Onyx considered a derivative of blue?

[CubsFanBudMan]

It seems the only teams that want to rebrand are the ones that can't replace their origins with basketball. The Bobcats and Bob Johnson. The Hornets and Charlotte. The Raptors and Jurassic Park.

If a team is good enough, no one cares how "good" the name is. How well it "fits." How "New Orleans" a name is. How "Canada" a name is. Etc. Etc. What the Raptors are essentially suggesting is that despite 15 years of work they have failed to build a brand. (It was true for the Bobcats. In the Raptors' case, I think it's salvageable, but that process starts with red and purple, not red and white.)

That's why the Jazz stick their noses up at renaming suggestions. Their success and their history have allowed them to "own" Utah Jazz.

Does anyone in L.A. care that their team is named after Minnesota lakes?

[Cujo]

Looking back, there is so much fail going on in this photo, I don't even know where to begin.

[AJM]

I don't mind the Raptors name/identity but if it must go might be an opportunity to revive the Toronto Huskies.

[Nachos Rule Your Soul]

Toronto Free Healthcare.

I'd vote for that.

[CS85]

Toronto Free Healthcare.

I'd vote for that.

[Tynamo]

The reason why the Huskies brand was rejected was because they thought it was too similar to the Timberwolves. I agree. something tells me you won't be able to help comparing the two.

[Evil Doctor]

They already have that with the Toronto Maple Leafs Intercounty Baseball team.

How come a semi-pro baseball team has a better identity and logo than the richest team in hockey?

[Jer15]

Their MLSE colleagues at Toronto FC have gone for the "Canada's team" aesthetic since their inception -- even though there are 2 other teams in Canada, but hey. But anyway TFC use navy blue in addition to the red and white, and used to use grey as well. Wonder if they'll go that route, maybe a basketball version of this year's new kaleidoscopic maple leaf...

I had this conversation at the game on Saturday. Some kid in front of me turns around in the middle of one of our french language chants and goes "you know Montreal has a team, right?" Very sarcastically.

My response of course was "yea, did you know that team existed in some form since 1992?"

Of course that shut him up and suddenly he wanted to know why we do a french chant, not so sarcastically.

TFC tries to capitalize on being Canada's 1st MLS team. Personally I don't see a problem with it. The Whitecaps have the distinction of being Canada's longest tenured professional soccer club and, the Impact (as most Montreal teams do) have that french speaking market. What distinction does TFC have? Obvious answer: 1st Canadian MLS club. So use that.

BUT there is no way in hell they use navy blue. That's colour is just a darker grey.

As for the Raptors..... Clearly the 20th anniversary season is the goal to make all these changes, so here's my biggest beef;

Regardless if you like the name or not (personally I do, but that's not my point) why on earth would you change the name after 19 seasons?!

In my mind this team is already named and you don't change after this long.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

Yes, the Raptors name was based on the dinosaur fad of the early 90s, but it's been around 20 years. Enough of the change the name talk. I personally was all for the Bobcats changing back to the Hornets, but it looks like it may have started a domino effect. You are the Toronto Raptors. No, you haven't had any major success, but your brand is fine.

[IceCap]

The Raptors were clearly named so because of the popularity of Jurassic Park. I don't think anyone's going to deny that. The thing is they're still the Raptors. They kept the name even after the Jurassic Park hype died down. They kept the name through the flops of The Lost World and Jurassic Park III. The original's now been re-released in 3D, the ultimate sign that a movie's reached classic status and is now ready to be viewed by a whole new generation of movie goers, and the name's still the same. The name has transcended beyond simply being inspired by Jurassic Park. It's the name of the team. That's that.

Jurassic Park connection aside, what's wrong with naming your team after a dinosaur, exactly? We all agree that naming teams after animals is perfectly fine. Well dinosaurs were animals. So why not? The team was named after the raptors in Jurassic Park after all. Which were deinonychus, a species of raptor that was one of the deadliest predators to ever live. They were vicious, fast, agile, and they hunted in packs meaning they knew how to coordinate attacks as a team. Given that basketball as a sport emphasizes agility, speed, and teamwork I'd say the name's incredibly appropriate.

That being said they need to refresh the brand, and they need the purple back. Less Team Canada please. If Canadians across the country want to support the Raptors because they're Canada's only team then they will regardless of how many maple leaves they cram into the uniform.

[Lights Out]

But anyway TFC use navy blue in addition to the red and white

Oh great, just what the NBA and pro sports in general need, another generic red, white, and blue team.

[IceCap]

But anyway TFC use navy blue in addition to the red and white

Oh great, just what the NBA and pro sports in general need, another generic red, white, and blue team.

Calm down. TFC uses red, white, and a very dark grey, not blue. It's very similar to the Raptors' red, white, and black colour scheme.

I love the current uniform design as it is. I think it's unique, a bit modern, but not over the top.The red, black, white, and silver colour scheme just seems bland though.

My first choice would be for them to go to something similar to what they wore during the Carter years. Essentially adding purple back to their existing design.

My second choice would be to go with blue and white. The Maple Leafs are the owned by the same entity, and the Leafs are THE dominant pro sports brand in the region. Also most Toronto teams do use a variation of the white and blue colour scheme. A blue ball/dino claw mark on white with a white on blue inverse could be a nice parallel to draw between them and the Leafs.

Anything overly "Team Canada" would just be a waste, and red, white, and blue is played out in the NBA.

[TruColor]

Calm down. TFC uses red, white, and a very dark grey, not blue. It's very similar to the Raptors' red, white, and black colour scheme.

Yep: