thependulumswings

“That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

The MLB Cleveland baseball franchise had trouble picking a sweet nickname that would endear them to their fanbase at the outset of its now 120-year run.

Born in 1901 they were named the Cleveland Blues.  The expansion team that year gave their followers the blues finishing 54-82-2 (no lights and train schedules were to blame for tie games back then).

Just a year later in 1902, they changed to the Cleveland Bronchos.  What’s with the letter “H” you ask?  Way back when “broncos” was spelled “bronchos.”  Who knew?  The fans did, and apparently, this wasn’t the answer for them either.  It lasted one season as well.

Just a year later in 1903, they changed to the Naps.  What’s in the name Naps?  Napoleon Lajoie arrived in Cleveland on June 4 and was an immediate hit, drawing 10,000 fans to League Park. Soon afterward, he was named team captain, and in 1903 the team was renamed the Cleveland Napoleons (soon shortened to Naps) after a newspaper conducted a write-in contest.

The Naps nickname lasted from 1903 till 1914.  A dreadful season in  ’14 put the Nap nickname to bed (see what we did there?) for eternity.

Since 1915 and for 95 seasons and counting the franchise has been known as the Cleveland Indians.  They’ve won exactly 51% of their 16,482 games, 6 pennants, and two World Series.

Seems like they’ve been average at best for a long time.  And, they’ve been Indians for a long time as well.

But no more.  Well, technically they will be for one more season.

Amid accusations that “Indians” is racist, the organization is expected to announce the change this week, sources said, continuing a years-long process in which it abandoned its Chief Wahoo logo and committed to exploring a new nickname, as well.

The upcoming season of 2021 is expected to be a transition from the old to the new name. You have just 12 short months to get your Indians $125 replica jersey before the new name ones retail for $135.   Perhaps they could follow the NFL’s Washington Football Team lead and identify as the Cleveland Baseball Team for a year?

At the intersection of Brand Name Blvd. and Politically Correct Circle, the train known as Cancel Culture chugged through.  So for about 96 years being known as “Indians” was good, but now, it’s bad.

“This is the culmination of decades of work,” the Oneida Nation of New York, which led the Change the Mascot Movement, said in a statement to ESPN. “Groups like the National Congress of American Indians (it’s ok for them) passed resolutions for decades on this, social science has made clear these names are harmful and Cleveland got out in front of it and they’re leading, and rather than having this hanging over their heads, they’re charting a new path.”

They’re leading says Oneida Nation!  Not really.

What took them so long?  Well, they last won a World Series in 1948, or 72 years and counting. Good things come to those who wait.

They’re following.  They always have.

They’ve been napping for over a century actually.