Exactly!! Because the simple, abstract things can turn into something you can embrace (rather than you imposing it onto other people).
Case in point for Durham:
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article229131739.html
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Can we get past the whole “_______Strong” please?
Isn’t that Boston’s brand?
My point was for the imagery in the ribbon icon, the free stickers they distributed at the Durham city anniversary events etc., not the specific wording.
(Also I think that association may just be a regional thing, because I don’t associate “___ strong” as a Boston thing, necessarily)
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Yeah, I get the sticker thing, and I completely agree with you about it. I really like that interpretation.
I am just getting really tired of all of the Boston Strong rip-offs, or whatever city started it.
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The Carolina Hurricanes are one of only 3 teams where the name of the city isn’t found in their official name. The other two are Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild. Not only isn’t Raleigh’s name in the official name, it isn’t even specific to North Carolina. Now, I get the use of “Carolina” in Charlotte where the city bridges two states, but it’s not the same for the Canes.
I’ve watched a lot of youtube’s lately on the Canes from broadcasts across the NHL World, and Raleigh is often not mentioned at all. It’s Carolina this and Carolina that, like “the fans in Carolina” instead of “the fans in Raleigh”. In my opinion, this is a huge missed opportunity to brand/highlight the city, especially as the whole “Bunch of Jerks” thing has really taken the entire hockey World by storm (pun intended).
I’ll bet ya that a huge chuck of NHL fans can’t tell you that the Canes play in Raleigh. I’ll bet that a lot of them would guess Charlotte.
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Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils (and soon, to be really nitpicky, the New York Islanders (but to be further nitpicky I guess the Islanders part could count)) as well
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I agree completely with you. Those other 2 markets are states where the entire State is a singular market in terms of culture and allegiances, and really only has 1 dominant metro. That’s simply not the case here. However, I don’t think it’s entirely fair to leave out Durham. But then comes the million dollar question, how do you label our combined metro area?
I don’t watch Hockey. But I was home over Easter visiting family and asked my uncle, who watches a lot of hockey, if he was watching Raleigh’s team in the playoffs. Even though he knows I live here, it took a while to sink in and he finally replied “Oh, Carolina”.
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I think die hard hockey fans know where all of these no city name teams play but the casual fans may not. I’m guessing the name was some sort of plan to try and appeal to all of the Carolinas and build a bigger fan base.
Could be worse they could be the
Raleigh-Durham Hurricanes
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Love the squirrel mascot. But for the flag, why not simply go with Sir Walter’s coat of arms?
That red and white pattern would look awesome on a flag. It’s timeless. Fits with NC State and Carolina Hurricanes branding.
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Do we really want to keep doubling down on linking/branding the city to NC State? I don’t see the benefit.
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Thanks man. I missed those! But let me use those teams to further my argument.
Greater “Miami” has other teams that use its name: Miami Heat, Miami Marlins, Miami Dolphins (and yes I know that the hockey arena is actually in Broward County and pressed up against the Everglades by a ginormous outlet mall).
New Jersey, as a state, is one of the few states where the state brand outweighs its city brands, with no clear city taking a branding lead since most of the state is associated with either NYC or Philly.
As for Colorado and Minnesota, both states have just one major metro area and that’s where their teams are, and everybody assumes it. While Denver has “Denver” teams, all of Minnesota’s teams are “Minnesota” and not Minneapolis. But, let’s be real, does anyone assume that a Minnesota team is anywhere else other than its major metro area?
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The Wild play in St Paul which I assume is like Minneapolis’ Durham except closer maybe? Idk.
St Paul Wild would sound crazy but what a name.
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When “Centennial Arena” was planned the seats were to be red. Karmanous (Canes owner) tagged on to these colors, because the Centennial Authority was going to have a red Wolfpack theme. For years the Wolfpack decried the seat color because they were not red enough. They were eventually changed out to be redder. Columbus has a blue & white color scheme & somehow coexists with the Buckeyes (red & gray). Someday maybe a new downtown arena will reflect Raleigh Hurricanes, with its own unique colors.
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Raleigh should be the face of the entire Triangle. To link the city’s branding to NC State is a big mistake in my opinion. What other major city links to one university? No offense to the NC State grads, but we’re not talking about an elite academic institution. In addition to this, it alienates grads from UNC and Duke, as well as the majority of transplants that ended up here.
The Canes, along with any future pro teams, came or will come because of the entire Triangle Region. I liked the idea I once saw about having pro teams colors an equal combination of Carolina Blue, Duke Blue, and Nc State Red. It fits with the entire theme of ‘The Triangle’.
The Triangle Hurricanes. LOL!
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Which in my mind we should “highly recommend or forcefully suggest” that Malik have the NCFC called “Raleigh_____” 
Well, since they are the Hurricanes, and hurricane warning flags are red and black, the color scheme still suits the theme even if NC State’s colors were still pink and blue. 
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I said its major metro area. That would be Minneapolis/St Paul.
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No offense, but let me offend you. Got it.
Here’s the reality. NC State is Raleigh’s major university, and it pumps out engineering grads by the thousands. Those grads go a long way to growing the economy of the city & the Triangle. The Triangle wouldn’t be the Triangle without its large Engineering College, and that’s just scratching the surface of what NC State actually means to the city and the Triangle.
But thanks, you’ve uncovered one of Raleigh’s branding issues. It’s one of the few major university cities that doesn’t unify behind its core institution. I get that there are two other major institutions in the Triangle, but still. Diminishing NC State doesn’t help the city. Can we get beyond the sports teams’ rivalries for a moment and understand all of the universities’ value to the city and the Triangle?
Lastly, red is probably one of the most common sports colors around, if not the most common. Do we really think that people are triggered or alienated by it? In my personal experience, I know Carolina grads who are huge Canes fans and don’t have a problem with it at all.
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Uh, yeah, this.
There’s nothing wrong with the Canes colors. They are appropriate.
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