New colors? OK ... but I did like the old green uniforms.
New stadium? Wear out Tropicana first. Maybe I'd change my mind if I were the owner and I were looking at the books.
New name? Grrr.
At first, I was OK with it. Shorten it to Rays? No big deal. Some people were confused about the whole "Devil Ray" thing, not realizing that "devil ray" is what we call a manta ray down here--those of us who have been here long enough to remember when Florida was a Southern state more than geographically. Back when "faucet" and "spigot" had true regional significance.
But the team did not just shorten the name. Oh, no. They did far more than that. They equivocated. The gave "Rays" a whole new meaning. Now it has to do with arms of light, the rays of the sun and the like.
It's offensive. It's a touristy name, trading on the national image of Florida. It's the rough equivalent of calling our football team the Tampa Bay Beaches.
If anything could break me of the habit of watching Tampa Bay's Major League baseball team more than trading the existing team for a bunch of minor-league unknowns every year, this is it.
Yuck.
New stadium? Wear out Tropicana first. Maybe I'd change my mind if I were the owner and I were looking at the books.
New name? Grrr.
At first, I was OK with it. Shorten it to Rays? No big deal. Some people were confused about the whole "Devil Ray" thing, not realizing that "devil ray" is what we call a manta ray down here--those of us who have been here long enough to remember when Florida was a Southern state more than geographically. Back when "faucet" and "spigot" had true regional significance.
But the team did not just shorten the name. Oh, no. They did far more than that. They equivocated. The gave "Rays" a whole new meaning. Now it has to do with arms of light, the rays of the sun and the like.
It's offensive. It's a touristy name, trading on the national image of Florida. It's the rough equivalent of calling our football team the Tampa Bay Beaches.
If anything could break me of the habit of watching Tampa Bay's Major League baseball team more than trading the existing team for a bunch of minor-league unknowns every year, this is it.
Yuck.
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