Utah team nickname/colors/logo, mascot (and related marketing)

[Yukon Joe]

Yeti now has a licensing deal with the NHL

YETI Custom NHL Gear

Go ahead and scuffle. Our unique, laser-marking customization technique creates a permanent finish on your YETI Rambler Drinkware. Shop now.

www.yeti.com

I guess the Yeti was tired of the Stanley people being associated with the NHL by default...

 

[KevFu]

Or a Leaf, or a style of music, or a penguin. Not to mention whatever the hell a "Oiler", "Canuck", "Canadien" or "Islander" is supposed to be.

The only thing that separates a "stupid new team name" from a traditional team name is time.

It only seems less stupid because you're used to it.

 

[Yukon Joe]

The only thing that separates a "stupid new team name" from a traditional team name is time.

It only seems less stupid because you're used to it.

That was the point I was trying to make!

I mean how stupid a name is "Red Socks" if you think about it - but with all that history the team would be insane to change it now.

 

[TheLegend]

Name field getting narrowed down…..

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

Ugh....it's going to be Yeti, isn't it. Brutal.

 

[JMCx4]

... I mean how stupid a name is "Red Socks" if you think about it - but with all that history the team would be insane to change it now.

And yet, how BRILLIANT is "Red SOX", eh?

 

[No Fun Shogun]

I'm still fine with Yeti.

And I really can't understate how little a name like that should bother people. There are loads of teams with pretty objectively dumb names or weird naming histories that we're all used to.

There are two articles of footwear teams in Major League Baseball.

There's a team named after an owner's surname in the NFL.

There is a team named after a timely reference to a Steven Spielberg film in the NBA.

There's a team named after an outdated at the time meme in the NHL.

Yeti will be old hat in ten years and we'll be making fun of a different expansion team's name at that time before forgetting about that as well a decade later.

 

[ponder719]

The only thing that separates a "stupid new team name" from a traditional team name is time.

It only seems less stupid because you're used to it.

There are other elements that can make a team name stupid, no matter how much time you give it. If a team name doesn't have a form (or nickname) that can be reasonably applied to an individual member of the team, it's going to sound stupid no matter how long you have it.

Travis Konecny plays for the Flyers. He is a Flyer. That works fine.
Steven Stamkos plays for the Lightning. He is a Bolt. That is tolerable.
Clayton Keller plays for the Utah Powder. What the hell is he then?

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Clayton Keller plays for the Utah Powder. What the hell is he then?

Let's go, Puffs.

But he'd just be a Powder. Is that any more inane than saying that someone is a Wild?

Real talk, imagine if the Minnesota Wild team name was announced in an age of Twitter. That'd be ripped to shreads so hardcore they might've reversed course.

But a couple decades later, we don't even blink at that name.

Truth be told though, Powder to me screams as a name that was designed to make other options look better by comparison.

 

[ponder719]

Let's go, Puffs.

But he'd just be a Powder. Is that any more inane than saying that someone is a Wild?

Real talk, imagine if the Minnesota Wild team name was announced in an age of Twitter. That'd be ripped to shreads so hardcore they might've reversed course.

But a couple decades later, we don't even blink at that name.

Truth be told though, Powder to me screams as a name that was designed to make other options look better by comparison.

More inane? No, but I also still hate the Wild as a team name, for that exact reason. It's not my team, so I don't have to engage with it often, but as far as I'm concerned, it's a terrible name, selected from a group of other terrible names, (White Bears was the best of the bunch, not that it matters now; what should have happened is the league should have left Minnesota the North Stars name, and had Dallas change to the Lone Stars, to set up a Red Sox/White Sox style thing.)

I do think Powder is there to make other names sound better, but you don't need as many terrible names as they have in that poll to make that point. We'll see what happens when they get down to a second round of voting.

 

[StreetHawk]

More inane? No, but I also still hate the Wild as a team name, for that exact reason. It's not my team, so I don't have to engage with it often, but as far as I'm concerned, it's a terrible name, selected from a group of other terrible names, (White Bears was the best of the bunch, not that it matters now; what should have happened is the league should have left Minnesota the North Stars name, and had Dallas change to the Lone Stars, to set up a Red Sox/White Sox style thing.)

I do think Powder is there to make other names sound better, but you don't need as many terrible names as they have in that poll to make that point. We'll see what happens when they get down to a second round of voting.

I agree on the Wild. Still not a great name after over 25 years. Just accepted over time. Figured they would have picked one of the many possible animals in the region, but it is what it is now.

That's why teams should not take their name with them. Should change it if there isn't a tie in with the city.

Lakers, Jazz, Grizzlies, etc.

If it's generic like Stars I guess it's easier to keep.

 

[rt]

I agree on the Wild. Still not a great name after over 25 years. Just accepted over time. Figured they would have picked one of the many possible animals in the region, but it is what it is now.

That's why teams should not take their name with them. Should change it if there isn't a tie in with the city.

Lakers, Jazz, Grizzlies, etc.

If it's generic like Stars I guess it's easier to keep.

Texas is the “Lone Star State”

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

Real talk, imagine if the Minnesota Wild team name was announced in an age of Twitter. That'd be ripped to shreads so hardcore they might've reversed course.

But a couple decades later, we don't even blink at that name.

Disagree. I've seen the Wild discussed as one of the worst names in pro sports somewhat frequently. It was discussed here several pages ago.

And yes...deservedly so.

 

[Reaser]

Disagree. I've seen the Wild discussed as one of the worst names in pro sports somewhat frequently. It was discussed here several pages ago.

And yes...deservedly so.

Yup.

Anecdotal, but one of my closest friends moved to MN about 15 years ago. Quickly became a Wild fan and has a business relationship with them so is at all the charity golf outings and such. I hear it every year from him and his friends from MN about how stupid the team name (Wild) is -- they also hate the jerseys/sweaters except the reverse retro.

Also, a simple two-second cursory search provides numerous and yearly examples of -not just people outside MN saying how dumb the team name is- but many actual Wild fans saying how bad the team name is.

Especially a lot of results from when the reverse retro was revealed and everyone was saying they wish they were still the North Stars or at least changed to those colors.

Looks like a guy in Minnesota went on a rant a couple years ago about how people need to let go of the North Stars and that the Wild have their own history and tradition. Most of the replies I'm seeing are similar, paraphrasing: "Wild is a dumb name, we have a bad logo and we're Christmas colors (implied as a negative.)"

Tis known.

 

[rsteen]

Utah Yeti is hard to say. The words are too much alike.

 

[StreetHawk]

Yup.

Anecdotal, but one of my closest friends moved to MN about 15 years ago. Quickly became a Wild fan and has a business relationship with them so is at all the charity golf outings and such. I hear it every year from him and his friends from MN about how stupid the team name (Wild) is -- they also hate the jerseys/sweaters except the reverse retro.

Also, a simple two-second cursory search provides numerous and yearly examples of -not just people outside MN saying how dumb the team name is- but many actual Wild fans saying how bad the team name is.

Especially a lot of results from when the reverse retro was revealed and everyone was saying they wish they were still the North Stars or at least changed to those colors.

Looks like a guy in Minnesota went on a rant a couple years ago about how people need to let go of the North Stars and that the Wild have their own history and tradition. Most of the replies I'm seeing are similar, paraphrasing: "Wild is a dumb name, we have a bad logo and we're Christmas colors (implied as a negative.)"

Tis known.

I like their current colors (save the logo). Darker green looks good. Their color scheme from their North Stars days are basically the London Knights of the OHL.

 

[JMCx4]

Utah Yeti is hard to say. The words are too much alike.

Marketing 101: It's called "assonance" ... "The repetition of identical or similar vowels (or rhyming), as in the yogurt company 'Tutti Frutti'.”

 

[Reaser]

Marketing 101: It's called "assonance" ... "The repetition of identical or similar vowels (or rhyming), as in the yogurt company 'Tutti Frutti'.”

"Yeti" was a favorite of Ryan Smith's from early on because he liked the idea of the "U" for University of Utah and the "Y" for BYU. Which you can tack onto "marketing."

 

[StreetHawk]

"Yeti" was a favorite of Ryan Smith's from early on because he liked the idea of the "U" for University of Utah and the "Y" for BYU. Which you can tack onto "marketing."

Pretty sure Smith knows what name he already wants. Trademarks is the key. Plus, doing this name thing keeps fans engaged.

Mammoth is interesting. But, Colorado has a lacrosse team named the Mammoth, so not sure if that would keep Utah from going with that.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Utah Yeti is hard to say? That rolls off the tongue for me.

 

[Yukon Joe]

So is it going to be "Yeti" or "Yetis"? Singular or plural?

 

[No Fun Shogun]

So is it going to be "Yeti" or "Yetis"?

yeti

Singular or plural?

yes

 

[SirJW]

Denver Outlaws begin the 2024 Premier Lacrosse League season this weekend.

Denver Outlaws

The official team page of the Premier Lacrosse League - Premier Lacrosse League team

premierlacrosseleague.com

So Denver has two Lacrosse team names competing in the Utah HC names poll.

 

[Brodie]

Let's go, Puffs.

But he'd just be a Powder. Is that any more inane than saying that someone is a Wild?

Real talk, imagine if the Minnesota Wild team name was announced in an age of Twitter. That'd be ripped to shreads so hardcore they might've reversed course.

But a couple decades later, we don't even blink at that name.

Truth be told though, Powder to me screams as a name that was designed to make other options look better by comparison.

I don’t know, speak for yourself. I think that the Wild have one of the stupidest names in the history of sports and I doubt if there’s anybody so attached to the name that they wouldn’t be happy to see it changed

I don’t fully believe the time heals all wounds in this regard. White Sox and Red Sox are more equivalent to the Blue Jackets, a name nobody ever complains about, than the Wild. and over a decade of history didn’t result in anybody ever warming to the name Charlotte Bobcats

 

[famicommander]

Denver Outlaws begin the 2024 Premier Lacrosse League season this weekend.

Denver Outlaws

The official team page of the Premier Lacrosse League - Premier Lacrosse League team

premierlacrosseleague.com

So Denver has two Lacrosse team names competing in the Utah HC names poll.

And the Denver Outlaws have history, too. They played in Major League Lacrosse from 2006 until 2020. And the Colorado Mammoth have been in Denver since 2003.

Will be annoyed if Utah uses either of the names.