Evansville Thunderbolts

-5

NOTE: This review incorporates text from the previous review for the Evansville Thunderbolts, which was posted on 2016 November 28

A lot of times I read the explanation for how a team's name ties into the history of the city it plays in and I just think "Wow, you really had to reach to come up with something, didn't you?" Or worse yet, I just think "Wow, that's some USDA Grade A bullshit right there." This time, I'm happy to report, is nothing like that. The name comes the fact that during World War II, Evansville was a major center of industrial production, which obviously meant a lot of military equipment was produced there. One of the things produced in Evansville was the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter plane.

When that's your history, why the hell wouldn't you name a team after that? "Thunderbolts" is a solid name under any circumstances. You could name a team in just about any city in the entire country the Thunderbolts and the worst criticism anyone could have of the name is that it would be a bit generic. But add the history in, and the name isn't generic anymore. That turns a good name into a great name.

In fact, to me the following question is an obvious one to ask: Why has this name never been used before in Evansville? Because let me tell you, this city has seen some shitty team names over the years. If you look at baseball teams from the first four decades of the Twentieth Century — admittedly before the city was making Thunderbolts and thus before you'd expect anyone to think of naming a team that — you had such gems as the Evas, the Little Evas, the Hubs, and the Pocketeers. In the early 1950s they got a major league basketball team with the utterly ridiculous name Agogans. Don't ask me what that's supposed to mean; even after playing around with Google I have no idea except that it apparently has something to do with ancient Sparta. Anyway, other names used by teams in Evansville over the years include Express (tolerable, I suppose), Strikers (terrible when you consider that this was a baseball team), Blackbirds (okay, that one I like), Thunder (so close and yet so far), and Icemen (seriously???). So as you can see, there's an awful lot of suck here, and for the last three quarters of a century the obvious choice has been right in everybody's faces.

As you've probably guessed, the plane in the logo is supposed to be a P-47 Thunderbolt. And you know what? It's a really good rendering of one. Look at a picture of an actual P-47 Thunderbolt, and about the only inaccuracy you'll find is that the roundel should be farther back.

That's it. Literally the only thing to complain about here is that a minor detail of the logo is not quite in the right spot. And let's face it, if I actually complained about something that minor it would just be pathetic. So let's just say it: this logo is damn near perfect.

Final Score: -5 points.
Penalties: Name-Logo, 2 pts.
Bonuses: Cool-Name, -4 pts; Local, -3 pts.