Cleveland Indians Name Change Shouldn't Impact Your Fandom

On May 4th, 2007, my dad got me out of kindergarten early to go see the first showing of Spider-Man 3.

My love of Spider-Man was already immeasurable. I had seen the first two movies a million times and from that day forward, Spidey became fully cemented as my favorite superhero for life.

So, what does Spider-Man have to do with the Indians changing their name? Well, one of the most popular names from the fans is the “Cleveland Spiders”. You’d think with my undying love for the friendly neighborhood web-slinger, I’d be more than happy for a name like the Spiders.

Unfortunately, no. I think the name is cheesy and will lead to many lame spider-like designs throughout the city. Also, the 1899 Spiders finished with an MLB worst record 20-134, with most of their star talent being shipped off to the St. Louis Perfectos. Frank Robinson was the owner of the Spiders and the Perfectos, and liked St. Louis more than Cleveland, so he essentially gave up on Cleveland which caused the franchise to fold after the ‘99 season.

Moral of the story, I wouldn’t be too fond of the team honoring an owner ten times worse than Paul Dolan.

Still A Fan No Matter What

With that being said, would I still be a fan of whatever team plays on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario? Yes, and you’re not a real fan if you say otherwise.

Many fans from an older generation say they haven’t felt the same love for these teams like they did in ‘95 or ‘97. I understand that, but changing the name of a stadium, or a team shouldn’t be some driving factor in your fandom!

I cheer for the Indians because it says Cleveland before it, and nothing else. If you call yourself a “lifetime fan” and then quit over a name, nobody believes that you were that big of a fan.

Cleveland might be going through a down year or two, but they have one of the best farm systems in baseball and will be right back in the heart of the AL Central in just a few seasons. That’s what we should be focusing on as fans, not arguing over a team name.

I think my biggest takeaway from the name change is that people need to just grow up. I’ll be the first to admit I was pretty sad when I heard we were changing our name. I have my first Indians tickets, a 1995 World Series poster with Chief Wahoo on it, and an awesome vintage jacket with the words Indians stitched across it. Nobody is saying a complete change will be easy, but maybe if we all just lean into it a little more, it might just turn out alright.