Bristol Bears?

[ratsapprentice]

Not gonna lie, I like it.

But then again, I've been pretty open about loving US style sports branding.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

I think it's daft, bears, sharks etc have no relevance to this country.

I am definitely not in thrall to all things American. Particularly as right now I'm in a resort full of them. Default conversation level, shout and then repeat three times to reinforce the point. And then lob in some unnecessary whoops for good measure.

 

[ratsapprentice]

I think it's daft, bears, sharks etc have no relevance to this country.

But Harlequins, Tigers and Saracens do?

Also... according to the Shark Trust: "At least 21 species live in British waters all year round"

 

[RedruthRFC]

Exeter Athletic seems pointless unless they change the logo really.

Indeed: https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00003295005

There's a discussion on their forum, with a few people agreeing with what @TobyBeastTeague has said. It's also noted by someone that Athletic has the name given to Exeter's third team back in amateur days.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Indeed: https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00003295005

There's a discussion on their forum, with a few people agreeing with what @TobyBeastTeague has said. It's also noted by someone that Athletic has the name given to Exeter's third team back in amateur days.

I genuinely thought you were taking the ****... wtf is the point of changing the name but not the Indian aesthetic?!

 

[RedruthRFC]

The Chiefs would only need to change their logo and not play the chop... they were called the Chiefs long before they starting using American imagery.

Yes and no. Chiefs was only ever used to differentiate between the first team and others, as in "are you playing on Saturday?", "yes, the Chiefs are short, so I've been called up to play with the big boys". In the same way, Barum's website refers to their teams as Chiefs, Athletic and Buccaneers. I never heard anyone on the sidelines at The County Ground shouting "come on Chiefs", against many opponents from the South West, someone doing this could have been cheering for both sides! Similarly, when my home town club ran four teams, they were known as Chiefs, Baa Baas, Quins and A.N. Other, but whichever team you were watching, you'd have cheered for the "Reds". It gives a historical basis for the choice of name, but it has little to do with the identity of the club as a whole.

 

[ratsapprentice]

It gives a historical basis for the choice of name, but it has little to do with the identity of the club as a whole.

Aye, I just meant it wasn't plucked out of thin air, and it's not fundamentally linked to the native American imagery... which is the only reason I can think of for them changing their name/branding.

 

[RedruthRFC]

But Harlequins, Tigers and Saracens do?

I don't know the specifics of any of these three (and don't want to spend the rest of my afternoon searching for them), but I believe that a lot of club's names / nicknames are rooted in some sort of history, even Preston's Grasshoppers' moniker (bizarre as it seems) is a reference to the a school attended by founder members I believe.

It's hard to imagine what the relevance of Saracens could be (although saying that, I've heard multiple reasons for Llanelli people being referred to as Turks), but even if it is arbitrary, it is something that was picked upon by those involved in the early days of the club as presumably they thought it reflected what they were trying to create, so has some historical relevance to the club as opposed to being an arbitrary animal picked upon because it's alliterative (in one instance, in spite of the other connotations). That being the case, the Gloucester Lions link seems reasonable to me.

 

[ratsapprentice]

It's hard to imagine what the relevance of Saracens could be (although saying that, I've heard multiple reasons for Llanelli people being referred to as Turks), but even if it is arbitrary, it is something that was picked upon by those involved in the early days of the club as presumably they thought it reflected what they were trying to create, so has some historical relevance to the club as opposed to being an arbitrary animal picked upon because it's alliterative (in one instance, in spite of the other connotations). That being the case, the Gloucester Lions link seems reasonable to me.

I can't speak for other clubs, but Wasps and Harlequins were picked because they sounded cool at the time, when Hampstead FC split in two.
This idea that it's some new fangled PR thing is ********.

http://www.quins.co.uk/news/the-1866-club-vol-1/

 

[ratsapprentice]

It's hard to imagine what the relevance of Saracens could be (although saying that, I've heard multiple reasons for Llanelli people being referred to as Turks), but even if it is arbitrary, it is something that was picked upon by those involved in the early days of the club as presumably they thought it reflected what they were trying to create, so has some historical relevance to the club as opposed to being an arbitrary animal picked upon because it's alliterative (in one instance, in spite of the other connotations).

Couldn't remember off the top of my head, so checked Wiki:

"The club's name is said to come from the "endurance, enthusiasm and perceived invincibility of Saladin's desert warriors of the 12th century". The fact that their local rivals were called the Crusaders may also have been a factor."

 

[RedruthRFC]

I can't speak for other clubs, but Wasps and Harlequins were picked because they sounded cool at the time, when Hampstead FC split in two.
This idea that it's some new fangled PR thing is ********.

http://www.quins.co.uk/news/the-1866-club-vol-1/

Thanks, how very Harlequins! Given that Wasps adopted the yellow and black colours of Hampstead, it's a bit harsh to say that Wasps was picked purely because it sounded cool. Harlequins more so (and because it was alliterative - another thing that hasn't changed), but it's still something that the membership of the club thought was relevant to them as a group and what they were about in the club's infancy as opposed to something picked upon 150 odd years down the track.

 

[RedruthRFC]

Couldn't remember off the top of my head, so checked Wiki:

"The club's name is said to come from the "endurance, enthusiasm and perceived invincibility of Saladin's desert warriors of the 12th century". The fact that their local rivals were called the Crusaders may also have been a factor."

Those dirty misappropriators of Kurdish culture! Again, something that founder members felt was relevant to the club they were creating (or maybe just a Mickey take out of local rivals).

Thanks for the links, being a massive nerd, I'm a sucker for this kind of history, but no doubt will have forgotten most of what I've read in a couple of weeks!.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Thanks, how very Harlequins! Given that Wasps adopted the yellow and black colours of Hampstead, it's a bit harsh to say that Wasps was picked purely because it sounded cool. Harlequins more so (and because it was alliterative - another thing that hasn't changed), but it's still something that the membership of the club thought was relevant to them as a group and what they were about in the club's infancy as opposed to something picked upon 150 odd years down the track.

Well in as much as they aren't beekeepers or insect enthusiasts.... they almost certainly would have chosen another arbitrary name had they not already got an obvious match.

I don't really see the relevance of time of the name addition/change. They picked a "mascot" name because it adds to the character of the club.
They aren't a branch of chartered accountants, I think it's perfectly appropriate. And when there's no obvious interesting name, I don't have any problem with picking something completely random.
Sure, it's silly... but I've got no problem with that. Bristol Bears is much better aesthetically than hi-vis-yellow away kits.

 

[RedruthRFC]

Well in as much as they aren't beekeepers or insect enthusiasts.... they almost certainly would have chosen another arbitrary name had they not already got an obvious match.

As per my previous post, given that they were using a yellow and black kit, it wasn't arbitrary.

I don't really see the relevance of time of the name addition/change. They picked a "mascot" name because it adds to the character of the club.
They aren't a branch of chartered accountants, I think it's perfectly appropriate. And when there's no obvious interesting name, I don't have any problem with picking something completely random.
Sure, it's silly... but I've got no problem with that. Bristol Bears is much better aesthetically than hi-vis-yellow away kits.

I think this is where we're ideologically opposed. Rightly or wrongly, members of clubs tend to be proud of the history of their clubs, so it follows (to me at least) that they see picking things out of thin air as riding roughshod over that history. I know little of the history of Bristol as a city or club (although I know enough to know that Slavers would be a poor choice), but I find it hard to imagine that there's nothing more relevant that would work which could have been picked and would be more palatable to supporters. Plenty of US franchises seem to have done this.

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

this is the memphis grizzlies logo (grizzlies don't exist in Tennessee but they do in the team's original location, vancouver).

This whole rebrand kind of seems lazy. I still really like the kit though.

 

[Which Tyler]

If they have to rebrand for the £££ I'm... Surprised they went for Bears.
Bristol is actually known for its Blue Glassware, whilst Blues is just as alliterative, and matches their existing colour scheme and therefore history. It's also an accepted name within rugby, used widely enough not to bother anyone for copyrights, (unless Bedford are looking at promotion).

I hope Bath tell them where to go on rebranding, but suspect they'll go the Romans route that been looking inevitable for the last few years. If the deal requires ring-fence, then the deal can go screw itself. Were selling advertising, not our soul.

 

[ratsapprentice]

It's very dull though, int it....

The colour Blue vs a giant predator.

 

[Which Tyler]

Yeah, but it's relevant to both the city and the club

 

[ratsapprentice]

Yeah, but it's relevant to both the city and the club

Whatever floats your boat.

When I'm a billionaire, I'm renaming Blackheath the Super-Mega-Turbo-Raptors.

 

[RedruthRFC]

If they have to rebrand for the £££ I'm... Surprised they went for Bears.
Bristol is actually known for its Blue Glassware, whilst Blues is just as alliterative, and matches their existing colour scheme and therefore history. It's also an accepted name within rugby, used widely enough not to bother anyone for copyrights, (unless Bedford are looking at promotion).

I'm glad they didn't, a few thousand people in Bedford would have been rather dischuffed. Not a bad idea though, it fits, although I agree with rats that it isn't as strong a brand as bears.