Breaking From Uniformity

If there's one thing that teams within the same city do more often than not, it's they align their colours with the other teams. It happened in Pittsburgh where the Penguins joined the Steelers and Pirates wearing black-and-yellow (and were subsequently sued by the Bruins, but won that case). It happened in Hamilton where the OHL's Bulldogs swapped out the red-white-and-blue they wore for a number of years for the black-and-yellow like the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats wear. The ECHL's Atlanta Gladiators dipped into the red-and-black, among other colours, like the NFL's Atlanta Falcons wear after moving from Gwinnett to Atlanta, but it seems they've reconsidered their position on the matter as of today.

In a release today from the team, the Atlanta Gladiators have decided to move away from the colour scheme they had above and move into a brighter, fresher light. The Gladiators move from the darker colours to a brighter scheme with their swap to blue-and-yellow. Personally, I really like this new colour scheme, and I hope the fans in Atlanta of this team do as well. As the Gladiators stated in their release, "[t]he Gladiators new colors of navy blue and gold are a marked difference to the standard black and red that dominates Atlanta sports, something the team believes will help to create a unique identity for them in the market."

"Count on seeing a much bigger presence by the Gladiators in all areas of the community. In order to better connect and stand out with new and existing fans, we needed to have a fresh look that was more appealing to a broader, diverse audience in a youthful market," said Team President Jerry James.

The bigger presence in the community should help the franchise attract more fans as the Gladiators were 11th in ECHL attendance last season. Getting a new look with some cool colours never hurts, and this should make it easier to have their own identity in the community. Their identity on the ice seems a little more well-defined already.

"One of the biggest things for us to be better, was to get bigger and tougher. With that we also added skill and experience. This will be the first team I can remember with four veterans. I think the timing of bringing these guys together was a bit of luck, but it's a good group and has the potential to be a very good team. I'm very excited to see where we go," Head Coach Jeff Pyle stated about the make-up of his team.

While it will be a few more weeks before any successes are seen on the ice, I have to say that I feel this move to change the team's colours for the 17th season is a good one. New jerseys and merchandise sales will never hurt the club if fans are looking to update their memorabilia, and they could see an influx of fans if Pyle is right about his team playing winning hockey. Atlanta certainly has had its ups and downs with NHL hockey, but they have seen success with minor-league teams such as the Atlanta Knights of the IHL. With this new look, perhaps this is the right time for the Gladiators to add their name to the list.

This colour scheme change gets the approval nod from me. What say you? Sound off in the comments!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!