R.I.P. the Cleveland Indians

As a former Cleveland Indians fan, I feel obligated to eventually share my feelings regarding the name change. I hate it. If that wasn’t obvious enough, I not only hate it, but I actively root for and bet against the Cleveland Guardians. My favorite team is whatever other team is doing the best in the AL Central. Right now, that’s the Minnesota Twins. Let’s go Twins!

I became an Indians fan when I was 10 years old. A family friend of mine named Ryan Mulhern was playing in Single A for the Kinston Indians with a teammate named Kevin Kouzmanoff, who would eventually play several years for several teams in the big leagues. When I was 10 years old, in 2006, I watched my television as Kevin Kouzmanoff made his big league debut, and became the first Major League Baseball player ever to hit a grand slam on the first pitch he ever saw in the Big Leagues. I was immediately an Indians fan from that day forward.

The franchise was originally branded as the Indians to celebrate a famous Indian baseball player who was so popular and well known, that whenever the team traveled, all that the opposing teams were focused on was “the Cleveland Indian”. It’s an awesome backstory, and celebrates a native American great in an American pastime, named Louis Sockalexis. So, for that reason, the name was an homage to the time in which the franchise in its earliest days was recognized for its greatest player. It was not intended as a caricature, and therefore it is not one.

However, by changing the name, they are essentially admitting fault, which I am not willing to do. But my denial of fault relies on their position that the Indians name was not a caricature… no longer their position. So, when the franchise decided to change their name, I decided to no longer support the franchise. Part of this is a frustration that for so many years, I supported them, purchasing merchandise and tickets, only to result in what I can only describe as the franchise taking back the value of all of my support over the years and dismissing it. I’m sure that I am not alone in this feeling.

I say shame on the franchise for backing down, caving to those who are not fans of the franchise rather than those who have supported them throughout the years. Those who know about the origin story, about Louis Sockalexis, know that the name was never a caricature, even if the franchise now pretends that it was.