When the Florida Marlins joined major league baseball as an expansion team in 1993, I thought the team name (Marlins) was very catchy; almost as catchy as the San Jose Sharks. But then I got a glimpse of their cap logo, a marlin-swordfish pole dancing on a seductive capital F, and I couldn't take the team seriously.
I found that freaky fish logo as silly and unsportsmanlike as a flagrant foul in football, that is until the fresh fish swept my San Francisco Giants in the 1997 NLDS, on the way to their first world series championship. I still hated the fish logo, but tolerated the team and attributed beginner's luck to their success.
In 2003, when the fish again rolled my Giants in the NLDS 3-1, I had no choice but to accept the Florida Marlins as a fine organization. They were the first team to win a world series as a wild card. But that didn't stop me from begging the question, why would any team, especially one that's won a championship, use a non-predator fish as it's logo? a fish that is usually seen struggling to loose itself from the fishing line of a beer drinking fisherman no less.
I had hoped with the new name change from Florida to Miami Marlins, the cap logo would display either a more fierce Marlin or if not simply do away with the saw-nosed character entirely. Instead, we get a computer generated graphic showing a big "M" wearing what looks like an upside down nike swoosh perched sideways on its head.
That might not have been so bad, but the chosen colors resemble that of a disney animation or the gay and lesbian multi-colored flag, neither of which give off the strong threatening demeanor of a sports champion.
With no disrespect to Disney or the LGBT community, I'll take an aqua colored fish getting its freak-on with an "F," over a rainbow trout humping a large "M." Please, bring back the Pole Dancing Fillet.
