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Raptors Unveil New Logo, "Cha-Ching!" Says Grunwald
October 6th, 2003
The air was abuzz with anticipation earlier this afternoon as the Toronto Raptors gathered the press at the Maple Leaf Sports Store in the ACC to unveil the new Raptor logo. Basketball fans were not disappointed as the tame purple dinosaur of years past was replaced by a snarling, menacing Rick Brunson.
Several weeks of intense research went into the new Raptor look. The Raptors front office created several different logos and in the end the focus groups overwhelming selected the Brunson logo. Raptors GM Glen Grunwald claimed that the team wanted to bury the past and start fresh this year. Grunwald went on to claim that "Brunson is the new face of the Raptors. Not just his mother loves him anymore. Also, other teams will now stop calling us the Barneys."
Some members of the press were curious as to why the team was still calling themselves the Raptors but Grunwald quickly laid those questions to rest.
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| "The 1998 Webster's Revised Abridged Dictionary defines a raptor as 'a ravisher' or 'a plunderer.' Since Rick Brunson ravishes the other teams with his 2.5 points per game and plunders the ball away from them, as indicated by his 0.45 steals per game, he is truly the definition of a raptor. I wish you sportswriters wouldn't be so cynical. The public chose this logo much like the overwhelming support given by the community to the Raptor name and dinosaur logo back in 1995. We had that contest, remember? We aren't just jumping on whatever happens to be capturing the limited imagination of the public," answered Grunwald, "But let's just say I am glad that The American Heritage Dictionary defines raptor as a 'bird of prey.' Thank God we aren't called something stupid like the Knicks."
The organization's embrace of all things Brunson doesn't just stop with the new logo however. The press were treated to the brand new introduction video that will be used to fire up the crowd before each and every Raptor home game. In the video we first see Rick Brunson riding the subway to the ACC. This obviously appeals to the comman man of Toronto and shows the hard-working lunch-bucket attitude of the new Raptors. After all Rick is a minimum wage NBA player. Rick hops off the subway and grabs a quick nap in the dressing room. Then, as game time approaches, we see Rick getting pumped up for the game. He sorts through his collection of towels and practices his butt-slapping motion in the mirror as "Eye Of The Tiger" blares through his headphones. Now it's game time and the team is getting ready to burst out of the dressing room and onto the court. Brunson plows through Vince and JYD while trampling over the rest of his teammates in order to be the first one on the bench. He grabs a seat and then appears to save the seat next to him. Who could this special seat belong to? Ken "Not Magic" Johnson? NBA Champion Mengke Bateer? NO! He points to the crowd and invites all the fans to watch the game with him!
While Rick Brunson .com applauds this undeniable example of marketing genius, we wonder what will happen to the inflatable Raptor mascot. We questioned Grunwald about a possible inflatable Brunson but he was non-committal and became increasing flustered as we pressed him. At this point he walked off the stage and was heard to mutter under his breath, "Geez, I hope this guy makes the team."
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