Quote:
Originally Posted by seanofjapan
As someone who has never been to Cleveland I wasn’t sure what to make of the new name, wondering why the team was now named after an English newspaper.
But then it was explained the name comes from some statues on a bridge (pictured in comments above). Are these famous landmarks in Cleveland that all the locals know about? If so, it seems like a good choice for a name.
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Yeah, we know of them them, but they aren't all that famous. Don't forget this is the town that has "A Tower that is Terminal, overlooking a Lake that is Erie!" It is the "Mistake on the Lake", and we also have the (in)famous burning Cuyahoga River. Which was famously immortalized in song by Randy Newman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0zG5aux9zs
In fact, the Cuyahoga River is just across the street and down the hill from the stadium, and Cleveland is in Cuyahoga County and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is just a few miles south of the stadium as well. Doesn't roll off the tongue as well, but could have called them the Cleveland Cuyahogans. A somewhat unique name, and since it is a mixture of names that different native American tribes called the river, it has a tie to the old team name of the Indians, while not directly offending anyone (at least no one I can think of). We already have the best state rock-n-roll song in the world that gets played during 7th inning or late inning stretches (Hang On Sloopy), as well as Ian Hunter's anthem (Cleveland Rocks) to play after victories. We also have favorite sons like Drew Carey and Bob Hope (whose Father the Hope Memorial Bridge is actually named for) Oh, and Bob Hope was actually an owner of the Indians back in the 60s and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated's June 3, 1963 cover in an Indians uniform, with Chief Wahoo prominently displayed.
https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/201...pid=will-smith
And who can forget "Hot In Cleveland", or the Rock-N-Roll HOF and Museum on the lakefront, or "The Christmas Story" house and museum in the Tremont section of town. And of course you can also see the old League Park and museum on Cleveland's near East side, which was built originally in 1891 and was where the Cleveland Spiders, and later the Naps and Indians actually played. It is also the site of the first de facto All-Star game on July 24, 1911 when the Naps played a team of assembled All-Stars in an exhibition game for the benefit of Addie Joss' widow and family. That is the game where Cobb didn't have his Tiger's uniform and borrowed a Cleveland uniform to play in.
https://www.ozy.com/the-new-and-the-...ar-game/77109/
And eventually the Negro League team the Cleveland Buckeyes played at League Park as well. Maybe another good name they could have chosen for the team if not for The Ohio State University probably having a stranglehold on that copyright.