The Kraken Awakens
Hell yeah! I have a hockey team now. Seattle is close enough that I can go to games when I want to and watch some fun sports. I say this with the hopeful outlook that one day our modern hell will end.
I’ve never managed to really grab a hockey fandom in all these years. Didn’t care about it till college, and that was Buffalo sports territory, I don’t hate myself that much. There wasn’t a team out here in the PNW except Vancouver, a place far enough away that it would have been an effort to get involved. For a short while I guess I gave a bit of a bone to the Columbus Blue Jackets because I have some very hockey family in that area who adopted them. But it isn’t the same. Now though? I can get in ground floor and have some fun. I’m into it. I’m gonna be whatever the hockey equivalent of a 12 is. A krak head. I’m sorry.
I’m torn on the name and colors overall. On one hand, Kraken is cool and awesome and badass. We could have certainly done worse. It is briefly in the comic but I want to take a moment to dunk on this loser:
Metropolitans.
A nod to history.
And not terrible.
— Chris Long (@ChrisLongKSTP) July 23, 2020
The last thing we need is another Mets. Funny aside, this tweet is how I suddenly came to the realization that the New York Mets are the New York Metropolitans. I finally get it. Anyway, that’s a stupid and outdated name for a hockey team. Yeah, let’s name a team based on…uh…the concept of a large municipality? The people who live within a geographical area? The Seattle City Dwellers? This bum wants Seattle to use a name of a team that hasn’t existed since world war 1, and lasted less than a decade. They have the notable history of winning the first US Stanley Cup. Whoopie. Mets is a garbage name for 2020 and isn’t even unique thanks to New York baseball.
On the other hand there is a part of me that feels Kraken feels a little…90’s cool to the xtreme. I heard Seattle Sockeyes was a potential option, and although I’m happy with Kraken, I think I would have liked that too. It’s more alliterative and it does reflect an aspect of Seattle. The logo would have been hilarious too, because Salmon are ugly as shit. Seriously. Salmon are hideous, even for fish. But Kraken allows for more interesting interpretations and is indeed more badass than an ugly fish. Kraken is cool.
I’m less thrilled by the colors and logo. I love the alternate logo with the space needle anchor. I find the main logo kind of disappointing. It’s just a lousy S with an eyeball. WHERE ARE MY TENTACLES? Don’t give me a stupid S, GIVE ME A SEA MONSTER. The colors are probably a result of being forced to match the “theme” of Seattle sports. Dark navy blues coming at ya! Give me more of anything else. Stop giving Seattle team the same colors as the Seattle sky for 8 months of the year.
I’m just being nitpicky at this point. I’m happy to have a hockey team and I look forward to rooting for them.
The Seattle Metropolitans were the first American team to win the Stanley Cup, so there is history, but a stupid name. I was hoping for Kraken, but also would have taken the Rain City Bitch Pigeons.
DUDE! I’m all on the RCBP train!!!!
Can’t wait for the stadium nickname being the Krak House
Kraken is 20 years behind the times. It’s not Dan Snyder bad, but it’s trying way too hard. It beats Metropolitans, but that’s like out-jumping your 80 year old grandma with a bad hip.
Things I like more that I’m just coming up with as I sit here:
Seattle Seatellites (Seattlites? We can decide on the hipsteriest spelling later)
Seattle Seatlights
Seattle Satellites
Seattle Seats
Seattle Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs
Seattle Shrinks
Seattle Cranes
Seattle Java Monsters
Seattle Prattle
… and I have another 40 that roll right off the tongue, mostly Frasier-related. XD
I saw ‘Seattle Battle Cattle’ once and had a glimmer of hope for it, sense-making be damned
Lol, wow. That is the only name I will *EVER* address them by going forward. It is the best name ever. The logo can be a totem pole of a warrior bull holding a giant fishspear, maybe with a dead squid hanging off the end.
The blackletter S is cool, but the secondary Space Needle/anchor combo is dull. You’re right, it should have been tentacles grasping the Needle like we saw in concepts.
And would Chris Long be considered a Kraken Karen?
“The Seattle Geoducks” was my pitch.
Imagine the mascot!
Imagine the hats and foam fingers!
Imagine broadcasters trying to sight read the name out of market!
I too consider myself a Kraken fan. The drive is not terrible and I have been watching more hockey over the years since I heard Seattle might get a team. I honestly think Kraken will be made or not on how they integrate the idea into the stadium. I don’t want a Miami Marlins type theme park in the outfield, but some cool aesthetics on the walls and around the arena could really bring it alive.
Put a strong arm on there and I’m getting trogdor vibes from the “S” logo.
Needs consummate Vs
As soon as he said something about the “S” logo, all I could think was “and then a.. more different S”
good now we can have endless arguments over whether its pronounced “kray-ken” or “crack-en”
You are SOoo wrong on both counts. It is *OBVIOUSLY* pronounced Kruh-Ken. Ohmygod, like, SEE-riously.
I like the name and both logos. I’m not a fan of the 90s-EXTREME teal shades, but since everyone else in town got in on it, Seattle can at least lay claim to being the teal city and get away with it. Also they picked a lighter shade of blue-green, instead of the 1991 Ford Tempo the Mariners and Jaguars used, which is nice. Some tentacles probably would have been good on one of the logos.
MARTIN: “You boys want to go to the Krakens season opener with me and Duke?”
FRASIER: “Oh, really dad- if I wanted to be miserable and shivering, I would have stayed married to Lilith!”
NILES: “I would go with you, but I’m leading a group therapy for kleptomaniacs.”
DAPHNE: “Sounds fun to me!”
NILES: “On second thought, maybe my group could benefit from some unsupervised time.”
I’d watch that episode!
Hahahahahahahaha, nice job, these are classic! I’ll take a turn, too!
MARTIN: “Ooh, it’s almost halftime(?). Which one of you boys wants to get your picture taken with me IN THE KRAKEN’S ARMS?!”
NILES: “It’s pronounced ‘Kraken,’ Dad… and Frasier said he would love to go.”
FRASIER: “I said no such thing! Also, Kraken’s don’t have arms, Dad. They’re called tentacles.”
MARTIN: “Tentacles shmentacles, they even pour a bucket of dead fish over your head just before they click the shutter! You in, Fras???”
FRASIER: “Wellll, if I wasn’t “amped” before, I sure am now.”
*FRASIER’S GROUP RUNS INTO BULLDOG AND ROZ AT THE GAME*
FRASIER: “What are you two doing here?”
BULLDOG: “Trying to see who looks good on the team so I can hop on them before the rest of the fans do.”
ROZ: “Likewise.”
*LAUGHS*
BULLDOG: “HEY, WHO TOOK MY HOT DOG?! THIS STINKS! THIS IS TOTAL BS! …Oh, here it is.”
I think the leading part of the S is supposed to be a tentacle, it has suckers on it.
Maybe they were afraid of the inevitable hockey-tentacle hentai crossovers if the tentacles were too blatant.
“Maybe they were afraid of the inevitable hockey-tentacle hentai crossovers if the tentacles were too blatant.”
Given the Red Wings’ traditions, any thought given to avoiding tentacles seems like a moot point.
I’ve been waiting for 10 years, since I moved here from Chicago, to have some pro hockey. I’d have liked Sockeye but the Vancouver logo is a mammal that eats salmon.
Only since you didn’t mention it, you do see that the S logo features a tentacle in the negative, yes?
It does, but it’s just…barely there. A hint of a tentacle, a tentacle abstract. It’s not doing anything cool, it’s just there, existing, as a subtle element. It may as well not be there.
Seattle Chaz?
If we’re complaining about hockey names, you can’t get any dumber than the “Wild”. Seriously, what does that even mean? I wanted Moose for the name because they are big hulking badasses that give zero craps and will wreck your shit. And then I could have worn big foam antlers to the game.
The logo and jersey are awesome. The name is fine. Enjoy! I’d love for my team to beat another expansion team in the Final.
I can’t wait for my ream to lose to another expansion team in the Western Final.
A lot of my friends are hockey fans, but I’ve not really been able to get into it from just watching on TV. I went to a few local minor league games last year and it was a lot more fun to watch than it was on TV. Enough so that I went in on season tickets for the Kraken when they were available.
Are you going to mention when you’ll be attending a game one the time comes to actually be able to attend? Beer can definitely get involved.
Ladies and gentlemen… YOUR Seattle Cephalopods!
Nice alliteration, and gots the whole octopus/squid thing working.
And name the mascot “Inky”.
(I should be getting paid for this…..)
Since the Pacific Northwest culture has a considerable Native influence, and since the name is now available, why not Washington Redskins?
In the mock-ups of the Interior of Climate Change (?) Arena, it shows a lot of reflective lighting on the ceiling and walls. How cool would it be if those lights were bluish green with a shimmering effect like a reflection off water?
It would feel like the whole place is underwater!
Anyway, for anyone not excited about the S as the main logo, other more tentacled ones can be added later.
Vancouver went from the plain hockey stick to the flying skate to the orca and back — all completely unrelated.
I like the name because it’s the only team name I can think of where the team is portrayed as one monolithic entity. Sure, there is a team of Giants or a bunch of Pistons or even abstract concepts like Wild or Thunder. But there is just one Kraken, and the players serve as his tentacles.
The one time I’ve been to Portland, I went to a Timbers game, and got the impression they’d rather die than root for a Seattle team…but…
“90’s cool to the xtreme”…with an X….YESSSSS That’s what ive been saying all along! It has that kind of eye-rolly Raptors-esque feel to it
Well the problem there is that both Seattle and Portland have a soccer team so the rivalry is deep there.
But I think the two cities are a little more friendly when it comes to the Seahawks and Marlins. I see lots of Seahawks gear and where the hell else are we going to root for professional hockey or baseball? It’s basically a choice between Seattle as the PNW representative, or some California transplant team or whoever you moved to town already loving.
I’m surprised that noone even considered something along the lines of the Seattle Icehawks tbh.
I love the last panel of the comic which shows the gloves indeed did come off for a classic hockey fight.
The colors on their own look at little blah, but they work really well together on the jersey. Ironically enough, the “icy” blue is not a super common color in hockey
Thanks for the Smashville reference too lol
Wait… I’m new here, but, you live in Washington state but you root for the Evil Empire’s team?
Fun fact: Seattle is home to the largest species of octopus in the world: the Giant Octopus! The largest ever recorded Giant Octopus lived under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge!