Today’s Friday Favorites is dedicated to just one topic because: A) it doesn’t go with anything else; and B) it deserves this entire blog.
This week it’s all about goats or more specifically, the Hartford Yard Goats. I am sorry, but this really made my day. Throughout my workday, I was easily distracted by hilarious posts, pictures and videos on all social media outlets. Every time I read a blog or post, I just busted out laughing.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I find goats to be the funniest animals on earth. I love seeing them at the Big E or at the Granville Scoop. What’s not to love? They’re great farm animals, but I NEVER thought a sports team would have a name with “goat” in it. And to top it off, I NEVER thought that I would see live farm animals at a baseball team press conference.
Earlier this week, the New Britain Rock Cats, who are moving to Hartford in 2016, announced their new name at a press conference in the insurance capital. The team had encouraged the public to take part in the naming process. After receiving thousands of submissions, Yard Goats was chosen from a final list of five. The name was picked by the teams “naming committee” which included a California marketing firm (way to keep it local). And, that’s how the Yard Goats name came to be.
Once the announcement was made, #YardGoats flooded the social media channels, just what their PR team would want. But a lot of the chatter was negative. I know, I know…people are talking about it, so that’s good right. Yes, you want to generate buzz about your business, but not when SO much of it is negative and people are making fun of you. On the other side, there are plenty of supporters of the name. The team made a great decision to involve the public in the naming process. I am not trying to bash the team, in fact I can’t wait to go see a game. Baseball is a family fun sport and this is great for the city. I am just saying that it is just a really bad name for a team.
The media buzz is not going to die down just yet, next month the logo and team colors will be unveiled with a “Name the Mascot” contest to follow. I can’t wait to hear the name! Really, I’m not kidding!