In an unprecedented move, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers have decided to change its primary logo and color scheme and revert back to its “traditional ‘76ers basketball’ logo and red, white and blue color scheme. The basketball logo was last used during the 1996-97 season and consists of a color scheme that was originally established in 1963 and used during the Sixers’ two championship seasons in 1966-67 and 1982-83.” (link)
I can’t even begin to tell you how happy this makes The Blot. The logo you see above is a classic and something that should have never been abandoned in the first place. The 76ers tried to become “hip” with a modern logo and dark color scheme, and you know what? It failed. The team had a few good years with Iverson, but ever since he left the franchise it has been searching for an identity…an identity it has had all along. Just by reverting to their classic logo and traditional red, white and blue color scheme the franchise will be able to remind its city of their championship years and reenergize its fan base.
What it is that makes teams feel like they need to mess with their look? It always seems to be for a piss poor reason, like the opening of a new stadium, the drafting of a potentially amazing player or to give a facelift to a team in rebuilding mode. But whatever the reason is, it’s typically the wrong decision. Just think of all the classic team logos and color schemes in the four major North American sports leagues and I can almost guarantee not a one of them has changed their logo or colors: teams like the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in baseball, the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys in football and the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers in basketball. Thankfully, we can now add another franchise to that list…the Philadelphia 76ers.