Letters from the Fort (Part II)

God bless Letters to the Editor writers. Especially those in Fort Wayne. Especially when they don't like something. Especially when a name change of a baseball team is involved. They are entertaining. Take this one for example:

At first blush, the selection of the Wizard’s new name seems somewhat ridiculous. Upon closer inspection, it is somewhere between ludicrous and farcical. Unfortunately, the name is the culmination of a series of events that has brought continued disgrace to our city.

First, a ballpark is planned to be built when none is needed. This project squanders untold millions of dollars that could be spent far better elsewhere. Angry taxpayers who had no direct voice in that decision took out their resentment instead on proposed school financing and in the process made schoolchildren innocent scapegoats.

Letter to the Editor Writing 101: Always -- ALWAYS -- work the children into the letter.

There is also a shot at the new stadium and how it was not needed.

Then for the coup de gras, owners of the formerly named Wizards humiliate the city by choosing the most ridiculous name possible and making us the laughingstock of every literate person on the planet. They undoubtedly think they are connecting to the legacy of Johnny Appleseed. Johnny Appleseed spent most of his adult life in eastern Ohio. His primary connection to Fort Wayne is that he reportedly died and was buried here. Both the year of his death and the place of his burial are in historical dispute. The “cap” on his head is unsubstantiated legend. In any case, there is no evidence that anyone ever mistook his cooking pot for a cap.

The strategy is obvious. Pick something that is “so bad, it is good.” People join in the mockery, and in the process their licensed merchandise sells while the owners make money at the expense of the city’s good name. Had the perpetrators known anything about our community, perhaps they might have chosen a name more like one of its rejects, “sandbaggers,” or put several acceptable names up for a vote.

This name was chosen for one reason only: possible merchandising revenue. Their strategy may very well work. It has elsewhere.

Examples, please? Like how the SWING of the Quad Cities remain at the top of the list for the most merchandise sold in all of minor league baseball?

This letter ends with toilet humor. That is a sure way to sway people to your point of view.

Here is a letter which takes an opposite view and gives kudos...props...a hearty well done as a way of taking the city to task for something else entirely.

I recently returned to Fort Wayne to learn that the Fort Wayne Wizards baseball team had been rebranded the TinCaps. My immediate reaction was one of shock and incredulity, but after a few moments of thought, it was clear that my reaction was largely due to the fact that I, like many people, hate change of any kind. After a few more moments, it occurred to me that Hardball Capital, a business organization from outside our city, understands the value and importance of how local icons can positively impact our sense of history over many years and help draw people in the greater community into a sense of ownership of the team. So I like the name, and I like the logo even more.

It’s unfortunate that our own community leaders didn’t share that same insight when it came to the decision some years ago to rename our regional airport from Baer Field to Fort Wayne International Airport. This was a perfect example of how a community slowly obliterates its rich history and identity in the pursuit of the Holy Grail of economic development.

Here is a little bit more about Captain Paul F. Baer, a World War I flying ace. Here is a New York Times article from March 27, 1918 in PDF format.