Friend of mine was watching the sports ticker scroll on the bottom of the screen when he asked, "Who is CBJ?" That's the Columbus Blue Jackets. "Columbus has an NHL team?" I explained yes Columbus has an NHL team. Then he asked, "What's a Blue Jacket?" To that I had no answer.
Is it a Civil War reference? A cold northern cousin of the yellow jacket? Just a random piece of clothing like a Red Sock? Then my mind switched gears and thought of a better team mascot for Columbus.
Take Derek Jeter and combine him with the Blue Meanies from the Beatles' Yellow Submarine.
The Columbus Blue Jeters.
Long story short (but still kinda long) (and honestly - copied) -
ReplyDeleteIn conjunction with Wendy’s Restaurants, the franchise held a “Name the Team” contest throughout central Ohio during the month of August 1997, which gave fans throughout the area an opportunity to name the team. The plan worked out as over 14,000 entries were submitted. During the “Name the Team” contest, majority owner John H. McConnell was asked to fill out a questionnaire for the National Hockey League to help the league get a better idea of what Columbus stands for and the history of the city.
With help from the NHL, the Columbus franchise narrowed the 14,000 entries down to 10 names. Then with the information received from Mr. McConnell, the League and the franchise narrowed the list of potential names down to two – Blue Jackets and Justice.
The franchise explored all of the options of the two names, but it was the Blue Jackets name that intrigued the NHL and the Columbus franchise the most.
It was first thought that the Blue Jackets were named after the Indian chief, Blue Jacket, from Xenia, Ohio, but that was not the case.
The Blue Jackets name was selected because the name pays homage to Ohio’s contributions to American history and the great pride and patriotism exhibited by its citizens, especially during the Civil War as both the state of Ohio and the city of Columbus were significantly influential on the Union Army. Ohio contributed more of its population to the Union Army than any other state, while many of the Blue Coats worn by the Union soldiers were manufactured in Columbus.
Keith - interesting. I wonder how the NHL would react if Carolina decided to change their name from Hurricanes to Stars and Bars?
ReplyDeleteBTW - doesn't Derek Jeter sorta look like a Blue Meanie?