I shouldn’t have to point out the obvious, but sometimes that’s my job. Now they can play ball without kicking over the bucket of America’s murderous past. Isn’t that what you want? A name without many associations, upon which the club can imprint its identity. “Guardians of Traffic,” sounds like the worst Marvel superheroes movie ever, a bush league Avengers where Saltman leaps to de-ice highways and The Signal projects flashing lights upon the back end of cars changing lanes.Ī neutral term for a team. Sure, I noticed the things hard to miss a quartet of 43-foot pylons, each with a pair of Art Deco figures, each holding a means of transportation - a wagon, a truck, a 1930s-era car. And I’d been to the University of Richmond, and was so impressed with its way-cool Spiders mascot I almost bought a Spiders t-shirt. I had been pulling for “Spiders.” It’s such a cool name, with roots - Cleveland was the Spiders before it was the Indians. Still, when I heard Cleveland is changing the name to “Guardians,” I winced. Though I can try: It has something to do with the Irish coming here and doing pretty well, eventually, while the Native Americans already were here and didn’t do well at all, not once the white newcomers were done with them. I bet if no Irish Catholics actually attended the University of Notre Dame, its pugnacious mascot would be seen in a very different light. I can’t explain why the Fighting Irish Leprechaun is OK while Chief Wahoo isn’t. Certain stereotypes fly in 2021 while others do not. I have my own sense of self-worth, one not dependent on the icons of my youth being carried into perpetuity on the shoulders of the public, like plaster saints borne aloft in some dusty village procession. But you know what? Truth is, I’m an adult now, and understand the world is not all about me.
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