Indians considering a name change. What should it be?

 
Spiders, Rockers, Blues or Cuyahogas would be cool. The old Negro League team was the Buckeyes. That could be cool too.
 
I would def buy a hat with this logo on it
 

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Arrogate said:
I was expecting more of a back story than I love spiders
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Yeah, when he said it was a no-brainer, I thought it was a meaningful name in someway for Cleveland. I guess I don’t see why it’d be an awesome name and maybe it’s me, but I think that logo is pretty meh. Looks like a minor league logo to me.
 
There are a crap-ton of big spiders in Cleveland. Also rats. Maybe call them the Cleveland Rats. Although mob informants might get offended.
 
eastside_purple said:
Yeah, when he said it was a no-brainer, I thought it was a meaningful name in someway for Cleveland. I guess I don’t see why it’d be an awesome name and maybe it’s me, but I think that logo is pretty meh. Looks like a minor league logo to me.
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The Spiders originally existed from 1887-1899, so I guess it's meaningful in some way. The 1899 team had the worst record in MLB history.
en.m.wikipedia.org

Cleveland Spiders - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org

As for the logo, the Indians' block C logo is probably the most boring in pro sports right now so anything is an improvement.
 
I was expecting some crazy story about how an old owner was into arachnid sax and p0rn. Shows you where my mind is at
 
Indians Forever. Anything else, never. The same goes for Chief Wahoo. (If I had to change, I'd call them the Cleveland Cavalry or Cleveland Cannons, with a logo of a grinning cavalryman (who looks surprisingly like Chief Wahoo only White) standing on a field of dead Indians planting the US flag. on a hill... a thumb straight from the nose to the PC- Liberal - Super Sensitive crowd that think our present symbols are too much for their tender sensibilities. (I'll hold my breath while I wait for that. If the Tribe owners cave the name will probably be as soft and non-threatening as they can make it. The Plush Bunnies or something similar. IOW, as dull as a box of rocks.) They should have seen the crooked teeth, hook nose version of Chief Wahoo back in the 50's and earlier.

I don't feel the hardcore Red (as in Communist/Socialist) leftists should be allowed to determine what symbols, nicknames and monuments memorials etc. are appropriate and acceptable. Giving in to them on anything smacks of letting them control speech and ceding my rights to them. Totally unacceptable in a free country. Just what I personally believe, your mileage may vary. I am of course a right wing conservative and proud/glad of it.
 
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I'm shocked there hasn't been more push back from the Indians fans? Is everyone just wore down and is ok with a name change?
 
Red14 said:
I'm shocked there hasn't been more push back from the Indians fans? Is everyone just wore down and is ok with a name change?
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I am surprised too but I think as the fan base has changed over the years, newer patrons of MLB in general and the Indians in particular are waaaaayyyy less invested in the team and the game. Time was MLB clubs derived most of their revenue at the gate and the whole nation was more or less fans to some degree. Today, the World Series gets low TV ratings and a whole lot less casual interest and discussion. People used to (in my experience) track the Series closely and listen on radio or even bring radios or TV's when they couldn't be home, to follow at work. Or call in sick from work to watch the (back in the day) day WS games. In my last few years at work no one talked about the World Series at all that I ever heard.

Today MLB derives a lot of revenue from local and national TV and radio and sells a lot of merchandise, they also have corporate sponsorships in a huge way, sell box seats and corporate ticket packages and the icing on the cake, the massive revenues from the sales and leases of luxury suites and boxes to corporations. A lot of the fans in the stands get their tickets at or through work, or get them from clients or companies wanting to do business with another company. I got offered Dodger and Angel tickets from these types of inducements when I was a purchasing agent. I didn't take them (believe that or don't, your choice; but it is the truth), but plenty of people did and do.

When I was a High School kid or even younger, tickets were dirt cheap (50 CENTS for the bleachers!) and advertising in the old Cleveland Stadium was practically non-existent. Today, I don't know how a high school kid could even afford to go to many games at all. The crowds I noticed at my last MLB games in California were there more as a social event than because they were wrapped up in the fortunes of the team, based on the conversions I overheard and the lack of attention paid to the games and lack of knowledge about the teams. They also seemed to be mostly affluent people. When I went to the Stadium as a kid, there were a lot of working class and poorer people there based on appearances. Also, everyone had a radio and Herb Score's voice could be heard all over the stands and even in the concession lines.

It's a different day and maybe today there are just a lot of very casual fans who just don't care what the team is called. Sad thing, to me at least, that a name in use for 106 years or so could just pass into history and mean so little to Cleveland people.. I don't think "Indians" is offensive and I don't think Chief Wahoo is either. A smiling Indian. What is so terrible? What negative stereotype about "Native Americans" does that serve to perpetuate? It is a different race of people entirely that has had the unfair and negative stereotype of "Grinning like an idiot" attached to them. And that doesn't come into play at all here.
 
Cali_Eagle said:
I am surprised too but I think as the fan base has changed over the years, newer patrons of MLB in general and the Indians in particular are waaaaayyyy less invested in the team and the game. Time was MLB clubs derived most of their revenue at the gate and the whole nation was more or less fans to some degree. Today, the World Series gets low TV ratings and a whole lot less casual interest and discussion. People used to (in my experience) track the Series closely and listen on radio or even bring radios or TV's when they couldn't be home, to follow at work. Or call in sick from work to watch the (back in the day) day WS games. In my last few years at work no one talked about the World Series at all that I ever heard.

Today MLB derives a lot of revenue from local and national TV and radio and sells a lot of merchandise, they also have corporate sponsorships in a huge way, sell box seats and corporate ticket packages and the icing on the cake, the massive revenues from the sales and leases of luxury suites and boxes to corporations. A lot of the fans in the stands get their tickets at or through work, or get them from clients or companies wanting to do business with another company. I got offered Dodger and Angel tickets from these types of inducements when I was a purchasing agent. I didn't take them (believe that or don't, your choice; but it is the truth), but plenty of people did and do.

When I was a High School kid or even younger, tickets were dirt cheap (50 CENTS for the bleachers!) and advertising in the old Cleveland Stadium was practically non-existent. Today, I don't know how a high school kid could even afford to go to many games at all. The crowds I noticed at my last MLB games in California were there more as a social event than because they were wrapped up in the fortunes of the team, based on the conversions I overheard and the lack of attention paid to the games and lack of knowledge about the teams. They also seemed to be mostly affluent people. When I went to the Stadium as a kid, there were a lot of working class and poorer people there based on appearances. Also, everyone had a radio and Herb Score's voice could be heard all over the stands and even in the concession lines.

It's a different day and maybe today there are just a lot of very casual fans who just don't care what the team is called. Sad thing, to me at least, that a name in use for 106 years or so could just pass into history and mean so little to Cleveland people.. I don't think "Indians" is offensive and I don't think Chief Wahoo is either. A smiling Indian. What is so terrible? What negative stereotype about "Native Americans" does that serve to perpetuate? It is a different race of people entirely that has had the unfair and negative stereotype of "Grinning like an idiot" attached to them. And that doesn't come into play at all here.
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I'm guessing you may be a hair older than me, I don't remember 50 cent seats, ha. But I do really worry about our society. While there is this push for more discussion and more communication, this has morphed into shouting down and pushing sponsors to make changes.
You are correct, baseball is regional today. The long 162 game seasons just don't work for our younger generations short-attention spans. They like tournaments every weekend and multiple championships. The investment of 6 months for a regular season is just too much for many to comprehend. Heck, most NBA fans don't even pay attention until March or April. But then again most NBA fans are not long time fans of their teams. I'm not an Indians fan but live in Ohio.
I'm a Reds fan and I grew up during the big red machine era. I remember the 90's Indians where they exploded on the scene with the new ball park, the decade of great teams and sellouts. For some reason after that decade, the Indians fans have never fully returned. Even in the world series run a few years ago, they struggled to sell playoff tickets. What happened from the 90s to today? Has pro sports become too corporate? Have we gone from true baseball fans to the corporate fans who are always looking to slap a logo on everything and sell space?
Watching the old playoff and world series games on TV the last few months, the first thing you really notice is the blank backstops back then. Today, there is signage in nearly every square foot in the stadium.
Final thought, is there more Indians fans out there than we know? Are we now at a point where if you say anything that's in support of the Indians or Redskins you're cast off as a racist? Is there a "silent" group of fans out there?
 
If it were me, I would change every mascot, every state name, every city name, river name that had any reference to Native Americans ... if you are offended by the use of the terms ... fine we will get rid of them all ... wipe them clean off the map.

I would change the name to one in which the people involved would take pride in ... The Cleveland Joesports’ is my choice ... I would look at it as a privilege to have them us my name as their mascot!!!!
 
Red14 said:
I'm guessing you may be a hair older than me, I don't remember 50 cent seats, ha. But I do really worry about our society. While there is this push for more discussion and more communication, this has morphed into shouting down and pushing sponsors to make changes.
You are correct, baseball is regional today. The long 162 game seasons just don't work for our younger generations short-attention spans. They like tournaments every weekend and multiple championships. The investment of 6 months for a regular season is just too much for many to comprehend. Heck, most NBA fans don't even pay attention until March or April. But then again most NBA fans are not long time fans of their teams. I'm not an Indians fan but live in Ohio.
I'm a Reds fan and I grew up during the big red machine era. I remember the 90's Indians where they exploded on the scene with the new ball park, the decade of great teams and sellouts. For some reason after that decade, the Indians fans have never fully returned. Even in the world series run a few years ago, they struggled to sell playoff tickets. What happened from the 90s to today? Has pro sports become too corporate? Have we gone from true baseball fans to the corporate fans who are always looking to slap a logo on everything and sell space?
Watching the old playoff and world series games on TV the last few months, the first thing you really notice is the blank backstops back then. Today, there is signage in nearly every square foot in the stadium.
Final thought, is there more Indians fans out there than we know? Are we now at a point where if you say anything that's in support of the Indians or Redskins you're cast off as a racist? Is there a "silent" group of fans out there?
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Cliff Notes version with regard to the Indians:
What happened was a change in ownership along with the novelty of the new stadium eventually wearing off. Richard Jacobs wisely struck while the iron was hot and sold the team to Larry Dolan who arguably overpaid for it and hamstrung his ability to put more money on the team, namely keeping homegrown talent like Jim Thome or Manny Ramirez (granted, Ramirez signed w/ the Red Sox a month before Dolan's purchase of the team was officially approved). In 2002, the fire sale reached a new level with players like Bartolo Colon eventually being traded for a boatload of prospects of which some panned out while others didn't. It gave the fanbase the appearance that the organization was no longer committed to winning. GM Mark Shapiro kept the team competitive for awhile thanks to basement bargain signings that panned out, but the constant subliminal message heard in the background was "I have no money, and ownership isn't going to give me more money to spend." Fans get tired of hearing that and stop caring about buying a ticket to help the cause. It was a constant back and forth of management saying "if you come to the ballpark, we'll spend more money," while the fans were more likely to subscribe to the philosophy of "you have to spend money to make money." Also, you must remember that the Browns weren't around from '96-'98. While the 2 teams' seasons only overlap by about 4 weeks (maybe 7 during a World Series run), there are only so many entertainment dollars in peoples' wallets. No Browns tickets to buy left people with more money to spend to attend Indians games. Fast forward to 2003. A teenager from Akron named Lebron started playing basketball across the street at Gund Arena which was later renamed by the guy who bought the team from the Gunds maybe 1 year after Lebron was drafted. Interest in the Cavaliers rapidly increased at the Indians' expense. Once again, only so many entertainment dollars to go around.

My interest in the Indians and baseball as a whole has decreased significantly since I graduated college in the early 2000s. At this point, whichever nickname the MLB team in Cleveland, Ohio possesses will not change my level of interest in the team one way or another. I'm not sure if I could name a single player from the roster at the end of last season.
 
Sen. Sherrod Brown is now in the vanguard for Cleveland to drop the Indians name. Strangely, he has no problem with the Cleveland Browns.
 
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