Tuesday, July 22, 2014

The Tribe - Solving racial backlash



I've been reading a lot of information, posts, litigation, etc lately regarding the use of the term "Indians" and, specifically, the Chief Wahoo logo. I admit, my position has changed a bit on the subject.  A quick aside: how is it that the Indian Motorcycle Company (now part of Polaris) isn't having their pants sued off by Native Americans? Their logo, insignia, and the naming of their models (Chieftain, ex) would fall as fair fodder for litigation, I would submit.

It is no secret: I don't like the Block C concept. But, I admit that I only hate it because it represents, today, the blatant removal of the Chief Wahoo logo. That said, here are my thoughts in terms of getting rid of Chief Wahoo and the Indians name:

Rename the team to "The Tribe." Use the Block C logo. Alternately, use a "T" logo. Allow me to elaborate.

A "Tribe" is simply a group of things, people, etc. It is not specific to any culture, race, religion, etc. According to at least one definition, a tribe is: "a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader."

That describes a baseball team in more ways than one. Plus, the organization has been using the "Tribe" moniker for decades. It is already a part of the team's culture. Heck, look at the name of my own site!

Problem solved.

Now, the logo. The Philadelphia Phillies have a "P." The Reds have a stylized "C." We have the Nationals, the Rangers... The Athletics have been using the script "A" since its inception in 1901. Granted, the letter was emblazoned on a white elephant as something of a ruse, but it seemed to have worked for them. (http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/oak/history/uniforms_logos.jsp

The Tribe could simply do the same thing. I know, I know, we Cleveland fans hate the Block C. But, I think that's mainly because we are accustomed to seeing the Chief Wahoo logo. I think we could get used to the Block C. Alternately, we find either a Block T.  Heck, we could even use some kind of stylized C and/or T as the logo.

As an aside (yes, I digress. Often.), the Braves can simply change their logo and they would be fine. After all, are we not the "Home of the Brave" according to our own National Anthem!? So, ditch the tomahawk and find some other logo that represents "brave."

One suggestion was that Cleveland rename their team as "The Coasters" (or similar) since they are within proximity of Cedar Point, the supposed roller coaster capital of the US (the world? I dunno.). I think that is an awful idea. Given much of the history of the team, the logo, and team name for that matter, would end up as a caricature version of a coffee table coaster. One person already made a shirt for it... http://skreened.com/forwardprogresstees/cleveland-coasters-baseball-team-logo-tee/

Let's dump the stereotypical Native American logo, put the past behind us, and change the team name one more time. After all, it won't be the first time... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Indians#Cleveland_baseball_prior_to_the_Indians_franchise

10 comments:

  1. I say go with the Cleveland Spiders name. Yeah, sure, that team name was associated with the worst team in the history of baseball, but it would be cool to redeem the name and to go with something as historical as that.

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    1. I like The Spiders as well. They could do a cool modern-day version of the logo.

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  2. I'm not usually one to say change stuff because it offends a minority of the population, but I've recently wondered why they haven't taken it upon themselves to redesign the logos and uniforms. Obviously they have, but the Block C is just awful. I'm sure they could come up with a tasteful re-branding of the team image if they tried hard enough. Personally, I think if they changed the logo and uniforms, people would stop bitching about it.

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    1. I agree: just change it and get it over with. Let's move on and call it good.

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  3. How about a different style "C" or a better looking "I" that you can tell is an "I"with a feather sticking out of it? (sort of like what the Washington Redskins had in the early 70s - 1970-71)

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    1. I like the idea of a stylized "C." I think anything with a feather is going to keep the argument around. So, just make a full departure and move on.

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  4. Spiders is a pretty cool nickname, and it has history w/Cleveland, I wouldn't be opposed to that (though in general, I hate the "PC" culture that we live in as much as you do.

    The Padres uniforms are horrible (boring blue and white), and I really want them to go back to the brown from the inaugural MLB season in '69. HOWEVER, I also wouldn't mind if they went back to the Pacific Coast League colors, which were red/white/blue, as long as they still rooted the design in a similar way that was used in the 50's. As long as it has meaning, which (in Cleveland's case) I think Spiders or Tribe has.

    Tribecards for President of the Indians! I mean, The Tribe!

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    1. Hahaha! I wish I could run the team. I know there are lots of things I don't understand about team management, but surely I couldn't do worse than they have been doing in that office. Haha!

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  5. I was thinking about the Spiders. The mascot could be pretty fun (I wonder if Spiderman could somehow be worked into that, or at least imagine "costume night"), and there are all kinds of fun tie-ins you could do. Arachnophobia night... train a pig to pick up bats and call it Charlotte...

    Of course, there's also the Naps. The Spiders aren't really the Indians. But imagine the commentary and jokes. "The naps bats are all asleep..." "What happens when Cleveland loads the bases? A sleepover!" Etc.

    And then there's the whole PC crap that I, too, don't like. I like the outlook that the South Park "Family Guy" manatees have - either everything is okay, or nothing is...

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    1. And, unfortunately, we seem to be moving more and more toward the "nothing is" side.

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