The decision to change the Indians nickname to the Cleveland Guardians was one that was destined to take place eventually and even though Rob Manfred had stated that the Indians name was safe when the team agreed to whack the logo of Chief Wahoo, Manfred's word wasn't enough to stop the momentum against the name change.
As a longtime traditionalist, it bothers me that the name Indians is no longer going to be used.
As a realist, while I had hoped that the elimination of Chief Wahoo would be enough to satisfy the wave against the name change, I thought the name would eventually have to be changed.
While I'll miss the name, I do understand why some were offended and there is a certain sense of relief that the constant drumbeat (pun intended) of protests and complaints can move south to Atlanta or west to Kansas City to complain about their team nicknames.
The Guardians name doesn't do much to move the needle for me as the new nickname.
Named after the "Art Deco" style statues that reside on the Hope Memorial Bridge, Guardians isn't a terrible name, it's just a boring one.
There wasn't exactly a barrel filled with names that would have been excellent choices ( I liked Spiders and Commodores as my favorites) and the choice of the Guardians isn't the worst option that could have been chosen, that I would give that honor to Rockers, which was a name that people outside the Cleveland area seemed to like but very few in the area thought of it as highly.
Guardians didn't rank very highly on my list for nicknames but what doesn't help with the name is the very small tweaks to the already boring "Block C", the logo that looks very minor league (A G gripping a baseball), and an all-around dull looking set of uniforms and font.
Plus Guardians doesn't work very well to the inevitable shortening by media and marketing (The Guard?) and comes up short in that department.
Look, I don't hate Guardians so much that I despise it, but it's average at best, I'm really not happy with basically the same crappy Block C, and the nickname sounds like an arena football league franchise more than a major league baseball team, but I'm glad that the situation is finally finished.
As much as I miss Chief Wahoo for the memories of childhood and I'll likely still call the team the Indians forever as I'm the same guy that still calls the Washington Wizards "Bullets" years after their name change but as blah, as Guardians are as a nickname, I'll get used to it and will survive! Ha Ha!
Back later with the beginning of NHL free agency and what appears to be a surprising addition for the New Jersey Devils.
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