Mike Griffith: How the Brontos nearly came to be
| Friday, Mar 13 2009 02:20 AM
Last Updated Wednesday, Mar 25 2009 06:16 PM
Loading Stories
Advertisement
UTAH AT CONDORS
When:Tonight, 7
Where:Rabobank Arena
Radio:KGEO (1230), 6:45
Condors record:26-29-7, 59 points
Grizzlies record:23-22-16, 62 points
Series:Bakersfield is 4-1-0
Notes:The Condors head into tonight’s game in a precarious playoff position: percentage points ahead of Phoenix, which has played four fewer games, for the eighth and final spot in the ECHL National Conference. But the Condors also have a shot at overtaking Stockton, Utah and Las Vegas over the final 10 games.
“They’re important,” Condors coach Marty Raymond said of a stretch of four straight games against Utah. “Now we can smell (the playoffs) more and we have to get points.” ... Raymond also said a trade by today’s noon deadline was unlikely as he has 19 players on hand with five others currently in the American Hockey League. However, he did hold open the possibility of bringing in some college players next week ... The first 2,000 kids 12 and under at tonight’s game receive a free Matt Pope youth jersey. Pope, who leads the Condors with 30 goals, is on loan to Binghamton, N.Y. in the AHL.
Images:
These pins were produced by the Bakersfield Fog booster club to start an anti-Brontos campaign. Californiansportswriter Mike Griffith held on to these pins as keepsakes.
Just more than 11 years ago news leaked out that the new owner of the Bakersfield Fog was contemplating a name change to go with the new Centennial Garden arena being built adjacent to the Civic Auditorium.
Management was keeping a list of potential names close to the vest, but on Feb., 20, 1998 one emerged in a column I penned: brontosaurus.
That's right. The Fog, a name many railed against at first but most grew to embrace, was possibly going to morph into the Bakersfield Brontosauruses. Brontos for shorts since Brontosauruses doesn't really roll off the tongue.
"Certainly no one wants to see the team called the Bakersfield Brontos (short for brontosauruses)," I wrote back in 1998. "The image of purple Barneys is nauseating to most everyone over the age of 5."
Three name changes later — Centennial Garden is now Rabobank Arena, the Civic Auditorium is Rabobank Theater and the Fog are the Condors — the Brontos have been resurrected. At least for a night.
The Condors will don special Bakersfield Brontos jerseys on Saturday night in honor of the team name that was a finalist along with the Condors. The jerseys will be auctioned off after the game with proceeds going to the Petroleum Shrine Club.
The Brontos on the special jerseys aren't purple. They're green. Probably to make sure there won't be any Barney (I love you, you love me...) references.
I can live with a night of seeing the team skating around with purple, er, green dinosaur jerseys. If for no other reason than to be thankful for the name Condors.
Eleven years ago there was virtually zero fan support for a name change to brontosaurus. In fact, the Fog booster club went so far to to produce two picture pins of a goofy-looking brontosaurus — one with a circle around it and slash through it and the other with the words "Just Say No" printed above — to jump-start the anti-Brontos campaign.
When asked to write in with name suggestions 11 years ago, not one fan touted the Brontos. Most were comfortable with Fog which was the No. 1 choice in the informal poll.
As for new names, Bandits was the most popular choice. Interestingly, Wranglers (the nickname of Las Vegas) and Thunder (Stockton's nickname) were also suggested.
There were plenty of double-B offerings, as in Bakersfield Brahmas, Badgers, Bobcats, Bison, Blast, Blades, Burn, Banshee and Bombers.
Oh yeah. Condors was also among suggested names.
And for the record, brontosauruses are truly extinct. Actually, they never existed. The Brontosaurus was really an Apatosaurus. But that's another story.
