What's in a name? In the current culture of hyper political correctness, or "wokeness," where any kind of name or phrase that is deemed inappropriate by today's standards is destined to be replaced, the team formally known as the Cleveland Indians have now chosen their new identity as the "Guardians." A new name so polarizing, it has gotten ripped by fans across the country for its blandness. And it is bland, and boring.
Not that the name Guardians is a bad name. It isn't. It would be great for say a professional football team. But for a baseball team? It feels kinda off.
And Cleveland owner Paul Dolan said that the India...errr...Guardians chose their new name over more popular choices like "Spiders" because they wanted to pay homage to the two monolithic, Greco-Roman-like statues that adorn the Hope Memorial Bridge just outside the stadium. These statues are known as the Guardians of Traffic.
That's right the Cleveland baseball team mascot is a guardian of ... traffic. Yep. When in a jam, call the Guardians! (I couldn't help it,) Not exactly scintillating.
Had they chosen Spiders at least it would have made a historical context since the original Cleveland Spiders were one of the first professional baseball teams in the city of Cleveland. It would have been a nice homage to the past.
Instead it will be Guardians.
Their logo looks like a cross between the type-face of the Tennessee Titans with its Greek-inspired typeface on the G and C, and the Anaheim Angles with the wings attached to the letter G, of course echoing both the Guardian statutes in Cleveland, but also the Greek god Mercury.
And if you look at sports history, team names are a subjective thing. Some names people like, others they don't.
Case in point the Mets adopted their monikor wasn't exactly popular when it was first chosen; in fact it went to a vote before ownership settled on it. Do you believe the Mets were almost called the Jets? It's true.
How about the Kansas City Royals? They were named after Missouri's billion dollar livestock industry. It had nothing to do with royalty. It was probably an odd choice at first, but it sticks today.
Baltimore Orioles? They were once the St. Louis Browns before moving to Baltimore. You mean they were almost the Baltimore Browns before the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore to become the Ravens? Yep.
Names are subjective. They may seem silly, but eventually they work and stick. Eventually we'll get used to Guardians as weird as it sounds right now.
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