What's in a name?
How is it that all the IPL teams pick names that couldn't get any more amateurish? 'Kolkata Knight Riders', 'Delhi Daredevils', 'Rajasthan Royals' are among those with an anglicized twang that supposedly is meant to catch the fancy of the young and restless. 'Mumbai Indians' takes the generic route to garner a pan Indian appeal.
The dilemma here? Should the names be too region specific with the risk of alienating a pan Indian audience? Or should the names therefore be generic and anglicized to appeal to a wider audience, but in the end appealing to none?
Yeah, quite the dilemma.
The dilemma here? Should the names be too region specific with the risk of alienating a pan Indian audience? Or should the names therefore be generic and anglicized to appeal to a wider audience, but in the end appealing to none?
Yeah, quite the dilemma.
Comments
IMHO, these teams would be better off with regional play rather than a generic name that appeals to everyone.
Reasons
1. Most of the people that see the matches would be from a particular region (Mumbai junta at Mumbai venues) and they would have psychological incentives to see their team winning over others.
2. Merchandise - I dont think I will spot anyone wearing Chennai shirt in Delhi and so on and so forth.
3. Examples from County Cricket - Sporting rivalries can be created only when people have strong associations with teams.
4. And finally that classic Us vs Them debate. We need to give people an anchoring point. They need to feel "us vs them" to be able to support something. Us vs Govt. Us vs Management, Us vs Professors etc.
Regards,
SG