Very interesting,by the way.
Keeping the colour and font for "Chiefs" will (presumably) be to keep rebranding costs down.
I can see why the shift in branding for Exeter Chiefs is considered a bit more clunky than the shift in branding for the Crusaders in Super Rugby (with Crusaders having a kind of superhero element to fall back on that might actually make the team brand more appealing kids). But we do already have a Chiefs in Super Rugby and whilst the connection between that rugby team and indigenous Chiefs is more recent in time, I think it is a solid historical connection in south west England, and a historic connection worth reviving.
Well its the only part of England with that non-Anglo Saxon heritage, albeit everyone has long since interbred. The equivalents in France would be Brittany (shared heritage as Cornwall) and Basque and both intentionally retain distinct identities (I appreciate it isn't really comparable). It's a better USP for the southwest than Morris Dancing anyway.
Fan is a subjective term, but in this it means someone who doesn't pay much attention to the club. Rowe has been clear all the way through this saga that the word "Chiefs" was chosen because of the south-west tradition of referring to a club's "firsts" as the "chiefs". He reaffirmed this in his statements in the media yesterday with not apparent awareness of the fact that it represents an attempt to claim that culture as their own.
It is well known that Alfred the Great took one look at the hankies and sticks of the Celtic southwesterners on the eve of the battle of Bodmin, felt his courage drain from his body and swore his people would never return. Do they not teach history in England?
