Rebranding the Dallas Stars
Photo courtesy of : www.sportslogos.net
If you weren’t aware, the Dallas Stars franchise has been in the process of stripping the organization down to its roots and starting over. And there’s really no denying it now. Last night’s 2013-2014 jersey unveiling reinforced the notion the Dallas Stars higher-ups aren’t interested in holding on to much over the age of 20; even more so than when they traded veterans Jaromir Jagr and Brenden Morrow. Both who are in the conference finals by the way. Bitter? Nah.
Say goodbye to the gold and green and the highly-recognized Dallas Stars logo the team started with 20 years ago and say hello to a great big silver “D” on top of a great big silver star. How creative. Add “Victory Green” to the mix and it’s a site to see. Imgaine highlighters rolling around a white piece of paper and you’ll get a good idea of what it’ll look like when Dallas plays Philadelphia or San Jose.
If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the Dallas Stars website. It’s all over the place.
Looking at this fancy new gear, one has to wonder, is the team that broke already? If this were a collegiate level team, this jersey could pass. But even then it wouldn’t be the jersey many college hockey players would be racing to put on.
Some have compared it to the beloved Disney hockey team, the Mighty Ducks. Ouch. Nothing like being associated with quack, the knuckle puck and the flying V. And while all of that is great for entertaining kids and making a really cute hockey flick, it’s not so great for trying to revamp a crest-fallen group of guys who may be too young to even remember the movie.
Adding insult to injury; Mighty Ducks = Anaheim. Hmm.
An even larger spattering of fans have compared the new look to the back-in-the-day Minnesota North Stars garb. I personally don’t see it, but even if I did, I would have a hard time understanding why this organization would want to go back to that. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the North Stars. Without the North Stars, there wouldn’t be a Dallas Stars, and roots are roots. But, being brutally honest, there’s a reason the North Stars didn’t stay the North Stars. There’s a reason the branding of the team changed when it made the transition to Dallas.
That logo wasn’t tied to a successful organization.
And while the argument can be made the Dallas Stars have been far from successful the past five years, the big green star outlined in gold with the top leg forming the “A” in STARS is the logo of a President’s Trophy-earning, Stanley Cup-winning organization. Changing a logo doesn’t change a team.
And yes the team has changed the look of its jersey in the past, but the general identifier of the team remained the same.
Ultimately, if it’s new fans the organization is seeking to attract, the money spent on changing jerseys should’ve been spent on who’s wearing them. Fans love winners more than logos.
On the bright side, my bank statements will be higher minus the numerous “American Airlines Center Fan Shop” purchases this season, and my closet can breathe a sigh of relief knowing it won’t be stuffed with even more Stars shirts, hats and jerseys.
And hey, at least it’s not a “Mooterus.”
Click here to see how the Stars came up with the new look.