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I mentioned this on my last Thursday Think Tank, but I think it needs to be reiterated in longer form: the Senators
badly need new jerseys ASAP.
They’ve had the 3D Senturion logo since 2007-08 despite it getting very negative reviews the entire time from inside and outside of the fanbase. It’s extremely common to see their jerseys at the bottom of the list whenever a website ranks the jerseys around the league, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them above 20th best.
It’s not like good jerseys are going to make the team better or anything, and I’d much rather improve the team first before improving their aesthetics. However, it’s clear that the team isn’t going to get better any time soon, and having nice jerseys to show off is just a nice luxury to have. Right now it is a horrible time to be a Senators fan, and I don’t think many people want to be showing their fandom very often in public. It just makes things worse when their merchandise doesn’t look good either, because if it’s at least fashionable then you can justify wearing it.
That’s why Ottawa has to do something about their jerseys, because fans have been clamouring for it for years, and the fanbase deserves
something right now.
When the Senators came out with their heritage O jersey back in 2011-12, it was an instant hit, and it worked so well because of how simple it was. The white heritage O was only used during the 2013-14 season, but it was similarly very sharp and could easily be used as a regular away jersey. I would be absolutely thrilled with those two jerseys as the primary options, but then again I know that a lot of people really want to bring back the 2D logo as well.
In fact, Le Collectif on Twitter found that 55% of 1700 respondents prefer the 2D logo with the black O as the 3rd jersey:
I’d be happy with either option because the 2D logo is still an improvement, although I think it’d be good to move forward with a new look rather than go backwards. I feel like people are nostalgic about the early 2000s Senators teams and equate that logo with success, plus for some reason people like vintage looks even if they weren’t that amazing at the time.
The O would be a timeless classic, but I’m not so sure about the 2D logo. Nevertheless, those are two solid options for the Senators and they don’t even have to do much work into creating these. The designs are already there for them.
Obviously it takes a long time to re-brand things and it costs a lot of money as well, so I know that this isn’t a simple process. However, throughout all of last season it looked like there were going to be changes for the 2018-19 season. Tom Anselmi wanted to make some changes, and the heritage O was being prominently displayed on places like centre ice at the CTC and the Senators website:
After Tom Anselmi left though, it seemed like things changed. Perhaps he was pushing hard for it, but I don’t know why it fell through after his departure. There still could be changes soon, but it’s awfully late in the summer for there to be no announcements or hints at all. I’m not sure if we’ll have to wait longer for the process to be finalized, but if it’s coming in the next year or two, that’s a long time to get it done.
If there’s one positive it’s that the Senators have been asking for feedback from season ticket holders and are asking about their opinions on these logos:
Maybe the team really is listening to the fans, or maybe this is just something to make it look like they are listening. I hope it’s the former, as it would be asinine to believe that most people like the logo.
Jerseys are far from the most important thing with a team, but it feels nice being able to wear a well-respected jersey. I love to wear my heritage O jersey because of how crisp it looks, and it’d be nice for their home and away jerseys to be like that as well. The fans have done all the work---now it’s just about actually implementing new jerseys, because this fanbase needs something positive so badly.
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