Columbus Blue Jackets Sunday Morning
Editors Note: Each Sunday Morning we are going to try to bring something to you that is a little bit different to enjoy while you sip your morning coffee and relax. Enjoy Blue Jackets Sunday Morning.
I took my daughter to the 2013 Columbus Blue Jackets draft party. It was the first time she had been to the arena. One of the most memorable moments of the day was when we got our picture taken with Stinger. I expected her to love the experience. Children love large costumed characters right?
The photo is one of my favorites to this day. I’m smiling at the camera, Stinger looks like Stinger, and my two and half year old daughter is turned looking at him with an odd expression on her face. Disturbed isn’t the right word. Unsettled is a little closer. It’s that look people get when they see something in public and aren’t quite sure if they should call the police. They look around to see if anyone else sees what they are seeing, then look back as their stomach sinks and they realize that they are alone with what is in front of them.
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That is the type of reaction that a lot of people have to Stinger. He spreads confusion and furrowed brows wherever he appears. If the team’s nickname is based on a Civil War reference then why is he a giant bug? Is a “blue jacket” some type of wasp? Most people aren’t quite sure what to think about Stinger.
When the Blue Jackets first came to Columbus in 2000 most people weren’t sure what to think about them. Columbus Ohio was by no means a hot bed of hockey. The Columbus Chill had created a strong fan base in their time playing at the fairgrounds but how was an NHL team going to fare in Columbus?
For the first years in Columbus the Blue Jackets enjoyed strong attendance from a passionate fanbase but little on ice success. Even the team’s one playoff appearance ended in the team getting swept. The team’s visual identity was messy at best. Yes the red, white, and blue made sense for a team with a patriotic nickname but why have that odd bright green color? And the crest, ugghh, was just a stylized version of the team’s initials. It is a team that since it’s inception has struggled with finding its own identity.
For the fans of the Blue Jackets the search for identity has also been a struggle. Central Ohioans are passionate people. Their love for the Buckeyes is legendary. Their passion for craft food and beverages is the force behind countless festivals, food trucks and small business. There are lots of independent theatres and acting companies. The arts and music scene break perceptions of what people think exists in mid-western city. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the passionate supporters of Columbus Crew SC and the Tifo Sweat (check out that link, their work is awesome) Blue Jackets fans were not sure what to latch onto with this team for a long time. The players that joined in the fisticuffs were always fan favorites. The amount of Rick Nash (booooo) jerseys that are seen at Nationwide Arena to this day show how much the city saw him as the identity of the club. But the fan base felt passionately lost, like a musician who has written beautiful lyrics but just can’t find the music fulfill their vision.
That is why Stinger is the perfect mascot for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Stinger is in a lot of ways the blank canvas for the fanbase. His insect identity is vague in the context of the franchise identity. His face looks less happy than most mascots and more like the grimace of someone who knows he is about to throw the first punch in a fight. When you look at Stinger it seems more like he quit his day job at an amusement park or at a creepily themed kid’s pizzeria, bought a jersey, and just started showing up to games.
That is how the fanbase reacted to the Blue Jackets. A group of people who wore scarlet and grey everyday, except for orange and brown or orange and black on Sunday’s, saw this beautiful game played on ice and not being quite sure what it was or how to enjoy it we jumped on board. We rooted for it, we let it break our hearts, we learned new terminology and a whole new world of superstars, heroes and villains.
I know a lot of people out there were into hockey before there was a team in Columbus. I wasn’t one of them. I followed this team not quite sure what I was getting into. My knowledge of hockey players was limited to the names Gretzky and Lemieux. I joined the 5th Line before some awesome nut jobs on Twitter gave it a name. I have highfived the guys who dress up like superheroes and come to games. I have marched from the R-Bar with a guy in full Union Soldier Civil War era garb chanting “C-B-J!” before the home opener. I have sat next to people ranging from hardened hockey fans who have the Coyotes back up goalie’s save percentage memorized to the dad who is half making up answers to his kid’s questions because he doesn’t fully understand the game himself.
For this odd, diverse grouping of a fanbase Stinger is the perfect mascot. We didn’t really understand what we were getting ourselves into with this team and we didn’t know how this fan community would evolve. Now, in 2015 it is safe to say that the identity has been established. We are the 5th Line. We are the fans who range from the professional coming to games after work to the face painting costume wearing crazies. We are a group that is growing in professional hockey IQ but brings the college passion every night. We are a unique fan base in the NHL. We are not the classic “Original Six” and we are not the standard non-traditional hockey market that comes to mind with Miami and Arizona. Like nearly everything else in the world Columbus and Ohio stand apart. With fans like this I can think of no better symbol of it’s uniqueness and personality then a grimacing lime-green wasp in a hockey jersey and tilted Union soldier cap on it’s head.