CFL 2024

[K1984]

One thing that I found disturbing is that CBC replays of old Grey Cups had been edited so that the word Eskimos would not be heard. That is truly ridiculous and is a case of re-writing history.

Agree that bringing back a "gritty" look revolving around the iconic EE is the best compromise.

Could not be any more 1984.

 

[rboomercat90]

If you’re focusing on the double e then the first thing they need to do is bring back the old logo. It needs to be the double e inside of the brown football.

We can debate all the mistakes made regarding the name change and whether or not it was necessary but the thing that was most idiotic to me was unnecessarily moving away from that logo. What they did there never made sense to me and I brought it up at the time.

I couldn’t fathom why they’d insist on finding a new name from a very short list of e words only to change the logo anyway. If you were going to do that then pick a better name out of the millions of words that don’t start with the letter e. To then move away from the antler logo back to a different ee logo felt like another slap in the face. That one belonged to the Eskimos so it needs to be cancelled too?

Go back to the old logo and from there we can discuss what the team should be called. I think that would be a good start.

 

[guymez]

I’m gonna play devils advocate here though and say that some have chosen outrage over the name change. So why is that outrage more valuable or more ok than someone else’s? I don’t think the name change was handled particularly well especially some of the comments to the fans surrounding it - to me that was more disrespectful than the name change itself.

I think that I have outlined the difference already.
When a few easily outraged activists can impose their incorrect interpretation of a word on the rest of us then its a problem.

So why be upset about a name change of a team we are cheering for, if the presence of that name is upsetting and triggering for a sector of our society? Given all that we have done to our indigenous communities what right do I have to cling to that name. Research does show the word has fallen out of favour, but it’s not unanimous and that’s what is tricky, as it never will be. Is it tokenism? Probably, but we undertake small acts all the time to correct ourselves. Think of the derogatory words we used to use for homosexuals growing up if you are my age. We don’t use them now for good reason, doesn’t solve the entire issue but it’s a step.

At the end of the day I highly doubt there’s a path back to using the full historical name again. There’s no local tribe or group you could partner with to help give it credibility and the population up north is likely too diverse to try to gather near unanimous support. I wish we could never debate it again, I’d love to never see another post on this subject (fully realizing the irony of saying that as I’m about to post another one).

Anyways go football team, what I think we all want is a healthy club that’s competitive, part of our vibrant community and is a fun place to go and see some ball. I hope the new owner is the step in that direction, regardless of any name choice moving forward.

I would suggest that you read through my posts on this.
If you are still not clear on my position then we can break that down.

 

[guymez]

One thing that I found disturbing is that CBC replays of old Grey Cups had been edited so that the word Eskimos would not be heard. That is truly ridiculous and is a case of re-writing history.

Agree that bringing back a "gritty" look revolving around the iconic EE is the best compromise.

That is George Orwell 1984 level ridiculous.
Karl Marx would be proud.

 

[Arpeggio]

That is George Orwell 1984 level ridiculous.
Karl Marx would be proud.

Karl Marx was strongly opposed to censorship.

 

[guymez]

Karl Marx was strongly opposed to censorship.

Marx made a point about obscuring history...essentiailly keeping people from knowing the history that didnt conform to his oppresser/oppressed version of reality.

 

[Myride]

Then why didn’t he just say that in the presser? Don’t just slide that in after the fact. Not the start I was hoping for. Not so much just about the name change, but how he went about saying that would be discussed a different day, and then literally announcing it a few hours later.

Larry stated " now is not the time to discuss name change." Didn't say he was or wasn't contemplating it BUT would not discuss it yesterday.

My best guess...we finish the year as Elks...before next season look for a rebranding and the name Esks or Eskys to be introduced.
The man plays his cards close to his chest and will make dure everyone is either inline or out of organization before stirring that pot.

 

[brentashton]

The return of the Elks #4 QB tonite, masquerading as the Riders #1. f*** me.

 

[brentashton]

That sounds about right to me.

Why bring down a hurricane on your family's head and be threatened with your life (and you know that some of these wokester-kooks will do it) over a football team's name?

I like the name change about as much as everybody else on the thread (which is to say, not at all) but I think Thompson has a good idea about the emphasis on the "EE."

Just refer to the team as the Double E machine. It sounds powerful.

"Double E machine to mow down Stamps and the following week will rip Gainer out of his hole and strangle pesky rodent." (not sure if gophers are actually classified as rodents)

Stuff like that--with some humor and a touch of implied violence for the real macho crowd.

And of course, win some football games and make the playoffs. Once you have 30K fans excited at Commonwealth stadium you won't hear too much about the nick-name. Just win baby.

I wonder if it will be a soft transition, always testing the water as he moves closer to the Eskimo brand. I can’t see this ownership, looooong time fan standing pat.

That is George Orwell 1984 level ridiculous.
Karl Marx would be proud.

I don’t agree with you on much/anything but this I can align with you.

 

[PositiveCashFlow]

One thing that I found disturbing is that CBC replays of old Grey Cups had been edited so that the word Eskimos would not be heard. That is truly ridiculous and is a case of re-writing history.

Agree that bringing back a "gritty" look revolving around the iconic EE is the best compromise.

Just read this. What is the CBC, the “ministry of truth”?

 

[Sra1974]

I think that I have outlined the difference already.
When a few easily outraged activists can impose their incorrect interpretation of a word on the rest of us then its a problem.

I would suggest that you read through my posts on this.
If you are still not clear on my position then we can break that down.

By all accounts Nathan Obed played a big role in this and I don’t think we should dismiss him as an easily outraged activist. The man is president of the national Inuit organization representing 60,000 Inuit people. He’s had that role since 2025. I don’t have a lot of time for the keyboard warriors out there with the outrage, but he is not one of them.

 

[bellagiobob]

Larry stated " now is not the time to discuss name change." Didn't say he was or wasn't contemplating it BUT would not discuss it yesterday.

My best guess...we finish the year as Elks...before next season look for a rebranding and the name Esks or Eskys to be introduced.
The man plays his cards close to his chest and will make dure everyone is either inline or out of organization before stirring that pot.

My only issue is that he then chose to discuss it yesterday with Rishaug, and then when asked if the name would remain the Elks, he said yes. Should have just repeated his earlier answer, that now was not the time to discuss it.

 

[abootzky]

One thing that I found disturbing is that CBC replays of old Grey Cups had been edited so that the word Eskimos would not be heard. That is truly ridiculous and is a case of re-writing history.

Agree that bringing back a "gritty" look revolving around the iconic EE is the best compromise.

I constantly site my lifelong favourite MLB team the Cleveland Indians, now Guardians as a basis of comparison with the Esks/Elks. One thing I appreciate that they've done in Cleveland is not avoiding mention of the team before 2022 as the Indians on the team's radio & TV broadcasts. It was the Indians who were successful in the '90s and nearly won the World Series in 2016 and they are not hesitant to say so. It's the Guardians who surprisingly made the post-season in 2022 and who are near the top of the AL this year. The point is that respect for a franchise's past can be shown by calling it what it actually was. I will always refer to the 1949-2019 Edmonton football team as the Eskimos and the 2021-present teams as the Elks (& EE)- until they foolishly rebrand anyway.

 

[Myride]

My only issue is that he then chose to discuss it yesterday with Rishaug, and then when asked if the name would remain the Elks, he said yes. Should have just repeated his earlier answer, that now was not the time to discuss it.

I'm guessing the intent was "yes"....for now.

 

[abootzky]

I think that the time for arguing about the name of needs to end. Again, kudos to Larry Thompson for attempting to move on from the counter-productive bickering.

 

[brentashton]

Hey Look, Harris continues to tear up the league. And by tear, I mean do things that make zero difference.

 

[bellagiobob]

I constantly site my lifelong favourite MLB team the Cleveland Indians, now Guardians as a basis of comparison with the Esks/Elks. One thing I appreciate that they've done in Cleveland is not avoiding mention of the team before 2022 as the Indians on the team's radio & TV broadcasts. It was the Indians who were successful in the '90s and nearly won the World Series in 2016 and they are not hesitant to say so. It's the Guardians who surprisingly made the post-season in 2022 and who are near the top of the AL this year. The point is that respect for a franchise's past can be shown by calling it what it actually was. I will always refer to the 1949-2019 Edmonton football team as the Eskimos and the 2021-present teams as the Elks (& EE)- until they foolishly rebrand anyway.

Unfortunately the franchise went the opposite way and obliterated any and all mention of the former team now. I think this is what has upset most people. I think if they had given fans the opportunity is still celebrate the history of the old name, that so many people still wouldn't be up in arms over the name change. Hearing that there is a possibility of the old name, or a version of it, come back, is more of a way of honouring and remembering our past, which was unceremoniously kicked to the curb by the franchise. I think there is also a big difference in the terms Indian and Eskimo, at least from what I've experienced in my lifetime. Indian often had racial undertones when used, which one would hear quite often. I quite honestly can't recall anyone using the term Eskimo in a derogatory way in my lifetime, it was only ever used when mentioning our football team, and always in a positive way.

Hey Look, Harris continues to tear up the league. And by tear, I mean do things that make zero difference.

Another Rider yawner game. Wonder if they go after Adams next year.

 

[brentashton]

Unfortunately the franchise went the opposite way and obliterated any and all mention of the former team now. I think this is what has upset most people. I think if they had given fans the opportunity is still celebrate the history of the old name, that so many people still wouldn't be up in arms over the name change. Hearing that there is a possibility of the old name, or a version of it, come back, is more of a way of honouring and remembering our past, which was unceremoniously kicked to the curb by the franchise. I think there is also a big difference in the terms Indian and Eskimo, at least from what I've experienced in my lifetime. Indian often had racial undertones when used, which one would hear quite often. I quite honestly can't recall anyone using the term Eskimo in a derogatory way in my lifetime, it was only ever used when mentioning our football team, and always in a positive way.


Another Rider yawner game. Wonder if they go after Adams next year.

I doubt our GM thinks that far ahead. He’s just wondering how many Costco Dogs he can devour tomorrow, at this point.

 

[Myride]

Unfortunately the franchise went the opposite way and obliterated any and all mention of the former team now. I think this is what has upset most people. I think if they had given fans the opportunity is still celebrate the history of the old name, that so many people still wouldn't be up in arms over the name change. Hearing that there is a possibility of the old name, or a version of it, come back, is more of a way of honouring and remembering our past, which was unceremoniously kicked to the curb by the franchise. I think there is also a big difference in the terms Indian and Eskimo, at least from what I've experienced in my lifetime. Indian often had racial undertones when used, which one would hear quite often. I quite honestly can't recall anyone using the term Eskimo in a derogatory way in my lifetime, it was only ever used when mentioning our football team, and always in a positive way.


Another Rider yawner game. Wonder if they go after Adams next year.

Spot - on. Sums up the whole problem AND the correct fix. I hope Larry is reading this...

 

[abootzky]

Spot - on. Sums up the whole problem AND the correct fix. I hope Larry is reading this...

The "correct fix" is not going back to Eskimos in any form. That ship has sailed. Still, I encourage Larry Thompson, the EE's social media accounts, their radio rightsholder CHED's & TSN's TV broadcasters, the 3DownNation guys and everyone else to call the 1949-2019 Edmonton football team the Eskimos and the 2021-present & beyond the Elks or the EE.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Hey Look, Harris continues to tear up the league. And by tear, I mean do things that make zero difference.

Ugg...

 

[guymez]

By all accounts Nathan Obed played a big role in this and I don’t think we should dismiss him as an easily outraged activist. The man is president of the national Inuit organization representing 60,000 Inuit people. He’s had that role since 2025. I don’t have a lot of time for the keyboard warriors out there with the outrage, but he is not one of them.

An Eskimo is not an Inuit. They have different origins.
So who exactly is Obed representing and why should his opinion matter on this issue?

The other thing to remember is that there are no monolithic groups here. Each person is an individual and they should all have their say as an indivdual. Just like any other democratic exercise.
Having one person speak for every individual and claim to represent the entire 'group' is extremely disengenuous.

The "correct fix" is not going back to Eskimos in any form. That ship has sailed. Still, I encourage Larry Thompson, the EE's social media accounts, their radio rightsholder CHED's & TSN's TV broadcasters, the 3DownNation guys and everyone else to call the 1949-2019 Edmonton football team the Eskimos and the 2021-present & beyond the Elks or the EE.

Says who?

 

[bellagiobob]

Lauther can expect a truckload of manure on his lawn by tomorrow morning.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Saskatchewan Roughriders ... snatching defeat from the jaws of victory for over a century.

 

[Cloned]

Elks win tomorrow and they’re two wins behind first in the West lol