The Official "Raptors vs Huskies" thread: Vote Now

[Waylon Mercy]

Being a Raps fan has been an uphill battle since day 1. Its one thing battling against 29 American
teams now we have to battle against our own kind (media and part of our fanbase).

Because MLSE has no idea how the sports business works they have to hire some hot shot
who comes on our turf and wants to make us into a Canadian gimmick.

The day this franchise was doomed was when Mr. Slaight sold this team to MLSE so they could
have the ACC for the Leafs. The Raps have nothing but a side toy to them ever since.

[Rhythm043]

I hate TL already. what a jack ass

[And1Skip]

If you change the name to Huskies, then you can't have a commercial like this anymore

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCLWfcYLntc[/youtube]

[Raps in 4]

Seems unnatural and forced to me.

Only because we're not used to saying it.

[BlueJayReyes]

I was focused on raptors, and happy with the name, but the focus group regarding the huskies rebrand totally changed my mind. I think the blue and white would look amazing.

[Scraptor]

If they change our name it will piss me off more than Andrea Bargnani's limp noodle imitation of a basketball game.

Bah.

[CoachJReturns]

If they change our name it will piss me off more than Andrea Bargnani's limp noodle imitation of a basketball game.

Bah.

Really? I have hated the name Raptors from day one because it sounds like a kid selected it. But I can't hate anything as much as Andrea's game. I've hated Andrea since before he played his first game as a Raptor.

[Patman]

If we're gonna be the Huskies, we need to target these players:

Felton
B-Diddy
Diaw
Big Baby
Pittman
Z-Bo

[Snakeyes]

Hell no to the Huskies. If you want to re-brand the team, you do it this way;

1. Keep the Raptors name. It's unique, fairly iconic and rolls well off the tongue. Besides, as others have already pointed out, trying to sweep our two decades of mediocrity under the rug by going back to the name of a team that was so bad it got disbanded after one season just doesn't make a lot of sense.

2. Ditch the Raptor we know for this Raptor:



Which is found pretty much everywhere in the city. You can even play up the redemption angle through the symbolism of dinosaurs evolving into birds.

3. If you want to change the colors of the team and/or make it match the other Toronto teams, great! The bird motif is a perfect excuse to use something like a sky blue color for the jersey. Sprinkle in some purple accents if you want a tie-in to our brief time in the spotlight during the Carter era.

4. ???

5. Championship time.

[tiger7]

Raptors. Huskies name is boring.

[Geddy]

Hell no to the Huskies. If you want to re-brand the team, you do it this way;

1. Keep the Raptors name. It's unique, fairly iconic and rolls well off the tongue. Besides, as others have already pointed out, trying to sweep our two decades of mediocrity under the rug by going back to the name of a team that was so bad it got disbanded after one season just doesn't make a lot of sense.

2. Ditch the Raptor we know for this Raptor:



Which is found pretty much everywhere in the city. You can even play up the redemption angle through the symbolism of dinosaurs evolving into birds.

3. If you want to change the colors of the team and/or make it match the other Toronto teams, great! The bird motif is a perfect excuse to use something like a sky blue color for the jersey. Sprinkle in some purple accents if you want a tie-in to our brief time in the spotlight during the Carter era.

4. ???

5. Championship time.

Agree 100%

[basketball royalty]

I'm glad the poll shows that the Huskies contingent is just a vocal minority. If you want an iconic name you don't go changing your name. 18 years strong and changing it puts you down to square one.

[ThemCrookedRefs]

It's fine to change a team name. It won't tarnish anything. Did you know that the New York Yankees were originally called the Highlanders? And the Pittsburgh Steelers used to be the Pirates (just like the MLB team)?

I like the Raptors name, but I'm open to a name change as long as it's not terrible (bad like Terriers or Tarantulas). I can see the argument for having a unique name because sharing a team name with many other teams doesn't carry the same prestige. The Yankees, Lakers, Red Sox, Maple Leafs, etc., stand out because of their respective histories, but also because they have unique names; there is no confusion when you mention these names. I will say that if this whole thing is truly being reinvented, redone, etc., then a name change could be good (preferably to a unique one). Hopefully it wouldn't be so easy to make fun of this team...

[DUBmental]

I registered to fight for the RAPS!!!

We are the Raptors and have many reasons not to change the name. Rebrand yes!

People talk about tradition with the Huskies name. What tradition. We played one season and had...you guessed it a losing record. Worse then our 18 year total which is horrid. No playoffs

My reason for keeping the Raptors is because it's original.

Google Huskies and you quickly come up with seven teams that already have this name yet they are not pro leagues.

US
University of Connetticuit
University of Washington
Northeastern University
Saint Cloud State University

Can
Saskatchewan Huskies
SMU
Keyano

Goggle Raptors and you come up with
Toronto

If I get to be excited one day and say Huskies won the series a fan might say what series

If I say Raps win we all know it's our beloved Raptors.

Keep it original but rebrand it.

Turn those sick huskies jerseys that some UK guy made into Raps jerseys and run with it.

That is all.

[Komodo]

Raptors




seriously, it's this....




vs








why would you pick a cute domesticated animal over a blood thirsty dinosaur for a sports team is beyond me.

Fail.

This is what a Raptor actually looks like:

Ever hear of Utahraptor?

[ForeverTFC]

I posted this in the thread with Kelly's garbage, but I'll post it here as well.

This is really starting to get under my skin. Raptors, taken by itself, is one of the better names in the NBA.

Celtics, Mavericks, Nets, Knicks, 76ers, Cavaliers, Clippers, Kings.

Those are the only good names in this league if you take away the NBA meaning. And not to mention "Toronto Raptors" fits so well phonetically. That is one of the reasons why LA Lakers works. Just sounds like they belong together.

Suns? Wizards? Magic? Bobcats? Pelicans? Even the name "Bulls" sucks by itself, though Timberwolves takes the cake. I don't see them rushing to change their names.

And it doesn't help that everyone wants it changed to the Huskies! HUSKIES?

If anyone can explain why the name "Huskies" is better than "Raptors", I'll forever be grateful.

[Tofubeque]

Can someone tell me why we need 3 topics about this every week? I pray to the lord MLSE brass never check out this forum, or they'd be like "wow there's a lot of traction here for a new name!" when it's the same vocal minority making the same stupid threads week after week.

And btw, Leiweke said he'd consider a name change in the most wishy-washy way possible. "We'll take a look at it." And then he changes the subject to the uniforms as quickly as possible. It's pretty clear we'll get a redesign in the next few years, but changing the name isn't going to win people over.

[niQ]

Raptors.


/thread

[Wo1verine]

Raptors! change the awful jerseys though!

[StatLine]

Lets just hope the timberwolves and huskies can compete for championships for years to come