My beloved Cleveland Indians announced that they will be known as the Guardians next year.
Together, we are all… pic.twitter.com/R5FnT4kv1I
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 23, 2021
As a 6th generation Clevelander, summer is synonymous with nights cheering on the Tribe at the ballpark with my baseball loving grandfather. As a kid watching the Indians of the 90s playing amazing baseball, I dreamed of being called up to pitch in game 7 of a World Series in Cleveland. I can’t play ball for my life (though my son Rafi had a great season as a pitcher in little league this summer and I couldn’t be prouder!) but I got to fulfill that dream thanks to being a Starwood junkie.
Unlike me, Rafi can pitch a ball 😀
I listened to stories from my grandfather about his parents taking him to see the Indians back in League Park and Municipal Stadium. At an Indians game a few weeks ago he told 9 year old Rafi about when he was 9 and got to attend the 1948 World Series. The Indians name has been around since 1915 and honored Louis Sockalexis, a Native American Cleveland baseball star with a .313 batting average.
Generations of the Tribe, Rafi, me, and my maternal grandfather :
It will definitely take time to adjust, but I have said all along that if a change away from Indians/Tribe was needed that Guardians was the best option. And I told that to the team in surveys they sent out. Though I do think the new logos can use some tweaking.
The Cleveland Indians announce they are changing their name to the Guardians. pic.twitter.com/1xP1FyMsbh
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) July 23, 2021
The runner up was Spiders, but who wants to cheer on Spiders? There’s a reason you don’t find that name on many teams. Plus while there is historical significance to Spiders from the 19th century Cleveland NL ballclub, that team is famous for the worst record in the history of baseball. The owner of that 1899 club also owned the S. Louis ballclub and traded all of the good players away from Cleveland. The club disbanded after that season and rules were implemented to prevent that from happening in the future.
Why Guardians? Well, this way they can keep the -dians suffix on all the signs 😀
Got it covered. Budget friendly, ownership will love it pic.twitter.com/88vxZbIwfx
— nick (@nickski24) July 23, 2021
The art deco Guardians of Traffic statues have stood for 90 years on the Hope Memorial Bridge just outside the ballpark:
They’re featured at 0:29 in this video:
And maybe they’re hoping to have a Marvel tie-in?
Change isn’t easy, but I’m glad they’re the Guardians and not Spiders. I wouldn’t want to have to find another team to cheer on!
It’s a new day in Cleveland. But I said the same thing yesterday about our brand new incredible kosher grocery store:
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What do you think of the name change?
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69 Comments On "The Cleveland Indians Will Be The Guardians Next Year"
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Dan,
Quite frankly, it’s a horrible name to anyone who isn’t privy to that nugget of Cleveland culture. First joke I heard on the radio: The Guardians: Guarding Cleveland from a World Series title for 73 years.
Well, now you’re privy 🙂
I’m descended from a long line of guardians. I’m highly offend.
I like the new name . I think Guardians has a positive and encouraging tone instead of a warrior and fighter tone . Guardians probably has a better educational message for our time .
I wish Cleveland much success !
Ah – no problem. Such progressive (no pun) change. I will now identify as a Guardian although I’m really an Indian.
How soon do they announce guardian insurance as the named sponsor? (Progressive will not like that, maybe they should’ve considered the Cleveland progressives?)
As a Clevelander I like it, but can’t figure out why they didn’t put the statue(s) in one of the logos. That would make it a lot easier to understand for the national crowd…
Just curious how many real Indians were “offended” by the name. Doubt any.
Giving in to this woke culture, albeit semi-trivial a is a dangerous step.
What’s next?
You really think people native to this country aren’t offended?
For what they’re worth, polls showed that greater than 90% were not offended.
And how many ethnic minorities are afraid to speak for fear of some kind of reprisal?
Thought I read in a book on The Rogatchover that he said The Rambam held that Muslims really weren’t monotheistic but he was forced to say so in writing b/c of where he lived.
Citation needed
Great point!
I bet their are a lot of European Caucasians who are afraid to speak out for fear of some kind of reprisal.
Why would any Native American be offended, unless they were looking to be offended? The names are changed because Woke liberals want it, and they control our culture these days.
Gee, I wonder how many Jews are offended by calling a cheap musical instrument a “Jew’s harp,” or someone negotiating a deal saying he’s going to “Jew him down”? Probably not many, so whatcha say we revive these terms?
You really don’t see an obvious difference between the name of the team, on the one hand, and insulting someone’s religion in a way that is totally uncalled for and wrong, on the other?
I was commenting on poster’s belief that he can judge whether another ethnic group should be offended. As to your comment, calling a sports team by an ethnic name is no more necessary than calling a musical instrument by an ethnic name.
It’s even more simple than that. How would we like it if there were a team called The Jews? It’s offensive and appropriation…you don’t need to be progressive or woke to try to see from someone else’s perspective.
Why didn’t they change the name to Native Americans?
Also, will Atlanta be changing their name also?
Braves, Chiefs, Blackhawks, etc. I doubt they survive the decade.
The way Cancel Culture is progressing— I could see “Whitesox” being racist.
Was The Shomrim considered?
NO ONE was offended by the name “Indians.” Just another example of the woke leftists slowly destroying American culture. Sad.
I am sure if there was a team (not run by Jews) named the Jews and their mascot was an offensive caricature of a Jew and they used Jewish prayers as a mocking chant you would feel exactly the same way.
Erm, what chant do the Indians have?
The team was also named after a Native American player.
I daresay Jews would be proud if we had a team named after Koufax, Greenberg, or Rosen, but I may be wrong.
It’s not as simple as the team being named after one person, there is context around the plight of Native Americans in the US. If a team in a once Jewish area of Poland (akin to land formerly heavily inhabited by Native Americans) called themselves the Jews, we wouldn’t take kindly to it.
Yeah, just like the oppressed racists who have been forced to stop using the terms “Jew’s harp” and “Jew him down.”
IT IS A STUPID, STUPID, NAME
The 3D logo makes be think about an ugly reverse G on the back side.
Guardians… of traffic? TRAFFIC?!?!
Eurocentric art deco head?
Cheering on a team may involve the issur deoraysah of Lo Sechanem. Please ask your LOR, but that is what my LOR told me.
Lets see this get through the moderator…
What is your Ravs name/community?
Rav Yishai Winker of the Cincinnati Adomim community says it’s ossur to root for Cleveland.
@reb yid. Love it!!
he’s probly a Yankees fan, thats why…
Making this a public discourse on an internet forum is the root of Woke cancel culture.
Will the Guardians be serving Ben & Jerry’s ice cream at their games?
Unfair and counter productive to conflate anti-Semitism/BDS to a baseball team name change.
I’m not thrilled about the name change, but I understand where it comes from.
But open BDS is a completely different story.
Love the picture of Rafi pitching! I see a future here!
Confused here. They still kept the name Cleveland????
offensive
Offensive to inmates
I wanted the Cleveland Colavitos, but I like Guardians.
Idiotic name. Maybe when they move to Nashville or Vegas they’ll change it again
The name “Indians” is insensitive at best, and malicious at worst. We should guard the feelings of others as much as we guard our own. I fully welcome this change.
The team was named after a Native American player, how can that be construed as malicious?
Even if the name is initially made in an honor, the name has evolved into something else. When the name was created, it was appropriate to use the word Indians. These days, the term is Native Americans. It’s like if a team was called the Negros – 75 years ago, it was the appropriate word. Now, it isn’t, it’s African Americans.
Then there’s chief Wahoo, which was the mascot for a long time, which was clearly a negative caricature of Native Americans. Imagine a team called the Brooklyn Jews, named for Koufax. Now, imagine if our Brooklyn Jews had a mascot with a long nose and a yarmulke, whose image was only retired three years ago, as Chief Wahoo’s image was.
I hope that answers your question, Dan!
Going to have to agree to disagree here, as I think a Jews team named after Koufax would be awesome as I said above. And polls showed that Native Americans overwhelmingly were not offended by it.
But that being said, I hear the opposition to it and I’m happy the Indians chose a name that seems to be popular locally.
Sounds good – glad we can disagree civilly. You’re not wrong, I’m not right; it’s all in the eye of the beholder.
As long as you ignore the caricature part Dan.
How silly!
THE GUARDIANS… a much more woke name than….. THE CLEVELAND DADS AND MOMS
I think all teams should have the same name for the sake of equality.
and every team gets a participation trophy?
Maybe they’re hoping to have a Britney Spears tie-in.
“Indians” by itself perhaps would be acceptable. But it will always recall images of Chief Wa-Hoo. And “tribe” is acceptable among my Jewish friends who refer to each other as “Members of the Tribe,” but it’s not a collective noun that outsiders should use.
Why wouldn’t they just change the name to their neighbors to the left …. Cleveland Pakistanians….
I mean I would imagine if the state has that many Indians, there must be a boat load of Pakistanians… unless the reason for the change is because there was shift of demographics ? If so, does anyone know if perhaps the state has an influx of Palestinians, i mean then that could work too, has there been a push for that name? I’m not sure really what the idea is behind the change but I maybe it’s because their aren’t many Indians left as from what I understand they all moved to Indiana? Boy the US is such a melting pot…
Because the Browns are so much better
It would be nice if the Browns could actually get to the Superbowl and win it.
I am highly offended that satmar, vishnitz, pupa, belz, spink, bobov, kusen, biyan, chabad, ashlag, vishnitz benei brak, stolen, ger, bnei yoel, skver, bobov 48, amshinov, skulen,
were not in the mix.
Why not simply change it to “The Cleveland Baseball Team?”
Is this a baseball team or insurance company? What a ridiculous name. On par w/ the Pelicans. Are Cleveland fans furious, I wonder???
As a long time Cleveland Indians fan, I am furious. The Rebbe said we should be proud of who we are and I am proud to be an Indians Fan.
Whether or not “Indians” is offensive, I find it funny how many are more offended that anyone could be offended by the name and are more offended that the team decided to change its name.
All you need is find one person finding the word guardians as racist or inappropriate..start a petition.. and they will change the name
They should call it Cleveland rocks! since its catchy and it’s next to the rock n roll hall of fame.
Yup I was thinking the same thing. Cleveland Rockers. Now that’s a name!
John Rocker would have been pleased…lol
Never dawned on me that’s where are beloved movie Major League story line comes from…the spiders. Jobu would be furious…lol
Aren’t Space Force members called Guardians?
Stolen Valor 🙂
I think that Giants is demeaning to people who are height-challenged. And Nets is cruel to butterflies. And Patriots? In this racist apartheid country? Can’t believe they are still around.
Dan – is that your son at 1:28 in the video? 😉