The Cleveland Indians will be no more some time in the near future.
That is because the team finally announced its new name Friday morning.
The Cleveland Guardians.
Together, we are all… pic.twitter.com/R5FnT4kv1I
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 23, 2021
Tom Hanks came in to narrate a video and the dramatic change is now official.
Of course, social media is burning to the figurative ground with this decision.
Let’s dive a bit deeper on the decision.
Not Changing Much In Terms Of Looks
It is almost a bit comical the organization went with a name that still includes the latter “dians” half of the current name.
The colors are also staying the same, with the only change being some new logos.
The Cleveland Indians announce they are changing their name to the Guardians. pic.twitter.com/1xP1FyMsbh
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) July 23, 2021
The logo of the letter “G” with the baseball is stirring a ton of conversation on social media.
Once again, initial reactions to any new name were going to be intense.
Yet it is fair to question why the team hyped up a rebrand only to keep the same colors and fonts.
That is less of a rebrand and more of just a true name change.
One Top Competitor
There was a vocal contingent of fans out there hoping for Spiders to end up as the new name.
Alas, it may have never truly been in the running.
Now that it's out, a final Spiders tweet:
Was told months ago it would quite likely not be Spiders. I'm still not over it. I'll never really get over it. Spiders was a layup. An expensive layup (from what I understand), but a layup.
Anyway, go Guardians. (🕷️)
— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) July 23, 2021
Fans have to remember all the legal hurdles to jump through on any new name.
Spiders is not exactly a unique word and even Guardians likely took a lot to land.
During name-change process, the Indians (and I'd venture to guess the Redskins) discovered even more legal issues than anticipated. Even though they had decided on Guardians a few weeks ago, there was a possibility as recently as last night that it didn't reach the finish line.
— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) July 23, 2021
Given the Guardians name will likely never need to be changed, that will do it for the Spiders in Cleveland, barring a new league popping up in the future.
Considering the Indians were never the Spiders in the past, it makes sense why they did not seek to reclaim that bit of Cleveland history.
Moving Forward
So when are the Indians going to turn into the Guardians?
A press conference is scheduled this afternoon and it appears 2022 will be when the official rebrand take place.
Getting trademarks and merchandise in order remains something ownership has to deal with before suddenly changing everything.
Here are the team's mockups for what the new jerseys will look like: pic.twitter.com/zZyNPmpvEg
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) July 23, 2021
But as we can see, not much is being changed in terms of looks.
This is still a monumental change as generations of fans in Cleveland have known the Indians as the team in town.
If it provides any solace, perhaps a new name can help end a painfully long World Series drought that has lasted since 1948.
Sometimes change can be good and the negative energy surrounding the new name should fade with time.
Today is just the worst possible day to be on social media if you don’t want to see negativity about your favorite baseball team.
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