HF Habs: RBC logo on jersey reaction poll

[417]

Because people like to wear jerseys and they connect with the design + history of jerseys. They're cool, fans of a team like them because it's an indicator of what ranges from an interest to a hobby to an identity to different people, and they're symbols to people that indicate their interest/fandom for the sport and their team. Even people who aren't fans of a particular team wear jerseys because they're bright and boldly coloured interesting designs that have their unique features and design elements, and those symbols can be used in different and interesting ways that go beyond sports.

Well said, you touched on why fandom is amazing and it captures what it is to cheer for a team and wear their apparel.

That being said, I'm not quite sure how this addition changes any of those sentiments.

The history of the Hockey Club is intact and for the people who just enjoy wearing jerseys for it's unique features and designs, I seriously doubt this changes anything for them either. Though I suppose I don't know that for sure.

A lot of the reasons why I read fans are upset about this, resemble a lot of things I read when they mandated helmets or visors. The outcry for making changes to the state of the pure game, it's ruining the sanctity of hockey.

Beyond the esthetics, which admittedly are poor, all of it is a bit much for me. But as i've maintained all along, I respect those who are more traditionalist and for who hockey is their identity and almost or is a religion.

I don't buy hockey helmets, I don't wear the boards, and I don't wear a TV broadcast. I do wear jerseys, and it's only a matter of time now before the ads are on the jerseys they sell to fans, and that really sucks. Jerseys are just such a unique cultural item compared to other symbols or typical fashion/fashion brands and I think it's extremely sad to have that uniqueness stripped away so it can be just another thing to slap an ad on. I also don't think people have really decided to do a 180 here, they're mad about this thing because it's happening now and because fans wear jerseys, but I don't really imagine there's many people mad about this who are thrilled with all the TV commercials either, it's just not something you're going to preface every comment about hockey with.

Fair point about the helmets/boards/TV broadcasts vs jerseys. But when you say that "jerseys are such a unique cultural item".

I'm assuming you're referring to hockey jerseys specifically? Cause I been rockin' soccer jersey's with ads on them for as long as I can remember.

I don't personally associate good things with Hockey Culture either, well not all of it at least, but that's another story. So perhaps that's why i'm having trouble seizing this whole "cultural element" of the jersey thing.

Chalk and cheese, one is a sponsor saving hockey parents ~70 bucks on a jersey and socks they'd otherwise have to spend for their kids to play hockey, and the other is a straightforward transaction where RBC gets branding opportunities and Geoff Molson gets 6 million bucks in his pocket at the expense of the fan experience with absolutely no benefits to anyone but Molson and RBC.

It's the same idea, we've just convinced ourselves that Tim Hortons are doing it for humanitarian reasons, which is naïve at best. Sure above middle class parents are saving 70ish bucks on a jersey, while they line up at Tim Horton's to buy their horrible coffee and donuts at thousands of stores and kiosks at the thousands of hockey tournaments all over this country.

You're a smart dude, there's no way you don't think they haven't figured out the math on this.

The only difference between Royal Bank of Canada and Tim Horton's is dollars & donuts, but even their donuts are just dollars.

Yes, I also agree that Geoff Molson gets 6M bucks in his pocket at the expense of the fan experience...did you seriously ever think that the fan experience would come before what goes into his pockets?

I'm not really "defending" the timbits hockey thing either as I'd prefer public funding for youth sports be sufficient that kids can play whatever sports they want to without having to rely on the whims of a corporate sponsor, but I don't see any comparison between the two.

I certainly think their are parallels...only difference is the exploitation starts at a younger age and is hiding behind the cute smiles of children to make say "awwww".

I think you're correct that it won't be a big deal outside of O6 and a few other markets, but I think this is kinda beside the point as it's not really about whether the NHL treats the Canadiens as something special, but the Canadiens themselves deciding to treat their jersey as special or not.

The jersey isn't what the Montreal Canadiens think is special, it's their logo. The fact that this won't register a blip outside of 2 NHL markets is very telling, the Ottawa Senators entered into a sponsorship agreement with Bet99 last year for their helmets.

Granted, it's not the jersey...but did anyone know? or care?

That was pretty major, they were the first NHL team to put a sportsbook on official NHL apparel.

Not a blip.

I also would push back on the idea that Montreal isn't a special franchise anymore in the NHL's eyes because I don't think that's true even after 30 years of Bettman. It's not a coincidence that Montreal and Toronto are the only Canadian teams that have played in the winter classic, nor do I think think the NHL would have gone with a 24-team format in the 2020 bubble playoffs had the standings lined up with eg. Columbus and Ottawa as the 23rd/24th seeds instead of Chicago and Montreal. I also don't think many other teams would be able to pull off the same stunt Montreal did posting the Niskanen punch on their social media until he got suspended for punching Gallagher.

Well precisely, it's convenient for Bettman when he requires viewership, because as i've said for the last 2 days, rain, sleet, or hail, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs fans will show up, whether the team sucks or not, whether there's ads on the jersey or not.

For every fan that's ticked off and won't support the Habs again, another 10 are born as die-hard Habs fans.

The only thing that makes sports teams special these days, is winning championships.

The NHL is very team-driven in its marketing and its operations and the O6 franchises + a handful of the most successful 1967 expansion teams like Philly, Pittsburgh, LA, and St. Louis absolutely get special emphasis from the league.

I mean, sure, some teams have bigger followings then others and the league rightly capitalizes on that.

But Bettman cares more about expanding interest and viewership in the US and abroad...the Canadian market has been and is acquired. What is the point of saturating that market anymore than it already has?

I know Montreal Canadiens fans don't like to hear/read this, but no one cares about our 24 Stanley Cups and history as much as we do. So that whole "Sainte Flannelle" things exists in our fishbowl, not so much outside of it.

 

[417]

Maybe that was the game plan. Start with something horrendous and then move back to a compromise position, although that gives them too much credit. I think they were banking on the Suzuki announcement to distract people's attention enough but then Suzuki somehow walked straight towards the camera and placed the logo dead centre, almost as if choreographed. I honestly felt bad for him. His proudest moment tarnished by the slavish worship of money.

I'm going to go ahead and believe that was and is one of the proudest moments in his life for him and his family.

We shouldn't conflate our feelings with his.

He was just named youngest Captain in the history of the Montreal Canadiens.

One thing I'm fairly certain about is that they didn't test the jersey with anyone outside of a closed executive loop. Beyond the fact it is an ad on the Habs jersey, it is viscerally horrible. 90% of this message board (I have no idea of its representativity) finds it ugly. This is what happens when you're surrounded by sycophants and yes men.

The smart play would've been to wait and see what other teams do first. Get a feel for the situation. But no, they created the ugliest shirt with the least relevant brand, and dove head first into announcing it.

You probably right about this.

But these guys aren't fans...their businessmen first and businessmen put business first before emotions.

 

[Bombshell11]

@here

there's a petition on change.org about this

the numbers of signatures are very low but if this petition gets more exposure and goes viral, it could trigger something

here it is:

Pouvez-vous prendre une minute pour aider seif bettoumi ?

Retrait du logo RBC sur le chandail des Canadiens de Montréal

chng.it

make this a thread plz

 

[Spring in Fialta]

You didn't have common sense in your mid 20s?

You didn't realize in your mid 20s that lower fees or better products and services are reasons why people choose specific banks? and not because of some association with a hockey team?

You weren't enlightened with this information until your...started being consumed by the human condition in your late 20s?

Once you hit your late 20s, your first task should have been figuring out why your 20yr old ass chose a bank based on an acronym.

What a post.

Because not everyone is as feeble minded as you're trying to portray us all to be, while simultaneously trying to position yourself above it all.

Believe it or not... Some of just watch hockey because we like hockey and the Montreal Canadien could be wearing glad bags and we’d still tune in.

I'm not the one trying to play psychologist here lol that's you.

You've essentially been acting as an advertisement in this thread because it's not the first time I see you “recommending” literature that you've plagiarized and regurgitated in this thread.

But am I going to read them?

Nope

You know why?

Because you don't influence my choices no matter how much you try. You just picked up George Orwell’s 1984 and now you think you're through the looking glass? Lol

Please

It's not my responsibility to understand or explain human behavior, nor do I think any person has the actual capacity to really understand human behavior in totality, I'm only responsible for mine.

Otherwise, i’d have studied psychology and not plagiarism like you.

I'm 60-40 on whether Ozymandias has actually read Orwell.

 

[Team_Spirit]

The 3 persons that voted; "Love it"

 

[HabSgt]

...and I sold out to the Forces of Evil long ago, like a dark .gif cloud smothering the HFBoards in DeCaprio "Cheers" and "We're Not Worthy" bows...and yet we both still persist like a popcorn fart wafting forevermore on these Hallowed Forums...Morgoth truly never dies...

View attachment 584855

I don't see any Silmarils on that crown. That's Sauron not Morgoth.

#knowyourdarklords.com

 

[99GoHabsGo99]

Marc Bergiven never would've let this happen

 

[WeThreeKings]

Marc Bergiven never would've let this happen

He would have sold the ad space to Fight Milk for free.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Team is gonna be a joke this year so they might as well look the part

 

[McGees]

Marc Bergiven never would've let this happen

Bergevin would have made sure the team partnered with Mutant Mass protein powder.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Bergevin would have made sure the team partnered with Mutant Mass protein powder.

View attachment 585099

@Runner77 can you put the fight milk logo in place of the RBC logo on a Habs jersey for me?

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

I don't see any Silmarils on that crown. That's Sauron not Morgoth.

#knowyourdarklords.com

...best one I could find...maybe it's before he & Ungoliant stole them from Formenos when they slaughtered Finwe??...we'll pretend, anyway...

 

[Runner77]

View attachment 585102


@Runner77 can you put the fight milk logo in place of the RBC logo on a Habs jersey for me?

View attachment 585103

With pleasure, as soon as I get home. On the road for a couple of hours but will get to it as soon as I get back.

 

[WeThreeKings]

With pleasure, as soon as I get home. On the road for a couple of hours but will get to it as soon as I get back.

I love you.

 

[Runner77]

I love you.

Love you right back!

I gave the jersey a no. 20 but can change it to something else.

I made the logo large enough to be visible but can shrink it more, if you like. I went with the current size so the main letters would be legible or legible enough.

Please let me know if you'd like further changes.

 

[Runner77]

Alternate version:

 

[WeThreeKings]

Alternate version:

You rock... f*** that's good.

 

[Bombshell11]

 

[the]

Isn't Bergevin ad Waste Management?

 

[1909]

Maybe that was the game plan. Start with something horrendous and then move back to a compromise position, although that gives them too much credit. I think they were banking on the Suzuki announcement to distract people's attention enough but then Suzuki somehow walked straight towards the camera and placed the logo dead centre, almost as if choreographed. I honestly felt bad for him. His proudest moment tarnished by the slavish worship of money.

One thing I'm fairly certain about is that they didn't test the jersey with anyone outside of a closed executive loop. Beyond the fact it is an ad on the Habs jersey, it is viscerally horrible. 90% of this message board (I have no idea of its representativity) finds it ugly. This is what happens when you're surrounded by sycophants and yes men.

The smart play would've been to wait and see what other teams do first. Get a feel for the situation. But no, they created the ugliest shirt with the least relevant brand, and dove head first into announcing it.

This business accord is probably being discussed since months between RBC and Habs. They possibly knew months ago that they would be partners. The golf tournament and Captain announcement were the best occasion to make it official and public. And it business you don't wait for other's moves to make yours. You do what you think is best for your own organisation.

I think that it is a ugly match in every sense, but.......

 

[Frankenheimer]

This business accord is probably being discussed since months between RBC and Habs. They possibly knew months ago that they would be partners. The golf tournament and Captain announcement were the best occasion to make it official and public. And it business you don't wait for other's moves to make yours. You do what you think is best for your own organisation.

I think that it is a ugly match in every sense, but.......

In some cases being the first to make an announcement is advantageous. I don’t know, say announcing the first woman GM. Boom everyone sees you as being at the avant-garde. You gain cultural capital. There was virtually nothing to gain in this case. I would rather have more information to base my planning on than less. Had they done so, they likely would have ended up either opting for a blended, inconspicuous badge or none at all.

The only advantage I see is short circuiting any debate. Not letting fans build up resistance before announcing it. The fait accompli approach. But it’s a deeper cut.

 

[JoelWarlord]

Well said, you touched on why fandom is amazing and it captures what it is to cheer for a team and wear their apparel. That being said, I'm not quite sure how this addition changes any of those sentiments. The history of the Hockey Club is intact and for the people who just enjoy wearing jerseys for it's unique features and designs, I seriously doubt this changes anything for them either. Though I suppose I don't know that for sure.

Finally have the time to get back to this, I won't go through everything line by line as this has been a running convo for a week and we're at the point where both of us mostly agree on the practical realities of this and it's just a case of differing personal opinions here. My opinion can be ultimately be boiled down to "it's ugly and I think it sucks", I was watching the prospect game earlier and it really just bums me out.

I guess what I'd say is it doesn't remove the experience of fandom or wearing a jersey or whatever but it's frustrating that it's going to become yet another thing where I'll be mentally filtering out ads for the rest of my life, and that we're now at the whims of NHL owners in terms of whether or not they'll colour match (which isn't "good" IMO but it's less-bad at least) or if they'll be garish like Montreal's RBC patch. It's not just about Montreal for me either, I really like eg. Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Calgary's uniforms etc. just to mention a few and it's frustrating they'll have ads forever too, and there will be periods where they're garish and clash dramatically with the design which I just find plain ugly and disappointing.

Yes, I also agree that Geoff Molson gets 6M bucks in his pocket at the expense of the fan experience...did you seriously ever think that the fan experience would come before what goes into his pockets?

Not really, but I had hoped there would be a business case that the long-term branding/business implications for the Canadiens would make him reconsider doing it for what isn't a truly dramatic amount of money, especially if they were able to remain as the only team without one. It's irrational but I admit that the amount of money is part of what pisses me off so much. If RBC had actually come in and blown the doors off with a huge deal I would still hate it for the same aesthetic reasons but I would be less directly angry if it were actually for big money. Instead they're doing this shit for the cost of 1.1 Mike Mathesons.

I know Montreal Canadiens fans don't like to hear/read this, but no one cares about our 24 Stanley Cups and history as much as we do. So that whole "Sainte Flannelle" things exists in our fishbowl, not so much outside of it.

So what? I and most Canadiens fans care about it, and even a lot of hockey fans who aren't Montreal fans at the very least think it's interesting as part of the sport's history. If it doesn't mean anything to someone from Paris or Shanghai or Lagos that's fine and I wouldn't expect it to mean anything globally. If it doesn't do anything for you that's fine too, but the Canadiens not being Yankees level in terms of global reach doesn't matter to me at all.

Do I think it's a holy relic? No, of course not, but it's a century+ of history and an iconic jersey that will now have an ugly ass bank/telecom logo on it for the rest of my life. It sucks! I don't really know what else to say, I think it's hideous, I hate everything about it, and it's just going to get more intrusive from here. If it doesn't bother you that's probably the more reasonable and rational take but I am going to be a crank about this until the day I die lmao

 

[Beer and Chips]

50% hate it. Should I be glad, or sad to see only half respect tradition over money?

 

[417]

Finally have the time to get back to this, I won't go through everything line by line as this has been a running convo for a week and we're at the point where both of us mostly agree on the practical realities of this and it's just a case of differing personal opinions here. My opinion can be ultimately be boiled down to "it's ugly and I think it sucks", I was watching the prospect game earlier and it really just bums me out.

I watched about 10 mins of the prospect game and honestly, didn't even know they had it on.

So I didn't notice.

I guess what I'd say is it doesn't remove the experience of fandom or wearing a jersey or whatever but it's frustrating that it's going to become yet another thing where I'll be mentally filtering out ads for the rest of my life, and that we're now at the whims of NHL owners in terms of whether or not they'll colour match (which isn't "good" IMO but it's less-bad at least) or if they'll be garish like Montreal's RBC patch. It's not just about Montreal for me either, I really like eg. Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Calgary's uniforms etc. just to mention a few and it's frustrating they'll have ads forever too, and there will be periods where they're garish and clash dramatically with the design which I just find plain ugly and disappointing.

Now?

We're just fans man, we don't control team operations and never have. The only way we control, is by not giving them our money, viewership and loyalty.

Something that owners always know they can depend on. If not you, or me, someone else.

Not really, but I had hoped there would be a business case that the long-term branding/business implications for the Canadiens would make him reconsider doing it for what isn't a truly dramatic amount of money, especially if they were able to remain as the only team without one. It's irrational but I admit that the amount of money is part of what pisses me off so much. If RBC had actually come in and blown the doors off with a huge deal I would still hate it for the same aesthetic reasons but I would be less directly angry if it were actually for big money. Instead they're doing this shit for the cost of 1.1 Mike Mathesons.

That's not accurate, it's a fair bit of money, spread over over 5 years with the possibility of it being extended. This would be like saying arena naming rights aren't a truly dramatic amount of money.

It is a substantial amount of money.

Furthermore, we're just coming out of a pandemic which affected everyone, even rich ass owners.

Rich people like money and find ways to make more of it so they never go without.

Geoff Molson has always cared more about his bottom line than he does the Montreal Canadiens, that's never changed. Same for all 31 other owners.

I'm not sure why fans, not you specifically, convince themselves that owners spend all of this money for the love of the game or to see fans enjoy.

Owning a professional sports team is a cash-cow...and guess what happens when that cash cow isn't producing like it usually does?

So what? I and most Canadiens fans care about it, and even a lot of hockey fans who aren't Montreal fans at the very least think it's interesting as part of the sport's history. If it doesn't mean anything to someone from Paris or Shanghai or Lagos that's fine and I wouldn't expect it to mean anything globally. If it doesn't do anything for you that's fine too, but the Canadiens not being Yankees level in terms of global reach doesn't matter to me at all.

Well don't expect everyone to not make business deals based on your romanticized view of the organization and its history.

Geoff Molson's will never put tradition ahead of profitability, none of the previous owners would have either.

Do I think it's a holy relic? No, of course not, but it's a century+ of history and an iconic jersey that will now have an ugly ass bank/telecom logo on it for the rest of my life. It sucks! I don't really know what else to say, I think it's hideous, I hate everything about it, and it's just going to get more intrusive from here. If it doesn't bother you that's probably the more reasonable and rational take but I am going to be a crank about this until the day I die lmao

Yeah it does suck, but speaking personally and I'M GOING TO BOLD THIS FOR THE BENEFIT OF SPECIFIC POSTERS.

The history of the team has never been about the jersey for me, so I don't feel a particular affront.

 

[JianYang]

50% hate it. Should I be glad, or sad to see only half respect tradition over money?

So far, it's still two nets, sticks, ice, and a puck. Hopefully it stays that way!

It's not so much about respecting money over tradition. We live in a consumerist world, and I think we all knew, or at least should have known this day was coming, so theire was a bracing period which maybe helped soften the fall for me.

I don't like it, but if I'm not going to change my habs consumption habits over this, then I'd be lying to myself if I considered it to be a "big deal".