Traitorous Connecticut baseball team unveils new logo
Pity the poor New Britain Rock Cat.
The Hartford Yard Goats, the new Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, unveiled its new logos and branding on Wednesday.
The royal blue and kelly green color scheme is meant to pay tribute to the much-loved, much-missed Hartford Whalers. The NHL team cruelly abandoned Connecticut to become the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997, leaving behind a state full of broken hearts (except for hearts in Fairfield County, where they all probably cheer for a New York hockey team).
This is ironic, since the Yard Goats are doing to New Britain what the Carolina Hurricanes did to Hartford almost two decades ago: leaving.
The team that will be known as the Hartford Yard Goats in 2016 is currently known as the New Britain Rock Cats. Last summer, the team announced that it was dumping New Britain for Hartford and a brand-new, city-financed $56 million stadium. This, despite assurances from co-owner (and Boston native) Josh Solomon when he bought the team in 2012 that New Britain would be its home for years and years to come.
“This is an ideal location,’’ Solomon told the Hartford Courant. “We’re absolutely committed to New Britain.’’
Guess not, since eight months later, Solomon began secret negotiations with Hartford officials to move the team there. New Britain mayor Erin Stewart, apparently having no idea this was in the works even as Hartford’s mayor and the Rock Cats prepared to make the official announcement, tweeted:
[fragment number=0]
Embarrassing, but well within the fine Connecticut tradition of being screwed over by sports teams. There was the Whalers’ departure and, of course, the Hartford Patriots that never were.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft had agreed to a deal in 1998 that would have moved the team from the old and outdated Foxboro Stadium to a brand-new facility on the shores of the Connecticut River. Six months later and with the promise of $70 million in subsidies to build a new stadium in Foxboro, Kraft backed out. Connecticut despaired (except for Fairfield County, where they all probably cheer for a New York football team).
Adding insult to injury, both the Patriots and the Hurricanes were quite successful in their post-Connecticut lives, with the Patriots winning four Super Bowls and the Hurricanes winning a Stanley Cup — something they never did when they were Whalers.
Last month, Peter Karmanos Jr., the Hurricanes owner who moved the team away from Hartford, was selected for the Hockey Hall of Fame.
But back to the Yard Goats. The name doesn’t actually come from the ruminant, but from an old railroad term. Hartford isn’t exactly known for its railroads, but neither was New Britain known for its “rock cat’’ (whatever that even is). Perhaps a more fitting team name would have been the Benedict Arnolds, after the Connecticut native and Revolutionary War general who tried to sell us out to the British.
The Yard Goats are part of Hartford’s redevelopment plan to create jobs and revitalize its downtown area, and a firm in San Diego (which is in California, not in Connecticut) was given the job of creating the team’s new logo.
The colors pay tribute to the Whalers, the typography pays tribute to the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad company (no longer in existence, just like Hartford’s golden age), and the mascot is a goat chewing on a baseball bat as he stabs all of New Britain in the back (not shown).
[fragment number=1]
Photos: This is how awesome it is to be a Boston sports fan
[bdc-gallery id=”142820″]
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com