Up until this point, for people searching for past articles on the blog, I had separate tags for the Rough Riders and the next pro team to grace the field of Frank Clair Stadium. Being that we did not know what name the new franchise would adopt, a general “CFL” tag was created for the articles in regards to OSEG’s attempts to establish a club here.
That is no longer necessary because going forward, the OSEG team will be referred to as Rough Riders on every part of Capital Region Football (the home site, this blog, the photo album, Twitter account, etc).
I’m well (and painfully) aware that the most likely scenario is that OSEG will choose a new name. The Saskatchewan football club is too insecure to have two teams with the “same” name in the league so they somehow ended up with a veto that they will “probably” use (By the way, Mark Cohon, this makes you look like a giant pussy. Just so you know).
But in their infinite generosity, Saskatchewan FC has seen fit to allow OSEG to use the Rough Riders name and look for one whole game a year. Wow, that’s so swell!
So I don’t much care what name OSEG comes up with, I’m not playing along. If Rough Riders has a presence of some kind, that’s the name I’m using. If (when) they sell Riders merchandise, I may get some of that, but I’m not getting anything from Brand X.
It’s not so much a matter of being opposed to a new name. It’s being opposed to what led to it. If Saskatchewan feels an irrational need to protect its brand from one that looks nothing like it, that’s one thing, but that OSEG rolled over for them and are only now confirming it irritates the hell out of me. Funny, while they needed the support of football fans, there was always an indication that Rough Riders as a name full-time was a possibility. Suddenly, it’s “extremely unlikely” to be used.
Like hell. Rough Riders it is. Now, then and forever.
6 Comments
Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist
For all I know, the above is spam, but even if it is it’s a nice quote nonetheless and coincidentally appropriate.
Time to get out of the past! The CFL is not going to allow leather helmets either!
An expansion team with the same name as an exiting team is just retarded. This is a professional business and I am pleased to see the leadership of the CFL and the OSEG to see this.
It’s not the same name as an existing team, it’s the same name that a team in this city wore for about nine decades. Your point would be bang on if they expressed wanting to name themselves the Ottawa Eskimos.
I’ve been consistent about this since day one: I am open to a new name, so long as it is a decision made by Ottawa. Saskatchewan should have no right to make this decision. The notion that their brand will be hurt by this is ludicrous.
In other words, it is the fact that OSEG either…
a) Unnecessarily gave up their right to make the decision, and/or
b) Have been less interested in reviving the Rough Riders than they gave to appearance to be
…that makes me opposed to their decision.
“Funny, while they needed the support of football fans, there was always an indication that Rough Riders as a name full-time was a possibility. Suddenly, it’s “extremely unlikely” to be used.”
You nailed it. I still haven’t heard anyone from Saskatchewan say they’d veto Ottawa using the name. My issue is with OSEG rallying the diehards with the possible use of Rough Rider, then pulling the plug on it as decision day approaches. I know there’s a lot of people in town who associate the name with the Glieberman/Horn Chen fiascos, but those people have the attention span of a small dog. They won’t be anywhere to be seen in a few years as far as Ottawa football is concerned.
There’s another thing too that I think some overlook.
The Riders folded in 1996. The Riders would return in 2013.
That means that anyone under the age of 20 or so would have absolutely no memory of the Glieberman / Chen stuff. And anyone old enough to remember that is also old enough to know about the team’s glory years.
I don’t buy the argument that someone in his teens will hear the name Rough Riders and ask himself (or herself) why we are “stealing” Saskatchewan’s name. That Ottawa used to have a team called that is hardly an obscure piece of trivia.