Dan,

You scooped everyone on this.

Sky Design, huh! As I have previously said, NOBODY IN FORT WAYNE IS GOING TO GET ANYTHING FROM THE GUYS IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA - nothing - nada- zilch - zero! Any of the Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana that work at a local design agency think this is a pay back for their support of Mr. Frier & his organization? They have not yet put one cent into anything in Fort Wayne - they are “takers” not “sharers” - have always been and always will be. Now it’s complete - no more Memorial Stadium (The Castle), no more Wizards, no more local management of the Minor League Stadium, no more “lease” payments by the Minor League team for use of the public-owned stadium (actually, we are paying Hardball Capital to manage the place!) and, also, one of our supposed non-profit hospitals is using their profits to add their name to the ballpark, even though they are moving their headquarters outside the city limits! (so they don’t have to service the disadvantaged in the city?).

And all this, with our nation facing?(or is it the other cheeks?) a financial melt-down (and give-away) due to the actions of the people we have elected to run our country.

Who the hell is picking the names for these teams. First we get the Mad Ants and now this? God help us if the Komets ever decide to change their names. They may pick something like the Fort Wayne Pucks. Yuck!

The people naming our(?) team MUST have visited THIS website:
http://www.tarapfeifer.com/archives/2005/03/03/stupid-team-names/

Might as weell call ‘em the Tin CUPS, ’cause they might be using THOSE to panhandle on the downtown streets to get the needed funds to make Costaplenty Square (and it’s condos) work!

If Ft. Wayne had ANYTHING to be proud enough to have a ball team named after, what about Abe Lincoln?
Call the ball club the FORT WAYNE RAILSPLITTERS

Sounds a HELLUVA lot better.
…And a lot TOUGHER.
(tin ain’t all that “tough”)
Get the man who portrayed Abe at the Lincoln Museum as a ready-made “mascot”.
Just give him an axe!

How much easier (or cheaper) could it get???

em ok if they called it the Tin CUPS the mascot would be a cup with the slogan \

First the Mad Ants, now the Mad Apples.

That. Is. Terrible.

Here’s another name you might consider:

The Empty-Seaters.

Does anyone know who did the logo? Let me guess, not a local agency…

“and it looks like a great nice for baseball. Tickets are still available, so why not take the family to Parkview Stadium to cheer our Tinhats on to victory. After the game be sure to visit the library and see one of the nation’s largest Geneology Departments.”

Why is it we can’t get folks downtown after 6?

“…cheer our Tinhats on to victory.”

Matt D, you’re doing the same thing that I’ve been doing since I first heard the name. Forgetting it. It’s the Tincaps, not the “Tinhats”

I forsee some branding obstacles.

Chris:
We may have to change those BRANDING obstacles to BRAZING obstacles.
It (tin) IS metal, after all…LOL!

Guess I’d look as PO’ed as that apple jack(off) logo
…if I was as worm-ridden.

So let me get this right, We are now going to name the team, who is moving to a new stadium downtown, after a guy who is buried next to the old stadium they are going to tare down.

By the way the community where this team is dose not want the new one and was fine with the old one.

Does anyone else think this is just a way for hardball to say f-you fort wayne.

“Me”…You sir, win the day. Brilliant!

“me” I thought the exact same thing…We are moving the team away from a stadium..built next to the Guys grave it is honoring.

Thats just wacked up…

Hey at least we already had a movie made about the team…didn’t it star Kevin Costner……oh wait…that was Tin Cup, Not Tin Caps…………..

Time to invest in Alcoa. Aluminum caps will be selling off the racks. HC thought they were doing bad on the northside of town, wait until they get downtown with that name. What a bunch of apple seeds (nuts!).

I hope that every official that has had some say along the way in forcing this project down the taxpayers’ throats will soon come together for a photo op all showing off their recently purchased season tickets. I bet after opening day they will never be seen inside that stadium.

Wait, this sounds like a raw deal for Parkview. Isn’t it true that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”? Parkview should appeal for a new name.

Or maybe not. On the other hand, maybe the whole “Potheads” thing could catch on and more people become drug addicts in support of the team, thus increasing Parkview traffic.

Tincaps… tin cups… tinfoil hats… pin heads…

Mad Ants now Tincaps…. who comes up with this stuff???

Do you like the name “TinCaps” for Fort Wayne’s minor league baseball team?
Yes
No

Thank you for participating in our poll. Here are the results so far.

Yes 14%
No 86%

http://www.wane.com

Ok…regarding APPLES and TEAM NAMES
Try THIS website:
http://www.allaboutapples.com/varieties/

There are some REAL good ideas there…LOL.

The latest poll results on the new team name (Tin Caps):
8% - For
92% - Against

“Me” has it right…we’re all f***ed.

I STILL say name ‘em after (young) Abe Lincoln…
Call the team the FORT WAYNE RAILSPLITTERS.
And get the guy that posed as Lincoln at the (closed) museum, hand him an AXE, and call him the mascot.
Can’t beat the cost of THAT, can you?

And who would YOU be for afraid off?
A “tincap”, or a “railsplitter”?

I rest my case.

I love your poll!! The 14% are probably friends and family of the individual(s) who came up with the stupid new name!

How about Tin Cups with “cup” referencing jock strap??

Parkview Panhandlers might work as well.

I was sooo hoping you were wrong on this one AWB! Who in the world thought of this? Just imagine going to a ball game and the first 500 people get a saucepan to wear on their head for the game? Or just think of the fun the kids will have while playing with the rolls of tin foil they were given at the ball park? Lets all thank Hardball Capital….Mr Nutter is just that….a Nutter.

Ha! Stupid, unusual name that is on the tip of everyone’s tongue and has the entire city buzzing and talking about it. From a marketing standpoint, how could that succeed?

I might be coming around on this one. In fact, the name just might be brilliant. At least from a marketing standpoint. The more I hear people talk about it, the more convinced I am. Because…and this is key…love it or hate it, people are having a reaction to it. If you understand that indifference is a brand’s worst enemy, then you see what I mean.

SO IT’S ROOT, ROOT, ROOT FOR THE TIN CAP’S……
Are you kidding me? This has got to be the stupidest name for a baseball team I have ever heard!
Wake up Fort Wayne!!! This is supposed to be a professional baseball program!
WHAT A JOKE!!!

Having worked in Marketing for over 20 years, I can’t comprehend how Tin Caps can be the finest that Fort Wayne, Indiana can produce. The creator of this weak name did not assess the rich history and heritage that already brands Fort Wayne. This was a great opportunity to elevate Fort Wayne and its residents in the eyes of professional sports. Now the team will be simply referred to as “Pot Heads.” Do you really believe a talented baseball player will take pride in being a Tin Cap? The graffiti inspired logo does nothing to uplift the image of downtown Fort Wayne. Between the Tin Caps and the Mad Ants, Fort Wayne teams will be viewed as weak, easily defeat-able teams. Tin is weak. Ants are crushed. What ARE you thinking?

This is WRONG!

I told my wife the new name and she said we should cut to the chase and call them the Pot Heads.

Do you like the name “TinCaps” for Fort Wayne’s minor league baseball team?

Yes
No

Thank you for participating in our poll. Here are the results so far. Yes 12%

No 88%

Ok, we all forgot the obvious name/theme for the Tin Caps.

If I only had a brain!!! (Tin Man)

Since the new name is stinkin’ Fort Wayne might have another Lincoln (Museam SILENT, FOR REFERENCE ONLY) and the team might just go away!!!!!!!
dodododo

Marketing gurus should not be naming sports teams! This is how the team got named “Wizards” when everyone wanted “Falcons”. This is how they came up with “Mad Ants”.

When you name a team, you don’t consult with a focus group. You go with your gut. But now if this fails, some people are going to say “Let’s try this again. It would have worked the first time if we hadn’t picked that stupid name.”

@ Chris

Mmmm…. marketing kool aid

I can hear the TV ads now, screaming…

“Come to Parkview Stadium, see the NEW look for our team…and get CAPPED”

(you can do that on the SOUTH side anyday)

We love our alliteration. However, I recall the outcry back in 1993 over the naming of the Fort Wayne Wizards. It went something like, “In the City of Churches, we can’t have a mascot that represents dark magic and evil.” I’m paraphrasing. There was even a logo replete with a Lord of the Rings-esque character (“Wayne the Wizard”) staring into a large baseball. A few years later, Dinger the Dragon begat Wayne the Wizard and took up residence within the Castle.

We might have dodged a bullet. I heard that the two other choices were the “Fort Wayne Flood” or the “Fort Wayne Sandbaggers”. Didn’t we overcome a typhoid outbreak in the 19th century. Maybe we should base a name off of that.

We seem to hate the Mad Ants name. And yet the name was unique enough to catch the attention of writers of a fictitious television show. Writers, who could have invented any name, went through the bothers of permission gathering to work it into their storyline, thus giving a Fort Wayne team a small bit of national exposure. A name more ubiquitous might have missed an opportunity.

With all that being said, I’m still not thrilled with the “Tincaps.” I agree with everyone here who says that the name is weak, tin is weak, etc. C’mon Johnny Appleseed? Don’t we have a name for people who carry their belongings in a sack and drift from town to town? Also consider that at one point in history, some citizens of a city were told that their new baseball team was going to be named after a small docile bird… Apologies to Orioles fans.

However, I still say that the name needs to be unique from a marketing standpoint if we hope to plant asses into the seats of that horrendous misappropriation of decision making and tax dollars now known as the Harrison Square project. How about calling the team the Downtown Debacles? Now, that’s a name that would grab some attention.

Ha! Stupid, unusual name that is on the tip of everyone’s tongue and has the entire city buzzing and talking about it. From a marketing standpoint, how could that succeed?

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, there, Chris.

Don’t we have a name for people who carry their belongings in a sack and drift from town to town?

Yes, and my mother told me never to talk to them. And if they do something inappropriate to yell “NO!” and run away.

Let’s not forget our former mayor… Harry Baals. Perhaps that would of instilled fear into the opposing players… or maybe not.

“… The creator of this weak name did not assess the rich history and heritage that already brands Fort Wayne…”

Agreed. Nobody has ever heard of this Johnny Appleseed character. He probably diddled children anyway. It’s no wonder he drifted. Out with him. We need to assess our rich history a bit better. Hmmm. Lets think about our history. Who first settled the Fort Wayne area?… Oh Indians! The Miami Indians settled here. Let’s name our sports team after some Indians. People would love it. Wahooo!!!

“Now the team will be simply referred to as “Pot Heads.”

Perfect! Concessions sales will be through the roof once those munchies kick in at about the 5th inning. Imagine the lines on free caramel apple night.

Between the Tin Caps and the Mad Ants, Fort Wayne teams will be viewed as weak, easily defeat-able teams.

Good. Let’em think we’re weak. In fact, change our team name to the Pink Bunnies. That way the other team is lured into a false sense of confidence and believes that we will be pushovers. Then when we beat them, they’ll know they got beat by a bunch of Pink Bunnies. And if we lose? Hey what do you expect? We’re only wittle Pink Bunnies.

Will they be called the “Road Apples” at away games?

Tin Caps????????!!!!!?????????

This will cause people to jokingly refer to Fort Wayne’s baseball team in a not really likable manner. Instead of the “Fort Wayne Tin Cups”, they’ll call us the “Fort Wayne Potheads”.

Mad Ants was kinda stretching it, but Ill accept it. But Tin Cups??? please.

I grew up outside of Fort Wayne and went to college there. I moved to Indianapolis over 25 years ago. When we arrived here downtown Indy rolled up at 5 pm and had little happening on the weekends. If you have been to Indy lately you know it is a great place to be. Notice the NCAA Final 4’s, Colts, Pacers, Indians, concerts, plays etc all downtown. One thing Indy does is trying to build a better mousetrap by doing the unconventional. I love Fort Wayne but it has a very small town attitude. I visited the new stadium yesterday and had dinner at the Irish pub downtown. Great places both of them! I did not like “Lucas Oil”Stadium, “Conseco” Fieldhouse, or the “RCA” Dome either but they do grow on you. My suggestion, for what it is worth, is give the team, owners, stadium a chance. Be fair about your comments. Get positive support and it will succeed. Take a group to a game and see what happens. Staying negative about every project downtown, which has a long history like turning down money in the 50’s for a freeway project, will not help make Fort Wayne a better place to live.