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| Newark Bears | 68 |
Notice: All logos on this page are included within the parameters of 17 U.S.C. § 107, which states that the reproduction of a copyrighted work for purposes of criticism and/or comment is not an infringement of copyright. No challenge to the copyrights of these logos is intended by their inclusion here.
Posted 2009 July 4
This is the third logo I've reviewed that features some form of character in a batting stance, and the second who is left-handed. The first two, in case you're wondering, were the El Paso Diablos (left-handed) and the Beloit Snappers (right-handed). The miner in the logo for the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx doesn't count, because he's not actually in a batting stance (he's holding the bat with one hand). But if you take a look at their cap insignia, you'll see that there he is in a batting stance, and he is left-handed as well. In other words, so far 75% of the batters in logos are lefties. I know this is a small sample size and doesn't mean much since they're not real in the first place, but I still find it curious.
So what else can we say about this guy? Well, first of all, he's big. I mean really damn big. Notice that he stands taller than the building in front. Even if that's just a one story building, once you factor in the roof and the cupola it's got to be a bare minimum of twenty-five feet tall. That would make the bear thirty feet tall, and that's a conservative estimate. But I don't think that's a one story building. I'm not certain, but I think that building is supposed to be a representation of the National Newark Building, the tallest building in Newark (ignore the fact that the building behind the bear is clearly taller). If so, that raises the bear's height to about 500 feet. The good news for the other team is that's the biggest strike zone you've ever seen. The bad news if that it probably starts about 150 feet of the ground, which is hard for most pitchers to reach. The worse news is that if the bear does connect with the ball, he can make it to first base in a single step. The worst news of all is that if the bear swings and misses, his bat is likely to hit one of the outfielders and send him half way to New York.
All kidding aside, however, this is a good logo. The bear is in a human-like pose, but aside from that it looks like a drawing of a real bear instead of some cartoony abomination. The color of the bear is imposing (yes, I know brown bears are actually more dangerous than black bears, but I'm talking about color psychology, not zoology). The buildings provide a nice backdrop that keeps the logo from looking too plain but doesn't look silly. The only real fault I have here is the diamond in the back, and even that might be necessary from a compositional standpoint.
As for the name, how can you criticize it? "Bears" is one of the classic team names. It also has a history in Newark, having been the name of a team in the International League from 1926 to 1949. Are there actually bears in Newark? Probably, believe it or not. I was watching a TV show yesterday about bears' presence in human-inhabited areas, and they mentioned an incident where a woman in New Jersey had to grab her kids and run into the bedroom and call 911, because a bear had decided to come into her house, wander into the kitchen, and help himself to some breakfast cereal. I don't know precisely where in New Jersey this was, but it was in the suburbs, not the sticks. So having bears in Newark seems completely plausible to me. But even if there never were bears around, it doesn't matter. Classic names like this don't need to have a local connection. After all, lions were never native to Detroit, but that doesn't keep "Detroit Lions" from being a great name (lousy team, but great name). Even if bears had never been native to an area within three states of New Jersey, I still wouldn't have a problem with the name.
Okay, so neither the name nor the logo are the epitome of creativity. I'm fine with that. Because you know who has a really creative name? The Montgomery Biscuits. And you know who has a really creative logo? The Asheville Tourists. These are spectacularly creative. They're also spectacularly bad. The Newark Bears name, and particularly its logo, strike a nice balance. There clearly was some thought put into them, but no one strained anything trying to be more creative than the situation called for. There are a lot of teams that could learn from these guys.
Final Score: 68 points.
Penalties: Scenery, 11 pts; Diamond, 16 pts; Player, 51 pts.
Bonuses: Name, -10 pts.