The expansion NHL Wild yesterday unveiled a new logo
and their first uniform, which contains a pictogram on the
front that combines a wild animal, the North Star, evergreen
trees, a red sky and a stream, according to a report in the
ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS. The team colors are Iron Range red,
forest green, harvest gold and wheat. Though the wild
animal "is not specified," some "might suggest" that it
resembles a cougar or a bear (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS,
11/19). In Minneapolis, John Millea writes that the team's
sweater "is dominated by the head of a beast that might be a
bear. Or maybe it's a mountain lion? A wolf? A very angry
gopher? Who really knows?" Wild CEO Jac Sperling: "It's a
wild picture. People will see what they want to see. It's
intended to be a wild animal." Millea describes the new
logo as a "silhouette of an animal's head with pine trees, a
red star, a red sky and either the sun or the moon" inside
the silhouette. The uniforms were unveiled in front of
3,000 people who have made deposits of $100 per seat for
season tickets, and a merchandise tent with 2,000 sweaters
costing $70 and $80 "quickly sold out" (Minneapolis STAR
TRIBUNE, 11/19). CNN/SI's Vince Cellini and Fred Hickman
were shown on-air wearing the jerseys. Hickman, on the two
receiving the sweaters: "I think it's really pretty smart
marketing on their part. Because it's a small investment to
have your product seen by millions of upscale consumers all
around the world. A lot of teams and companies could
probably learn from such a strategy." Cellini and Hickman
wore the jerseys for the remainder of the show (CNN/SI,
11/18). To view the new logo, visit http://www.wild.com.
