Yes, I’m a hater

The new CFL

As most Canadians already know, Winnipeg was in the nation’s spotlight last week as we played host to the 103rd Grey Cup game. At his state-of-the-union address in the days leading up to the big game commissioner, Jeffrey Orridge unveiled a new logo and promotional video branded with the slogan “What we’re made of” for the Canadian Football League.

The image on the left is the new CFL logo, accompanied in the row by its direct descendants. The three laces in the new symbol, the unveil told, are a nod to the three downs as in the Canadian game. Will anyone see it for the first time without explanation pick that out? I doubt it. And didn’t graphic designers already exhaust the slivered arc in logos much earlier this century? The presence of the maple leaf, the unveil also told, is proudly Canadian, though I find it disproportionately tiny and insignificant. The claim was that the new logo is modern and young (of which I am neither) so they may not care what I think. But I am a passionate fan and know that my first reaction is similar to most of the reactions I’ve heard and read – I don’t like it. In fact, my first reaction was “I hate it.”

In fairness to the league, the new logo was easy to read from a distance on the field. And though the promo spot didn’t do much for me when I first saw it on my iPad I thought it, and the logo looked great in high def on a large flatscreen during the game.

The league hopes the brand transformation will bring new, younger fans to a game that has flatlined in attendance and dropped in television ratings of late. The new marketing efforts will include apparel from Adidas (I saw a guy wearing a hat with the new logo so large I’d need a fivehead, not a forehead, to make it wearable), and there will be revamped websites and mobile apps for the league and its teams to better connect with fans. As a sports fan in general, and a huge fan of our three-down football, real-time statistical updates and league information at my fingertips is something I desire. I’ve always felt in past that the CFL was lacking in fulfilling that desire.

The league’s new website (cfl.ca) launches on Wednesday. “There will be more to come. Much more to come,” is what Orridge said at the unveiling.

I’m hoping he can deliver on that promise and I’m sure I’ll eventually warm up to the new brand. I really hate being a hater.