Cleveland Guardians

[iacas]

It’s a good name change. Not a great one. It’ll grow on me perhaps.

[dennyjones]

Much better than Washington Football Team!

[klineka]

I grew up 30 min from the stadium and would go to 10+ games per year every year as a kid, have been on the field, the locker rooms, offices, etc, have been to numerous playoff games including game 7 of the 2016 World Series. They've been my favorite team my entire life.

All that being said, I understand the name change and don't have a problem with them changing the name.

Some of the reactions I've been seeing on social media have been ridiculous. The team being called a different name changes very little about the actual team IMO. Given the choice between the Guardians and the Spiders though, I'd probably choose Spiders, just a personal preference.

I will say though that I'm not a fan of the logo. I'm not artistic in the slightest but I feel that they could have come up with a better logo than what they did. Hopefully it evolves over time into something better.

[David in FL]

Silliness.

[DeadMan]

It wasn't as bad a name as some of the other Native American mascots, but it still wasn't good. Not a huge fan of the new name, but it's fine and definitely better.

[iacas]

2 hours ago, David in FL said:

Silliness.

Yep, totally silly to rename a team that demeans a population of people.

And no, it doesn’t “honor” or “promote” them. Studies show this. It’s fact. It’s not universal but that’s the overall slant. And it’s not that close.

I’m sure you can find an article, but for the ones you could find I can find more and more scientifically oriented ones that say what I just said.

It’s a negative name that promotes “bad” things, overall.

[Hardspoon]

2 hours ago, David in FL said:

Silliness.

What is “silliness”?

I thought it was a mediocre name at first, but once I read the “history” behind it I thought it was really good. I have a feeling that any new name would sound a little dumb at first, until you get used to it…and I think this one will grow on people. 
 

Teams have changed their names all the time throughout their history (including the Guardians). Not a big deal. 

[Shindig]

Well, this is the second time in two years I've been introduced to a team called the "Guardians."  I like these ones better, even though I'm not that into baseball and I've yet to visit Ohio.

4 hours ago, klineka said:

Given the choice between the Guardians and the Spiders though, I'd probably choose Spiders, just a personal preference.

Spiders would have been great.  "Cleveland Baseball Team" would have been terrible.  But on the animals front, I don't understand why some of the scariest animals don't have as many sports teams named after them.  I realize not many people want a sports team named Candiru, even though they are plenty scary.  I understand why many universities wouldn't want a scary animal as its mascot, but among professional sports teams, I can think of two named after snakes and none named after arachnids.  

Anyway, back to the topic.  Changing the name is something that was overdue.

I'm mildly curious how a team name change happens mid-season or what the rules on former name apparel in the ballpark (home or away games) are.  

[Hardspoon]

1 minute ago, Shindig said:

I'm mildly curious how a team name change happens mid-season or what the rules on former name apparel in the ballpark (home or away games) are.  

They did say they will change after the 2021 season.  Regarding apparel, even after they “retired” Chief Wahoo from their uniforms, they were still selling merchandise with that character on it. I’m sure that stuff will sell well to the over-sensitive, nostalgic fans who are infuriated by the change!

Good article on why they chose the name:

https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/07/23/cleveland-guardians-name-change-decision-explained

 

[saevel25]

3 hours ago, David in FL said:

Silliness.

I get the feeling you think it is silliness for them to change their name versus the name they chose actually being silly. 

As a life long Indians (no Guardians) fan, I am ok with the change. I grew up going to games with a few Native Americans protesting on the corners before the game while everyone just walked by not caring. Now I see that we were just all selfish fans. 

I am sure growing up you thought the previous generation was stuck in their ways not wanting things to change. They thought that changes you stood for were silly to. 

46 minutes ago, iacas said:

It’s a negative name that promotes “bad” things, overall.

Yep

Indians is not the worst, but still not good. 

5 hours ago, klineka said:

The team being called a different name changes very little about the actual team IMO. Given the choice between the Guardians and the Spiders though, I'd probably choose Spiders, just a personal preference.

Spiders can all go die for all I care. Evil creepy little bastards. 

Maybe they can get some guardians of the galaxy logo going, Guardians of Cleveland.

[Hardspoon]

1 minute ago, saevel25 said:

Spiders can all go die for all I care. Evil creepy little bastards. 

Hahaha - how do you REALLY feel? 😉

[saevel25]

Just now, Hardspoon said:

Hahaha - how do you REALLY feel? 😉

Some people fear snakes, I hate spiders. If they get into kill range, they be dead. 

[klineka]

6 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Maybe they can get some guardians of the galaxy logo going, Guardians of Cleveland.

[Hardspoon]

This fan-made one (by Tim Schifle) is awesome:

[Double Mocha Man]

4 hours ago, David in FL said:

Silliness.

I voted for "Cleveland Davids" but it was deemed too silly.

Here's hoping they have a good bullpen so they're good "guardians" of a late lead.

[Billy Z]

I'm on the side of keeping it has the Indians, I never thought negatively about somebody of Indian Heritage because of that name. People are just so oversensitive now, and for all I care they could call it the Cleveland Whiteskins. I think intention has everything to do with it, and I don't think anybody intended it to be demeaning. To me, the Guardians sounds sort of silly, especially in an area where they can't contain their crime rate, I just wonder what they are guarding.

[Hardspoon]

26 minutes ago, Billy Z said:

People are just so oversensitive now

I agree 100%!

Every time a team chooses to change its name to have a broader appeal, oversensitive people (like yourself) seem to judge them for it and think they're over-reacting.

28 minutes ago, Billy Z said:

To me, the Guardians sounds sort of silly, especially in an area where they can't contain their crime rate, I just wonder what they are guarding.

See the article I linked to above.  It refers to a set of historic Art Deco statues long associated with Cleveland.

[Shorty]

35 minutes ago, Billy Z said:

I'm on the side of keeping it has the Indians, I never thought negatively about somebody of Indian Heritage because of that name. People are just so oversensitive now, and for all I care they could call it the Cleveland Whiteskins. I think intention has everything to do with it, and I don't think anybody intended it to be demeaning. To me, the Guardians sounds sort of silly, especially in an area where they can't contain their crime rate, I just wonder what they are guarding.

Once again you willingly inform us of your abject ignorance.  It isn't about what you do or don't care about. It isn't about how you personally claim to treat people. These things are happening for a reason. The countdown is on before you use the term "cancel culture". Eye roll.

8 hours ago, David in FL said:

Silliness.

Who'd have guessed that this would be your response!? Amazing.