Why I no longer “fear the spear”

I grew up as a die-hard Florida State fan. Most family members who went to college went to FSU. I went to FSU, too. In middle school, I had a Seminole Starter jacket. I heartily defended the Noles at high school in Miami, Florida. As a student at FSU, I painted my chest at multiple home games. In my 20s and 30s, I was a faithful fan cheering at any game I could watch even all the way up here in Tennessee.

When we won the championship a couple years back, I was on cloud 9. Then it all came tumbling down when FSU redesigned the Seminole head logo.
It wasn’t the redesign that ticked me off as much as why they redesigned it. This article states:

Nike designers were involved uniform redesigns for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and other NFL teams, as well as the University of Oregon. FSU’s new look won’t be so untraditional, according to reports.

“We tasked Nike for help in refining the logo so that consistency can be achieved without diminishing the identity of the iconic image,” the university said. “We arrived at a design that can take FSU Athletics into the future.”

The release date of the logo is officially April 11 as part of an “Ignition Tradition” campaign.

But let’s be honest. It’s about money. Nike wanted more of it. Florida State wanted more of it. Do you think it was a surprise that the brand new redesign came right after a championship season? There’s definitely some luck there (unless it’s all a big conspiracy?? 😉 ), but it also seemed quite premeditated. Right when FSU was at it’s height in popularity, fans had to then go out and buy all new gear with the new logo. Money. Money. Money.

I also remember thinking how ironic it was that the campaign they mention was “Ignition Tradition,” as they got rid of the traditional logo that’s been used for almost 50 years. Tradition meant nothing… c’mon man!

It was (and is) just another way to abuse fans and reap the financial reward. Plus, there was a level of secrecy in the entire process that stank of guilt and trickery. Why not announce that there’s a rebranding going on? The above article said it was a 2-year process, yet the majority of everyone found out about it through Walmart accidentally stocking shelves with apparel featuring the new logo. It was all so shady.

I know, I know, most people who read this will think it’s pretty trivial. Maybe they’re right. It’s just a logo. It’s not a huge change from how it looked before. Plus, a school valuing money over everything else isn’t a new thing. I get that. But when it all went down, I felt invisible. I felt useless. I felt used and that my opinion as a fan and member of the alumni counted for nothing. Like the wool had been pulled over my eyes. The almighty dollar had a stronger influence, and that still makes me sick.

It’s been a couple years since all this went down, and I haven’t given in by overlooking the university’s careless acts. I no longer cheer for the Noles. I can’t and I won’t. It still gets me fired up thinking about it, but there’s also a freedom in it, too.

College rankings, polls, losses… none of those affect my mood during the week, and that’s been a fantastic side effect of unassociating myself with Florida State. I’m still proud of graduating college, and thankful for the teaching they provided me. But that’s where my support ends. In history.

Now if I can just get my family to stop including me on the group texts during football games! Gee wiz!!!

-Out of the Wilderness