Post#3 » by Downtown » Mon Sep 8, 2008 6:57 pm
Look, here's a personal history lesson. I'm from Vancouver and was a Grizzlies fan from their inception. When they unveiled their logo and colours the reaction was a little less polarized than here, but alot of the same remarks came out. The logo, colours, and ultimately the uniforms hardly registered around the league and I didn't hear a single NBA fan from another team say they were going to run out and buy the jersey.
But here in Vancouver, despite the underwhelming enthusiasm for the brand, people did purchase jerseys, shorts, jackets, hats, etc., simply becasue it was our team and support went deeper than just what was on the surface. The colours were a flat red, a lighter blue, with both black and white in the trim. Some liked the bear while others thought it was cartoonish, just like many thought the original Raptors logo looked like Barney, the kids cartoon.
Over time it was accepted, and it even though it took a move to Memphis, the logo has evolved to the bear that looks pretty good to me, along with a revamp of colours, and is a big improvement over the Vancouver Grizzlie. The Raptors have more or less dropped that original dinosaur as the prominant design and changed their colours as well.
So despite that I think Bennett chose poorly both colours and logo, I think fans in OKC will embrace both and wear it around. Just don't ever believe anyone outside of your area will be laying down their money for your merchandise. My guess is also that over time both the colour scheme, logo, and ultimately how both are assembled as uniforms will continue to evolve.
I shake my head more at how little fans here know their own team and how little basketball knowledge of both the players, and how they play together, the coaching style,and what the problem areas that need addressing are discussed. Superficial stuff like logos, colours, etc., are the least of things.