Kathy and I were among the thousands who turned out for Saturday night’s block party name reveal for Spartanburg’s new minor league baseball team that begins play next spring in a now under construction downtown stadium complex. There has been a lot of interest and speculation about what the team name would be.
I mentioned to Kathy and others that announcing the name in front of thousands was some combination of brave and taking a chance, because there was no way any name was going to please everybody. I predicted that no matter what was announced, probably about a fourth of the crowd would be excited about the name, another fourth would hate it, and maybe half would be somewhere in the middle.
That’s about the way it played out when “Hub City Spartanburgers” appeared on the big screen. There was some cheering, some booing, and a lot of “OK - so that’s the name.” “Hub City” has long been one of several nicknames for Spartanburg because of it’s history as a major southeast railroad hub. The name “Spartanburgers” was used a few summers ago for a short-lived college developmental team here and was both loved and ridiculed, depending on who you talked to.
Standing near us Saturday night was one man who was livid at the choice of names. He continued to express his displeasure as the rest of his family looked on as if trying to figure out what his problem was. He looked like he was ready to place a take-out order on whoever cooked up such a terrible tasting name. (Let the delicious Spartanburger puns begin!)
Since then, social media has dished out complaining-a-plenty about the name. “Embarassing.” (Seriously?) “Redneck.” “Is this the best we could do?” Someone was sure that the Spartanburger name was the reason the college team failed. Someone asked how you can take a team seriously when their mascot is a hamburger? (As a South Carolina fan I’ve somehow managed to pull for a team whose mascot is an angry chicken, portrayed at games by somebody dressed up as a cartoon chicken.) “The name is a joke!”
Yes! The name is a joke! And a somewhat clever one making good use of our city’s name. Jokes are fun. People pay good money and fill arenas to hear good jokes, have fun, and be entertained. Nate Bargatze has become a millionaire making fun of himself.
Minor league baseball teams throughout the country have figured out that people want to have fun and be entertained. Why does everything have to be so serious? Minor league teams used to just simply take on the name of their big-league parent team. In recent years they have abandoned those names in droves in favor of creative, quirky, and even laughable labels that often play up their local flavor. I loved the Spartanburg Phillies as a kid, but not because of the name. Some have posted that we should now just be the Spartanburg Rangers (ala Texas Rangers). Where’s the fun in that name?
Savannah, GA used to have a minor league team in the South Atlantic League called the Savannah Cardinals (ala St. Louis) that later was renamed the Sand Gnats. When the Sand Gnats departed for Columbia, SC (Fireflies), the city had to settle for a college developmental team with the ridiculous, embarrassing, redneck, awful, can’t-take-them serious, joke name “Savannah Bananas.” Long story short, in a few years the Savannah Bananas became an amazing success, outgrew their local league, and are now a national phenomenon packing stadiums all over the country. There was much more to their popularity than just the name, but a funny joke name at least didn’t hurt them and in all likelihood was a huge part of their success.
Below I’ve listed the Top Ten minor league baseball teams according to MLB.com along with some other notable top names according to sources like Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Sporting News, etc. The trend is obvious. I’ll go ahead and predict that “Hub City Spartanburgers” will soon be joining such lists, bringing national attention and fans to our fair city. Deluxe plates of burger puns should give sports writers and sportcasters (I’ve been both) plenty to feast on when writing and talking about games in downtown Spartanburg.
I’m not worried about people laughing at us. I’m looking forward to people laughing with us.
Yes, there were some boos and disappointment at the name reveal, but there were also hundreds of people lined up at the large merchandise tent with an appetite for a Hub City Spartanburger to-go order. As soon as the announcement was made, I let our out-of-town grown children and grandchildren know the name. It was met with cheers. They immediately wanted Spartanburger hats, but we unfortunately didn’t have probably a couple of hours to stand in line with others who got and appreciated the “joke.” Hopefully we’ll get some Hub City Spartanburger swag soon that will be worn with a smile and noticed by many others in Greenville, Nashville, and St Louis.
I don’t know who made the decision to go with the quirky, laughable name. They had to know there would be eyerolls and backlash. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Their willingness to not play it safe and go with a name that has enormous marketing potential leads me to believe that somebody in the kitchen knows what they are doing.
Everyone’s taste is different, and that’s fine. Serving up Spartanburgers may be too rare for some, but I hope and believe that with a little time to age, it might be recognized as a well done choice.
MLB.com TOP TEN MINOR LEAGUE NAMES
10. Richmond Flying Squirrel
9. Lehigh Valley IronPigs
8. Binghamton Rumble Ponies
7. Albuquerque Isotopes
6. Batavia Muckdogs
5. Lansing Lugnuts
4. Biloxi Shuckers
3. Fort Wayne TinCaps
2. Hartford Yard Goats
1. Montgomery Biscuits
OTHER "BEST" MINOR LEAGUE NAMES FROM MAJOR SOURCES
Akron Rubber Ducks
Green Bay Booyah
Portland Pickles
Traverse City Pit Spitters
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
Vermont Lake Monsters
Amarillo Sod Poodles
Rocket City Trash Pandas
Toledo Mud Hens