Identity Crisis

Thursday, December 30, 2010 Posted by Kyle Mountain

Whatever happened to having pride in an identity? In sports, the ability to develop and maintain an identity is a hard thing to do but doing so creates a sense of pride for a program. It's an underrated part of sports that can go a long way in an organizations success, however in recent years there's been a noticeable spike in the number of teams trying to, "create new identities," which is code for, "we're terrible so we're going to change our uniforms and try to create some new excitement about our team." I understand the concept but I have a problem with teams doing this.

Imagine if there were a fighter who got whooped and had black eyes, cuts, etc. reminding him and others of how he got beat. Now picture him going and getting make-up so he could cover up his scars and wounds and create a new appearance so people wouldn't know what happened to him. Maybe not the best example but I think it illustrates my point. I wouldn't have much respect for a guy like this because he's essentially trying to hide what he is. Sports teams do the same thing sometimes. Its become a natural - almost instinctive - reaction recently for teams to attempt to change their identities after constantly getting beat on. The Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Capitals, Detroit Lions, Phoenix Coyotes, and the Memphis Grizzlies are a few teams who, over the past decade or two, have changed their identities in hopes of sparking some success. I like to see if these changes make a difference, so let's break down the Detroit Lions' logo change they made before the 2009 season. The first thing I notice about the changes in the picture (courtesy of news.lalate.com) is that the new Lion is a little bit leaner than the old one. This change makes sense; what better way to fix your self-esteem issues and perhaps give yourself a chance to compete in 4th quarters-to-come than dropping a few pounds? The next change is one of posture. I may be crazy but the new Lion seems to be standing a little straighter compared to the old Lion who's slouching a little bit. It's good to portray confidence and puff the chest out a bit so this is a very important fix.The last significant change is that the new Lion has an eye and the old Lion didn't. I guess they realized that the lack of vision was quite an oversight (pun intended) and I'm sure they were convinced that this change would pay dividends.

I'm all for changing your identity, but don't do it by trying to hide what you are. The most notable teams in sports are the ones who have an identity through good and bad times - the Yankees, the Red Wings, The Canadians, the Lakers. Instead of hiding what you are, why not use what you are as motivation as well as a building block to get where you want to go? To go back to the analogy of the fighter, if I got beaten up badly I'd want to look at those bruises and scars everyday because they'd help motivate me and help me to become better.

Now of course some teams will change a logo just to spice things up, even if they're a successful team (for example, the Pittsburgh Penguins). However, a new logo doesn't mean a good logo, or a good team, or a good legacy. Winning makes a good logo. A legacy makes a good logo. Are you telling me that a four-leaf clover is a good logo? The only reason it is is because the Boston Celtics made it that way through years and years of winning. They took a mundane thing and made it a significant symbol representing success. You can take any identity and make it something great if you're committed to habitually reaching for the success you want to achieve.



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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Identity Crisis


Whatever happened to having pride in an identity? In sports, the ability to develop and maintain an identity is a hard thing to do but doing so creates a sense of pride for a program. It's an underrated part of sports that can go a long way in an organizations success, however in recent years there's been a noticeable spike in the number of teams trying to, "create new identities," which is code for, "we're terrible so we're going to change our uniforms and try to create some new excitement about our team." I understand the concept but I have a problem with teams doing this.

Imagine if there were a fighter who got whooped and had black eyes, cuts, etc. reminding him and others of how he got beat. Now picture him going and getting make-up so he could cover up his scars and wounds and create a new appearance so people wouldn't know what happened to him. Maybe not the best example but I think it illustrates my point. I wouldn't have much respect for a guy like this because he's essentially trying to hide what he is. Sports teams do the same thing sometimes. Its become a natural - almost instinctive - reaction recently for teams to attempt to change their identities after constantly getting beat on. The Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Capitals, Detroit Lions, Phoenix Coyotes, and the Memphis Grizzlies are a few teams who, over the past decade or two, have changed their identities in hopes of sparking some success. I like to see if these changes make a difference, so let's break down the Detroit Lions' logo change they made before the 2009 season. The first thing I notice about the changes in the picture (courtesy of news.lalate.com) is that the new Lion is a little bit leaner than the old one. This change makes sense; what better way to fix your self-esteem issues and perhaps give yourself a chance to compete in 4th quarters-to-come than dropping a few pounds? The next change is one of posture. I may be crazy but the new Lion seems to be standing a little straighter compared to the old Lion who's slouching a little bit. It's good to portray confidence and puff the chest out a bit so this is a very important fix.The last significant change is that the new Lion has an eye and the old Lion didn't. I guess they realized that the lack of vision was quite an oversight (pun intended) and I'm sure they were convinced that this change would pay dividends.

I'm all for changing your identity, but don't do it by trying to hide what you are. The most notable teams in sports are the ones who have an identity through good and bad times - the Yankees, the Red Wings, The Canadians, the Lakers. Instead of hiding what you are, why not use what you are as motivation as well as a building block to get where you want to go? To go back to the analogy of the fighter, if I got beaten up badly I'd want to look at those bruises and scars everyday because they'd help motivate me and help me to become better.

Now of course some teams will change a logo just to spice things up, even if they're a successful team (for example, the Pittsburgh Penguins). However, a new logo doesn't mean a good logo, or a good team, or a good legacy. Winning makes a good logo. A legacy makes a good logo. Are you telling me that a four-leaf clover is a good logo? The only reason it is is because the Boston Celtics made it that way through years and years of winning. They took a mundane thing and made it a significant symbol representing success. You can take any identity and make it something great if you're committed to habitually reaching for the success you want to achieve.



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Posted by Kyle Mountain at 10:41 PM

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