POR Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 They certainly sound like they’ve thought about it. Must admit I’m not a fan of regional names but if they think they need to do it to grow then fair enough. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 Not for me. They should have stuck with Coventry Bears. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 Just now, Damien said: Not for me. They should have stuck with Coventry Bears. Agreed 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbe Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 Wonder if it will help them with the league restructure in 2023. Hope it does. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Chopra Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 Will they be playing in Coventry? The statement doesn't explicitly say so. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OriginalMrC Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 This isn't just a rebrand for the sake of it, hence the Coventry Bears branding being changed. There'll be a lot of other changes with further announcements to come once details finalised. 8 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Cashmere Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 4 minutes ago, OriginalMrC said: This isn't just a rebrand for the sake of it, hence the Coventry Bears branding being changed. There'll be a lot of other changes with further announcements to come once details finalised. That's good news. I'm looking forward to these announcements and really hope you succeed. Do you not worry about the identity of the club though? You'll know more than me as I only studied in the Midlands but I never got the sense there was a Midlands 'identity'. I just hope that doesn't affect support and enthusiasm for the Hurricanes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OriginalMrC Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 8 minutes ago, Ray Cashmere said: That's good news. I'm looking forward to these announcements and really hope you succeed. Do you not worry about the identity of the club though? You'll know more than me as I only studied in the Midlands but I never got the sense there was a Midlands 'identity'. I just hope that doesn't affect support and enthusiasm for the Hurricanes. Good points and as far as I know research went into branding that would appeal to a wider audience. Further announcements about structure etc will shed some further light on the branding 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hull Kingston Bronco Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 29 minutes ago, Damien said: Not for me. They should have stuck with Coventry Bears. I’d normally agree… but reading between the lines here what we’re looking at is the Bears as-was dropping down into the regional system because without the RFL funding that’s the organisations self-sustaining level. At the same time, Alan Robinson has come up with a creative way to keep a Midlands outfit in the semi-pro leagues by finding a new investment partner, and giving them an equity stake in a new JV. That’s what passionate, resilient and successful people do when faced with what looks like an insurmountable ‘external shock’…. there’s a lot of ‘woe is me’ heartland clubs who could do with comparing that to their own mindset in times like these. The contrast should embarrass them. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Daddy Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 I'm not a fan of this. Fans in the UK don't care about regional identity. Not gonna work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubby Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 (edited) 47 minutes ago, POR said: I think this is a wait and see until all the information comes out. I thought the Coventry Bears was a great club brand and Coventry is a big city to tap into. But if this is a pyramid structure for regional feeder amateur teams with the Hurricanes at the top then it could be very interesting. Even with a Coventry Bears amateur club in the mix? Edited November 3, 2021 by Scubby 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POR Posted November 3, 2021 Author Share Posted November 3, 2021 2 minutes ago, Scubby said: I think this is a wait and see until all the information comes out. I thought the Coventry Bears was a great club brand and Coventry is a big city to tap into. But if this is a pyramid structure for regional feeder amateur teams with the Hurricanes at the top then it could be very interesting. https://www.coventrybears.com/blog/iygilmm22o3e8fq1c1tjk7ctbfy7ey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 26 minutes ago, Ray Cashmere said: I never got the sense there was a Midlands 'identity'. There was in Mercian times, admittedly that’s over a thousand years ago though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 7 minutes ago, The Daddy said: I'm not a fan of this. Fans in the UK don't care about regional identity. Not gonna work. It’s not like you to be negative or dismissive. At least you’ve now got your wish for Birmingham to be represented by a L1 team though 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubby Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 1 minute ago, Eddie said: It’s not like you to be negative or dismissive. At least you’ve now got your wish for Birmingham to be represented by a L1 team though Yes there was a reason Wasps never rebranded to Coventry Wasps as they wanted to put in fans from all over the West Midlands. I think the Midlands name will shrink over time and the club may even just evolve into the Hurricanes. I used to love that football cartoon as a kid 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Daddy Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 This has to be karma for me starting the 'Fev need to rebrand to Yorkshire Rovers' thread 2 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RugbyLeagueGeek Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 I'm a bit confused by some of the responses to the OP. Are they moving to Birmingham?? Would be a shame for their supporters from Coventry. Or have I misunderstood? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleD Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 20 minutes ago, Scubby said: Yes there was a reason Wasps never rebranded to Coventry Wasps as they wanted to put in fans from all over the West Midlands. I think the Midlands name will shrink over time and the club may even just evolve into the Hurricanes. I used to love that football cartoon as a kid Probably............I hate the Midlands name, it's just meaningless. It'll be interesting to see where they stage games, if they take them on the road and how much investment is being put in. I'm sceptical as to how successful this will be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 1 minute ago, DoubleD said: Probably............I hate the Midlands name, it's just meaningless. It'll be interesting to see where they stage games, if they take them on the road and how much investment is being put in. I'm sceptical as to how successful this will be Agreed, it’s just for people in no man’s land, who are fortunate enough not to call themselves Southern but who don’t qualify as Northern. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy King's Boots Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 21 minutes ago, The Daddy said: This has to be karma for me starting the 'Fev need to rebrand to Yorkshire Rovers' thread Fev Forever. Yorkshire Rovers, Never! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearman Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 Think of it more of expansion. The Bears brand continue along with the other clubs previously announced. This will be the community arm of the club. The Hurricanes will sit at the apex of of the pyramid. Further announcements will be forthcoming. 1 3 Ron Banks Midlands Hurricanes and Barrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellsy4HullFC Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 3 minutes ago, Bearman said: Think of it more of expansion. The Bears brand continue along with the other clubs previously announced. This will be the community arm of the club. The Hurricanes will sit at the apex of of the pyramid. Further announcements will be forthcoming. As a Bears fan, do you think it will affect your attachment to the club? To me (an outsider), it feels like a completely different different club to the Bears. It runs the risk of disenfranchising their current support at the same time as trying to appeal to more, and the biggest reason why clubs such as Swinton (Manchester) and Barrow/Whitehaven/Workington (Cumbria) haven't ever gone down this route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 17 minutes ago, Bearman said: Think of it more of expansion. The Bears brand continue along with the other clubs previously announced. This will be the community arm of the club. The Hurricanes will sit at the apex of of the pyramid. Further announcements will be forthcoming. It's more the ditching of Coventry for Midlands that I don't like. The Midlands is a big place and unless they are somehow going to play games all over then it seems like a gimmicky empty gesture. I would also like clubs in places like Birmingham and Nottingham to rise up to the professional ranks rather than finding the route cut off because we have a 1 Midlands side in an area of 10+ million people. I think Coventry would benefit more from competition and rivalry like this. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hallucinating Goose Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 I think I'm gonna reserve judgement on this one until we hear more. If it's been necessary to keep them going and keep them in the league structure then I'm all for it. Don't really see the need to drop the Bears nickname though, what would have been wrong with Midlands Bears? I always think teams named after weather phenomena sound really manufactured like they're a netball team that's just been plonked down randomly in some made for TV, franchised sports league by someone throwing a dart at a map but that's just me nitpicking, just my preferences for team names. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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