Almost a year later...

While watching (I don't know why my W is purple... moving on) the ALCS my roommate and I discussed how much the Rays have changed during the past year. They came out at the beginning of the year with a new look and then out of nowhere and had a season that wowed any baseball fan. Now the 2008 ALCS champions and hopefully the 2008 World Series champions (sorry Phillies... but the green bird mascot can't break this Florida girl) are getting the attention for which St. Pete has been begging. 

So being the females we are my roommate and I began discussing how much we like the Rays new uniforms during the championship game last night. (I know, I know, but give us credit that we watched every game!) I decided to hop on google and see what I could find out about the shiny thing in the corner of their "R." I figure it is probably a ray of light and how it looks when it spreads underwater, the refraction of light added my fellow undercover-nerd roomie. 

While I was googling a ran across a self-titled "faithful Red Sox fan, i.e. Red Sox Evangelist['s]" article about the upcoming (it was written in Nov. 2007) Rays new look. This guy didn't think that this would help the program at all and that it would take more than a makeover to give the Rays talent. Haha... ironic, huh? Just like in the picture above (CoCo Crisp after he charged the mound in a game in the regular season... didn't go like he planned) the Rays made a huge turnaround and had a monumental season at the Sox's expense. So none of it had to do with the look?

I think it did. Marketers get paid huge bucks to find out what attracts consumers and how to reach the audiences that are not responsive. Working in the great establishment of the Hat Shack for the past year, I can attest to the changing of the look making waves.(.. or shining rays? Bad attempt at a joke.) People came into our store and bought the TB hat initially because of it's appealing logo, but even more when they started to win. I even bought one for a friend who requested it and at first I thought, "Really? A Rays hat? No one in Florida is even a fan." So why is it a bad assumption that the new look maybe opened a few eyes to the potential of a different club?

Again, being a female and having the love for sports like I do I started tearing up when manager Joe Maddon came on after the championship game. He said over the mic that projected to the entire Tropicana Field, "Thank you, you've been with us, supporting us all season!" That is something the Rays have never been able to say, and hopefully will be able to say for a long time. 

The Rays have had their share of PR problems this season with their WWE week featuring MVP pitcher Matt Garza and Dioner Navarro fighting in the dugout and the other Rays/Sox brawl pictured above. Who said baseball fans don't enjoy a little bit of hockey, too? But the intensity and testosterone that brought these fights about carried a finally loyal fan base into the post season. Trading an uppercut for a full house works for me!

I think maybe this is what the Rays have needed. You can see the confidence boost in a kid when he receives his little league jersey so what says that the excitement ever dies? Also note that the crowd shots had people in the new jerseys and hats, I don't recall seeing the old, now vintage, logos... everyone caught the fever! 

Go Rays. You guys have represented your new logo well and proved that there was something new coming to your club: Champions.