When A Classic Logo Dies, What Should Replace It?

We trace Zebulon’s winding baseball lineage from Savannah and Columbus to the Mudcats, then pull apart the Wilson Warbirds rebrand before diving into an Aussie-powered Devil Dogz identity and the future of Five County Stadium. Expect history, hot design takes, and real talk about stadium fixes and fan culture.

• Savannah to Lynchburg franchise shift and boycott context
• Birth of the Mudcats name and $500 logo origin
• Why the Mudcats brand became a minor league landmark
• Wilson Warbirds name and logo issues critiqued
• Tobbs pause and move to Smithfield explained
• Devil Dogz concept: Australian roster meets local denim lore
• Logo breakdown: character, Z-tail cap mark, brand cohesion
• Five County Stadium realities and planned renovations
• Food, merch, and cap-buying strategies for fans
• Plugs for new pods and upcoming travel plans

“CBM25 for 25% off”

Transcript

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Cold Open And Banter

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I got the Saint Kilda Saints here. The Aussie Rules footy team.

SPEAKER_03 0:04

There it is. Okay. See, there you go. I knew you would you would come through. All right. Cool, cool, cool. By the way, we're like, it's been like four minutes. We're still we have we started recording. We haven't even done my intro yet. And we haven't even started.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

So let's just you you're the one who brought the two of us on here together.

SPEAKER_03 0:19

I know. This is just cut.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

You can keep everything except the stuff where we talk about Eric. Just cut that part out. Yeah, and it yeah, you know what I'm gonna do? Even this part of me saying we cut out stuff about Eric.

SPEAKER_03 0:30

I should put that in the intro and just leave it there. And Eric is like, why are they talking about me? That should just be the intro. I know. You know what? That is the intro.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

So okay, let's go.

Welcome And Guest Intros

SPEAKER_03 0:49

Welcome everybody to the DHT podcast. And with me, I got my two good friends, if you guys already know, uh Kelly of the Minor League Nerd. And then Paul, what is your podcast again? No one knows about it.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

We like to call it baseball by design. It's kind of a double entendre because by design means intentionally, but it also means graphic design. So it's a little bit of a double entendre with the old baseball by design.

SPEAKER_03 1:16

Well, oh, of course. Paul would never do something simple.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

The Thinking Man's podcast. I know, right? It starts with the name. I know.

SPEAKER_03 1:26

Great, awesome. Yeah. So yeah. Uh, all

Setting The Topic: Zebulon Baseball

SPEAKER_03 1:30

right, guys. So the reason why we are here, obviously, as you guys already hear from what we've been talking about, we are talking about Zebulon, North Carolina, right? So there recently there was a team announced um that

Coastal Plain League Pedantry

SPEAKER_03 1:43

it is going to be um primarily all Australian baseball players, right? It's a collegiate uh team going to be playing in the Coastal Plains League. Uh, very excited for that. They are going to be playing where the Mudcatch used to play, which is interesting, right? We'll go, we'll get into that here in a little bit, but we wanted I wanted to uh talk to you guys a little bit about the history of Zebulon in baseball, uh the mud cats, all that fun stuff. And then obviously, we brought in Paul here for comedic uh purposes only.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Um, what about uh grammatic pedantry? Can I can I also be in charge of pedantry?

SPEAKER_03 2:20

You know what? Absolutely, 100%. I I know where you're going with this, so we're gonna go and we're gonna let it be.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

You know, it's the coastal plane league. There's no S on the end of planes. The coastal plane league. Here we go.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

See, this is I I was gonna say something, but I didn't want to come off like plain coastal plane league.

SPEAKER_03 2:38

Okay, sorry, boys and girls.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

Kelly didn't want to be a pet aunt, but I'm fine with it.

SPEAKER_03 2:43

Yeah, I'm glad, yeah. See, and then we're gonna spend some time together. This is some BS, this is what it is. Uh okay, we're and then we're gonna talk about the new team, right? Obviously, we're gonna have um the new name. Um, we're gonna talk about the design and all that fun stuff, and that's why honestly, really why we have uh Paul here for that. So, uh guys, let's get started. Let's go ahead and talk a little bit about our history, uh uh Kelly, about Zebulon and baseball. Tell me, give me, give me, give me some history, my friend.

Deep History: From Savannah To Mudcats

SPEAKER_01 3:11

So they've only had the city itself, has only ever had the one team, the Carolina Municips. But the team didn't start in Zebulon, they moved there, and they can actually be traced all the way back to 1962, uh, where they played in the South Atlantic League, which uh rebranded in 1964 as what we know today the Southern League. Uh so the team actually began in Savannah, Georgia, uh because uh uh that they started there in 62, uh, but they had a little problem in Savannah. There was a problem with um uh there was an NAACP boycott against the South Atlantic League, specifically focusing in on Savannah due to segregated ballpark. Uh so the fan uh the the team wasn't drawing as well as other Savannah teams had, so they actually ended up moving uh to City Stadium in Lynchburg for the last 10 home games of the season. Uh but if you look up today, like if you look up the standings for the 1962 South Atlantic League, it's usually listed as the Savannah slash Lynchburg White Sox, but they continued to play as the Savannah White Sox in Lynchburg.

SPEAKER_03 4:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

Um, and the team they stayed, they didn't go back to Savannah or move anywhere else. They stayed in Lynchburg. Uh, and then Savannah actually didn't get another professional team until 1968. Oh wow. Uh so it took a few years, and it probably had to do with uh the the ballpark being segregated. I don't didn't look into that far because we're not talking about Savannah. Uh but as I mentioned in 64, the the South Atlantic League rebranded as the Southern League, uh, starting fresh records, like all you know, dropping all the old history, starting a brand basically a brand new league. Uh the Lynchburg White Sox were founding members, and they played there for two seasons, 64 and 65. Uh after the 65 season, they moved to Evansville, Indiana, where they play continued using Paul's favorite, the their parent club name. They were the Evansville White Sox.

SPEAKER_03 5:17

He loves that, doesn't he?

SPEAKER_01 5:20

And then after those three seasons, they moved to Columbus, Georgia. They went back south because it's kind of insane to have Evansville when everyone else is much further south. Uh, and they played as again as the Columbus White Sox for one season, and then they switched affiliations. They actually switched over to the Houston Astros and played as the Columbus Astros. What from 1970 to 1988 didn't didn't work on getting a new name. So for 18 years, yes, yeah, as okay. And then in 1988, uh a guy named Steve Bryant bought the team. And uh quoting him here, he uh he wanted to bring in a local, more local name uh that fits with the area, yeah. So he held the name the team. They they worked on naming a team, they held a contest, and they decided to add the Columbus Mudcats.

SPEAKER_03 6:22

If I get one more text message from Paul right now, I might just lose my shit. I just want you to know that.

SPEAKER_00 6:27

I just want the because the listeners are shocked. 19 years, guys, 19 years, 1970 to 1988 is 19 years.

SPEAKER_03 6:34

19 years. I'm sorry, Kelly. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 6:41

It's gonna be that episode, isn't it?

SPEAKER_03 6:43

It is that episode.

Naming The Mudcats And Scrambled Dogs

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Um, so so I actually have a quote here uh about what C. Brian on the the name Mud Cat's name. Uh saying, uh, some people will say it's a silly name. People either love the name or hate it. There will be no middle, there'll be little middle ground, but they aren't talking about it.

SPEAKER_03 7:03

I mean it's he's not he wasn't wrong.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

Not at all. Yeah, here are here we are, what uh almost 40 years later.

SPEAKER_03 7:09

I'm not giving you how many years later. I'm not giving you how many years later.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

Almost 40 years later. Uh the name actually uh was submitted by a guy who worked for the Columbus Ledger uh Inquirer and Inquirer, uh the local paper. And his were saying on it, or what he said about it, was some people might think it think of it as a uh paper, some people might not think of it as a dignified name, but heck, what's dignity got to do with it? Baseball is supposed to be fun.

SPEAKER_03 7:39

Again, not wrong.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

Uh but I did find in the article what the other possible choices were now for uh the team, besides Mudcats. Uh, they were the cannons, the colonels, the crush, the explorers, the pride, the river rats, and the scramble dogs. Scrambled dogs.

SPEAKER_00 8:07

This is my favorite. I love this one so much.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Apparently, scramble dogs is like a local dish.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

May I, Kelly? May you mind if I this is because we're we're delving into my my area of expertise here.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Yeah, I say I know you you you were there what last year.

SPEAKER_00 8:26

Well, we were there last year, but I also I uh I wrote a story for uh sportslogos.net uh for my story behind the nickname series, and I stumbled across the whole scrambled dogs thing when I was writing that.

SPEAKER_03 8:38

Such a good name.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

It's uh it was found, uh it was a delicacy found in a drugstore in Columbus. Uh Scrambled Dogs refers to hot dogs chopped up into coleslaw with onions, pickles, beans, and oyster crackers.

SPEAKER_03 8:54

Never mind.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

How great is that? I would I I'm hungry right now. We're recording at dinner time right now, and so for you, it's true. Here in the fake mountain time zone, it is exactly dinner time. Scrambled dogs, though. I don't know about you know, for a for a uh a team name because that's a very specific definition of a scrambled dog, but uh but as a food item, uh sign me up. I'm ready.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

Yeah, it's it's funny because in in the article it mentions how he like he's it was too hyperlocal, and he wanted people around the country to be able to understand it, and so scramble dogs is like, you know, that that won't work. I don't know, he might have been thinking about merch. He it wasn't brought up in the article because it's just from January of 89, but yeah, that was probably somewhere in the back of his head.

SPEAKER_03 9:39

I mean, honestly, uh with today's minor league, I think it probably would have fit just fine.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Yeah, actually, it's funny. I I mentioned it to Christina when I was researching this, and she's like, that sounds like something that would actually probably be thought of now.

SPEAKER_00 9:52

Yeah, yeah, it would absolutely be an alternate

The Iconic Mudcats Logo Origin

SPEAKER_00 9:55

identity now. Yeah, I'm um Kelly. I don't want to steal any thunder of yours.

SPEAKER_03 9:59

There he goes again.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

Are you gonna talk about the designer of the logo and the creation of the logo? Because I could back off if you are that I was not.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

I figured that would be something you would talk about.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

Okay, all right, I can talk about that, but I'll wait my turn.

SPEAKER_03 10:09

Are you sure?

SPEAKER_00 10:10

I don't know. I could interject now. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 10:12

Do we have like a no there is no there is no you can go ahead and interject, my friend, please.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

That logo, the Mudcat's logo, was created by an artist for the local paper in Columbus, uh, a guy named Frank Harrod, who got five hundred dollars for creating that logo, went on to be incredibly successful for decades. Like the amount of stuff they serve they sold using that logo, you know, designers nowadays are getting tens of thousands of dollars for for creating these logos, and Frank Harrod got five hundred dollars.

SPEAKER_03 10:48

Can I ask you a question? And I know and I I I think I have the book uh for this. Didn't didn't he win this, like the original, like win this, like or like something like that during a poker game?

SPEAKER_00 11:00

The yeah, the owner of the team, this guy uh last name was Bryant. What was his name? Steve Bryant. Steve Bryant, right, right. And you said that already. Yeah, sorry, Kelly. Uh, when he bought the uh team, he uh the the quote he gave me for this story was I bought it from four doctors in Columbus, Georgia on a Saturday night. They pulled out a fifth of Jack Daniels on the negotiating table, and at the end of the night, I brought I bought a baseball team. He had never been to a game before.

SPEAKER_03 11:26

And like hot.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Yeah, and then then like the next day he went, it was like a hot Sunday afternoon in like friggin' August, and he went to this game, and like the stands are you know, like there's just a scattering of people, and he tells a story about how like there was a foul ball hit to like into like an empty section of stands, and people just like looked and just left it. They were like, We can't, like it's too hot. And he's like, Oh god, what have I done?

SPEAKER_03 11:53

I'm not doing this. I'm automatically regretting this.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

Yeah, yeah. This story of him uh buying this is just so fun.

SPEAKER_03 12:02

And that's what I thought, you know, because I I remember um the uh the

Move To Zebulon And Stadium Birth

SPEAKER_03 12:07

the story on it. So thank you very much, Paul, for giving us that information.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

I'm happy to be here with this. This is honestly like this is one of my favorite stories. The the Mud Cats story, and it's one of the reasons I'm so sad to see it go, because I know we're gonna get to the Wilson Warbirds. That logo is like like the name is terrible, but the logo is worse. Like it's a it's a genuinely dead logo that's poorly designed somehow by professional designers. Yeah. Sorry.

SPEAKER_03 12:34

And this was done by a prof by a by a design team.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

Uh yeah, it was done by a design firm. Yeah, yeah. Not a firm that does a ton of work in uh minor league baseball, but like holy smokes. I don't know like where this design firm is based, but I hope that they invent letter spacing there someday because it's uh you know, it's a it's a valuable tool in designing logos. I think I think I read it with I think it was a Milwaukee. It's a Milwaukee, yeah. It's a Milwaukee because that's where the brewers are and that's a brewer's affiliate, right?

SPEAKER_03 13:03

I will hold Jud you know my my opinions until we talk about it that came in.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

All right, all right. I guess you could park a car between that L and the S of Wilson, is all I'm saying.

SPEAKER_03 13:18

Yeah, and I I I never thought that we I was gonna say this, but you know, it's Christmas all around with that uniform. Jesus. Anyways, uh all right, continuing with the history, my friend.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Uh so Bryant decided to move the team. Uh, and when he did, he was looking around. He wanted to make sure he went to an area where there was no chance for like major league or minor league competition. Okay, so that's when he settled on Zebulon because at the time, yeah, there was nothing there.

SPEAKER_03 13:52

Still nothing there.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

Yeah. There was even less back then. Uh yeah, he chose Zebulon uh because it was close to Raleigh, uh, but also outside the territorial rights of the Durham Bulls and any other teams. Okay, they so they they tried to build the park quickly because they didn't have much time to do it, and they went for metal seating originally rather than the traditional concrete, uh, which was eventually uh replaced. Okay. They went and replaced that.

SPEAKER_03 14:23

So they couldn't play this uh the game in doing today at all.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

No, no, god, no.

SPEAKER_03 14:28

Yeah, I mean we imagine just roasting in that thing.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

I I I was surprised uh we're not surprised that, but when you when you were did the the talking to uh the guy from the team about it and about how they he was talking about how that yeah, we we're not gonna do day games. I just keep thinking back to the the oh 24 meetup when Donnie went up there just to try just to experience it and came down and was just like drenched and stuff.

SPEAKER_03 14:50

He was just cooked. The good also the cool thing is that they're removing those those uh benches uh by the third base side because no one wants to sit over that thing. There's nothing over there, there's

Pensacola Move And Kinston Continuity

SPEAKER_03 15:02

no air, there's no shades, nothing is you know, and I I I I congratulate them on actually doing something like that.

SPEAKER_01 15:10

So there's actually a tie to Wilson with this team because their the uh five county stadium actually wasn't ready when they they got there, so they actually played at Fleming Stadium in Wilson for like the first uh uh two months. They ended up they they didn't play in uh five county stadium until July 3rd, uh where they drew a standing room only crowd of 7,333.

SPEAKER_03 15:36

That's a lot, let me tell you.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

Uh winning the game six to one. So it was a night game. I'm sure it was a night game. It doesn't say for sure, but I'm sure it was a night game. Uh but then uh Quentin Studer uh ended up buying the team. Uh Quent uh ended up moving the team to Pensacola. He's also the guy who's running the uh the Bloyd Skycarp. Um, so he he bought the team in 2010, but they didn't actually move to Pensacola until 2012. But as part of his agreement with buying the team, he and his wife helped uh Steve Bryant purchase the Kinston Indians of the Carolina League. So that way Zebulon would get a team as soon as they left. So when the the Blue Ahoos came about in 2012, uh Zebulon had a team still, once again using the Mud Cat's name. And uh then that's the team they they moved there in 2011. Uh the team actually started in Kinston in 1978 as the Kinston Eagles uh Go Birds. Go Birds, uh then they played as the Kinston Blue Jays, and then uh in 87 they were the kin became the Kinston Indians using that until 2011. And then so that brings us up to the team that existed all the way through last season.

SPEAKER_03 17:07

I I know Paul is not is gonna disagree with me here. I missed the Kinston Indians logos.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

I do disagree with you. You're absolutely I don't I know you're 100% right.

Wilson Warbirds Rebrand Critique

SPEAKER_00 17:20

I disagree with you.

SPEAKER_03 17:23

I miss it. I mean, I was like, I grew up a c an Indians fan, so like it was it was part of the history there.

SPEAKER_01 17:28

So, anyways, moving on. Yeah, I do have a Kinston Indians cap that I actually got. Uh we had a short-lived new era store here back in shoot, I don't remember when it was like 2010, 2011, and they happened to have it, so I just grabbed it.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

Dan Simon did some work for the Kinston Indians. I don't know if he did that logo particularly, but I know that he did some work for for them.

SPEAKER_03 17:52

I like that. That's pretty cool. I guess that dude. I guess, whatever. All right, moving on. So we got we currently so the team decided that they are so the the team that was there until 2025 moved to now what is the the Wilson Warbirds. Um I agree with you, Paul. The team name, the logo is it leaves a lot to be desired. How's that?

SPEAKER_00 18:26

It's just such a shame to when like they could have stayed the Mudcats, right? Like they're still in Carolina, correct.

SPEAKER_01 18:34

You know, the the city of Kinston who paid for the ballpark, from what I read, wanted the signifier Kinston used. Wilson. I'm sorry, sorry, Wilson, wrong wrong way. Yeah, they want they wanted it well, they wanted Wilson to be in the team name. Okay, since they coughed up the money to build the ballpark. The Wilson Mudcats.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

I don't know. Wilson Mudcats, I I mean, I know. I they they want they do they want a rebrand. Rebrands are hit or miss. I'm one of it, but and I know that some people there are some people who like this rebrand, uh for reasons that are not related to graphic design, I can tell you that. Um but it is, yeah, it's it's not it's it's not a good logo, and it's a shame to lose a classic identity like this Mudcats one, right? Like this Mudcats one was really distinctive. It was an important logo in the history of minor league baseball. I mean, like, you know, as Kelly was just explaining, right? Like this was this this was a logo that helped establish minor league baseball brands as viable independent things rather than being you know just little permutations of of parent clubs. Yeah, so it's an important logo historically, it was a great logo. It was it was it wasn't just nostalgia that people are holding on to, right? Like it was a really genuinely fun logo for a minor team.

SPEAKER_03 19:56

I love that we got there uh you know shortly before the demise of that that uh that and in all honesty, I think that was the reason why we went uh to that game.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We were we were all under the impression that 2024 was the last year. You guys went and played catch after the game that they're like, oh no, we got another year here.

SPEAKER_03 20:22

Like, oh yeah, thanks, thanks for letting us know.

SPEAKER_00 20:25

Kind of like uh we all thought 2026 was gonna be the last year of the Syracuse Mets, and it turns out there's one more year of Syracuse Mets coming.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Yeah, that's uh thinks thanks copyright law.

SPEAKER_00 20:36

Whoops, C Day C. Wilson Warbirds, though, terrible.

SPEAKER_03 20:40

I don't like it, I don't like it. The the logo, they're trying to be like this like nostalgic, like vintage logo, and it's it doesn't work, right?

SPEAKER_01 20:53

I I will say, uh yeah, I don't like the name, I don't like the logo, but I don't mind what they have on the cap, the the bird, just the bird that I don't mind.

SPEAKER_03 21:02

It's like I'm definitely have no

Why The Warbirds Identity Misses

SPEAKER_03 21:05

problem eventually adding that to my collection, but everything else about it is just not we did see so during the uh the the DHC Sports Show, we went on their website and then we did there was like one more hat which was the W on it.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

Yeah, that actually looks pretty good too.

SPEAKER_03 21:22

Yeah, that I don't mind that one, but other than that, like the the the uniform is not good. Um, you look like it's a Christmas, you know, Santa pajama. Um, and so again again, you know, like and Paul, you're obviously you're you do this for a living, right? With the whole graphic design and logos. I just it it's such a drop from like the the logo that the Mudcats was to what this is now, and it's sad.

SPEAKER_00 21:53

Yeah, I mean that's for me uh you know, there's just to see, and and I'm I I Generally, I am fairly positive about logos, right? Like, I I am not someone who just like is gonna automatically game say like any change is bad change, right? But if you're gonna replace a classic logo, you better do a good job of it. And uh this is you know, they were they were trying to do sort of like three different things with this, and they're trying to make it sort of like stoic and patriotic, and also but also still sort of like a little bit wacky with the alliteration and everything, and it's just uh you know, this they're trying to make this eagle look kind of badass, and and they've got him as like a character standing like a human figure with like a bird head. It's just it's so it's not just an anthropomorphic eagle, it's like a it's like a half human, half bird character standing there with his hand in his pocket, and it's like uh, you know, so uh and then typographically, I mean it's just not that a professional designer should know how to do typography and this the the way they have Wilson set up on a curve.

SPEAKER_03 23:02

You let him know.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

It just I I don't know how to let them know. Like, I just because I'm like if I were to meet this designer and they were like, Oh, yeah, we did a minor league baseball logo, I'd be like, What's your favorite movie? Like, let's talk about something else.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

Like, I just wouldn't even know the thing that still sticks in my mind when when it came out, Paul, of you saying, Wow, I really hope I don't know the person who designed this.

SPEAKER_00 23:27

Right, right, yeah, right. Because that was before, and that was sort of my immediate reaction to it, and then it's just that reaction just kept getting reinforced. And you know, as we all have, we've gotten to know you know folks in this industry, and I just thought, like, if this is, you know, obviously Dan Simon is a good friend of mine. I'm like, if this is Dan, I'm not gonna know how to talk to him about it. If this is, you know, I mean, brandy.

SPEAKER_03 23:51

Right, we're gonna be like, bro, I'm sorry, man.

SPEAKER_00 23:56

Like, yeah, they're not they can't all be winners, I guess, right?

SPEAKER_03 23:59

Like, no, so you what I would ask would be like, okay, was this like, did you have any pushback? Like, or was that was it the team that was dead set on this? Because I can excuse you at that point and saying, no, no, this was like the team, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 24:14

Yeah, yeah. I mean, there are logos that exist out there. By the way, the top of his head, like the leather hat, the top of his head looks like a butt. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_03 24:23

I'm on their website right now, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:24

That's what the top of the bird head looks like a butt on on top of his head. But I mean, so we had this, we had this conversation after the Modesto Roadsters came out, right? Like the designer who created the Roadsters logo basically just said, like, oh yeah, there's a thousand elements to this primary logo because Dave Heller, the owner of the team, kept saying, like, how about this and how about this? And so, you know, part of a designer's job is to educate the client and be like, Look, we can we can use those elements in different ways, maybe as alternate logos and that sort of thing, but you can't have 25 elements in one logo and call it a logo, then it's an illustration, a cool illustration, but not a logo, and so you know, so a designer's job is to educate on on that sort of thing. And so the styles may end up being different, right? Like, but there are still some basic rules of logo design that you know are gonna lead you to a specific place, right? Like in this, and and so this this mud cats, oh sorry, the the the war birds logo just has so many elements of it that are poorly designed, and it's frustrating because, like, if it were a brand new team and they're just like,

Tobbs Relocation And Smithfield Plans

SPEAKER_00 25:35

Hey, we're a brand new team and we have this crappy logo, they'd be like, Well, okay, brand new team with a crappy logo, but to replace the iconic logo, yeah, that's a problem. We didn't mean to bring you that filet mignon. Uh, here's this Big Mac.

SPEAKER_03 25:49

I mean, don't leave me hate on a Big Mac, though, bro.

SPEAKER_00 25:52

I know I want a Big Mac right now. I'm very hungry right now. I should I should point out I'm very hungry.

SPEAKER_03 25:57

I cannot wait for this episode to drop tomorrow morning.

SPEAKER_01 26:01

And I'm sure defenders of it would say, like, oh, you you know, you're gonna hate anything. And chances are, yeah, probably because you're replacing something so iconic, but but but you're like saying, like you said, if you're going to replace such an iconic, it needs to be like you need to hit on all points, like when it comes to that.

SPEAKER_03 26:19

And and you didn't, but it can be done.

SPEAKER_00 26:22

I mean, look at like when the cannapolis intimidators were basically forced out of being the intimidators because of the change of ownership of that team, correct. And Taylor and Hart's estate, you know, wanted basically basically they didn't have full ownership over their brand, and so they were forced into a situation where they they had to change. And they did the canap, and they did the canapolis cannonballers who were awesome, right?

SPEAKER_03 26:45

I love the logo, 100%.

SPEAKER_00 26:47

Yeah, and it was like one of those things where, like, okay, you replaced a classic with an instant classic.

SPEAKER_01 26:51

And so we we we dropped a mint when we were uh in their team store two years ago. I believe it. I believe it.

SPEAKER_03 26:58

So did I. I got like five or six other hats, and I'm planning on buying another one because I still haven't bought the Q's uh logo one.

SPEAKER_00 27:04

So yeah, the yeah, the curly Qs.

SPEAKER_01 27:07

Yep, I got that one. Yeah, see? So question, question. So if

Enter The Zebulon Devil Dogs

SPEAKER_01 27:12

so if your your options, you know, Wilson Warbirds or Wilson Brewers, where would you go?

SPEAKER_00 27:21

Like if I'm in the team store and I'm and I have to buy something, or what would I prefer for that team? Gunned your head, you gotta buy something.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

I'd say pull the trigger. Um, yeah, no, and no, as as as a team, like you this is the design you have, yeah. But if there was an option, like we could have gone with the the what we would have gone with the Wilson Brewers and gone with the 12 Brewers look. Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_00 27:43

Which as which would you say you would prefer? You know, uh this is this I see what you're trying to do here to me, Kelly.

SPEAKER_03 27:50

This is I appreciate you doing this, Kelly.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

This is Kelly's choice right here. Um, I would uh you know, I'd go with the war birds. I mean, I would over over a parent club.

SPEAKER_03 28:00

But you would probably pick like the W, which is like, you know, it's like as nondescript as it is, like it's just a W and then be done with it.

SPEAKER_00 28:08

Or just like the the the bird butt head, right? Like I could have a bird butt head on a on a on a t-shirt there, so that's you know, I could do that. A bird that just pooped on your head on your head, uh pooped out of the top of his head, apparently, because that's where his human butt is located. He's gonna be thinking of it now as the bird dogs.

SPEAKER_03 28:23

Oh well, yeah. Or look at or would you have rather been the was it the scramble dogs?

SPEAKER_00 28:30

Or the scrambled dogs, a hundred percent the scrambled dogs, but that's from Columbus, Georgia.

SPEAKER_03 28:35

That's not but you know how good that name would be right now, anyway. Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_00 28:39

Good name for uh for a you could have like an actual dog like looking all confused, right? Like I think someone needs to contact the uh Columbus Klingstones about uh let's get one Dan Simon on the horn since he designed the Klingstones logo.

SPEAKER_03 28:54

Let's and then be like, you know what, guys? I have this idea. Why don't we do do an alternate identity? Oh what if?

SPEAKER_00 29:03

Yeah, I want I want some scrambled dogs.

SPEAKER_03 29:06

I just want some scrambled eggs. Oh, wait, I had scrambled eggs this morning. Yeah, me too.

SPEAKER_00 29:10

I made enchiladas

Aussie Roster Concept And Name Layers

SPEAKER_00 29:12

and I had an enchilada for breakfast this morning. Uh they were leftover enchiladas that I had for breakfast. I make a mean enchilada though, let me just say that.

SPEAKER_03 29:19

Okay, yeah, we'll some we'll find out about that.

SPEAKER_00 29:22

Yeah, huh? We're gonna hang out.

SPEAKER_03 29:24

Yeah, we are. Um, okay. So obviously, you know, this episode it really doesn't tell anything has to do with Zebulon and the moves and everything. Um, and I think we killed the bird already. The bird's dead. Wilson Wallbirds are dead.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

Uh, we've we've done enough on that. Sorry, that's a change of subject real quick before we move on. Do we know what's happening to the tobbs?

SPEAKER_03 29:45

Are they sticking around or they are so they're they so the tobbs they because they were in Wilson, right? Um, they are not going to be playing this year. Okay, they're taking a day a year off because they're moving to Smithfield. Okay, and they're gonna be the Smithfield Tobbs.

SPEAKER_01 30:03

Okay, so they're keeping the Tobbs name because they are keeping the name. That's a name, that name's been around for like a long time.

SPEAKER_03 30:10

So yeah, and so this is that was one of the things I was that we were worried about. A lot of people um the follow here, the the the teams in North Carolina is like, okay, so what's where are they gonna go? Because you can't have two teams. Obviously, that the city decided that they're gonna put all their eggs on with the Wilson uh war birds, right? And the city in the town is small, too small to have two teams, right?

SPEAKER_00 30:33

Okay, now I'm thinking of Wilson Warbirds laying eggs.

SPEAKER_03 30:37

You're welcome. So, but yeah, they're they will play, but they will play next year because they're gonna be getting, I think they're getting a new stadium as well, uh, in Smithfield. Not not to the level of Wilson, but right, yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 30:51

Okay, yeah, because I'm excited. I I was concerned and I made sure to order caps because I didn't have anything from them.

SPEAKER_03 30:56

So I wish I did. I didn't. So anyways. Um all right, so let let's um um let's move on to now the the team that moved into the the where the Zebulon in Zebulon, right? Where the where the Mudcats RIP used to be, right? And so this is Five County Stadium. Okay, thank you, sir.

SPEAKER_00 31:26

That's just like, hey, we were all there. It's five county stadium. It was home to the Mudcats, now it's home to our Devil Dogs with a Z.

SPEAKER_03 31:33

See, I knew you I was waiting. I was waiting for you to say that.

SPEAKER_00 31:37

You you no longer have your but they're Australian, so should it be Devil Dogs with a Z?

SPEAKER_03 31:42

Eh the hey, hey, hey. Uh all right, so let's go ahead and and and and talk about this team. Yeah, um, Mr. Paul Caputo, I'll give you the floor.

SPEAKER_00 31:56

You know how I've been uh correcting you on things and like I've been making it my my goal to be like a total pet ant. Uh jerk, yes, absolutely jerk, sorry, jerk, good correction, good correction. For many years, I have been telling people that the connection between Colorado and Zebulon, North Carolina is that in Colorado, I almost made Ed spit. I haven't even gotten too much on yet. In in Colorado, we have Pikes Peak, uh, which is not the tallest mountain in Colorado, but it sort of stands alone down there by Colorado Springs. And uh, you know, it's a it's a it's a very uh striking mountain, and it's uh home to a lot of uh visitors who like to climb it. You can even drive to the top of it. It's one of our 14,000-foot mountains out here in Colorado, named for Zebulon Pike. And for many years, I have been telling people that Zebulon, North Carolina uh is named for Zebulon Pike, the explorer who uh explored uh on behalf of the Western colonizers here in North America. Uh, he extended well beyond the Mississippi and made it out to southern Colorado. And uh Pike's Peak was named for Zebulon Pike. Zebulon, North Carolina, not named for Zebulon Pike. I have been telling people all these years that they were named

Logo Details And Cap Marks

SPEAKER_00 33:12

for the same person. Zebulon, North Carolina, named for Zebulon Baird Vance, a uh North Carolina politician from the 1800s. So my apologies to everyone who I have told that to. I hope that your listening right now to this podcast.

SPEAKER_03 33:30

Such a liar. Uh but you know what though?

SPEAKER_00 33:33

What's that?

SPEAKER_03 33:34

The the story sounds better when you say it's like, oh, the other's just a connection between you know Colorado and North Carolina. Right now it's just like well, it's two different Zebulons, right?

SPEAKER_01 33:45

Now I wonder if the adult bookstore that uh was near where I lived that was named Zebulon, if that was named after the explorer, uh or the politician, politician, right?

SPEAKER_00 33:57

Now the connection between Colorado and North Carolina is uh of course curved brim. Yeah, the the curve also the Z. Yes, that's true. Uh so this this team, I I love the premise for this team. Ed, I loved part one of this uh uh this series you have exploring this this new team in your hometown in a ballpark where we have visited this devil dogs logo is uh is a lot of fun. And it was created uh and and Ed, you were my my man on the inside for this. For the the article I wrote for sportslogos.net, I asked you to track down the name of the because I know that you are connection to the team. Yep. Teams, I wish they would do a better job of like putting out press releases and crediting designers of these logos because they make it such a freaking project to figure out who designed them.

SPEAKER_03 34:49

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 34:50

You tracked down for us, Ed, that this logo was created by Brian Begley, who I know has been on uh the baseball by design podcast because he was responsible for the Christy, the Crystal Coast Booty Divers.

SPEAKER_03 35:06

Such a good one.

SPEAKER_00 35:09

I love the I don't I love the whole booty divers, triple, quadruple entres in that logo and that uh that identity. Uh super fun guy, super fun to talk to uh uh about that brand. And so I may have to get him back on to do another episode with him uh with this logo. Uh totally fun one. It has a couple of different meanings. Uh, obviously, we've already mentioned that this team is going to be largely, if not entirely, Australian baseball players, all Australian baseball players and their head coach. We have uh the Fort Collins Foxes out here in uh Fort Collins, Colorado, and that's a collegiate summer level team in the Rocky Mountain Baseball League. Although maybe they're changing the Kelly and I were texting about this. There's a little sort of shifting around out here with these teams. But uh they have uh they have always had a couple of Australian players uh on their team, and I've always thought, like, oh, that's interesting. There's like like college baseball is big enough in Australia that we have college baseball players you know from Australia here in the United States, and not only do we have enough of them to feel like a smattering of them, but we have enough to make a whole team uh here in the coastal plain without an S League. The Zebulon Devil Dogs, it's a fun brand that it's based on because it's Australian uh players, uh, there's a double entangre to this name. There is the the the the Devil Dogs themselves are Australia's uh little little scavengers, the Tasmanian devil. Uh when they turn two, they have a stronger bite than

Merch Talk And Cap Preferences

SPEAKER_00 36:48

like a crocodile or something. I learned some like amazing stat and I've forgotten what it is, but they have a stronger jaw clamp down bite than like a crocodile does when they turn two years old. And I saw a bunch of uh this was at the at a at a zoo in Tasmania in Australia. Uh, they had Tasmanian devils there, and they gave them basically like a rack of kangaroo ribs, and they just like friggin' devoured it, just like tore it apart. Uh and uh, you know, and they're like they there's been this terrible disease affecting them for many years that they're working on trying to fix fix. It's like basically like a nose fungus, uh and that it's it's it's really damaged their populations. And one of the ways you can tell that the populations are down is that there's like roadkill in Tasmania, because you know, the Tasmanian devils, like the moment an animal would get killed, they would just like tear it apart and there wouldn't be you know a sign of it. And so now that you know you see that there's roadkill on on the roads and in in Tasmania. So, anyway, that's neither here nor there. I do have, by the way, an adorable picture of my then three-year-old daughter petting a little baby Tasmanian devil, and that was before they get dangerous. So it's like one of my all-time favorite photos, okay. Anyway, Tasmanian devils, they're wild. Uh, you know, our image of them is obviously the the cartoon that we all grew up with. Um, this logo is another sort of fun permutation of them. Uh, he's got his little devil horns, he's red. Uh, that is obviously not a color associated with Tasmanian Devils, the animals. Um, but he's wearing jeans. And why is he wearing why is he wearing jeans? Well, in Zebulon, North Carolina, named for the politician, not the explorer. Uh, there is a blue jeans manufacturer, longtime blue jeans manufacturer called Devil Dog Dungarees and uh old triple D, Devil Dog Dungarees. So Devil Dogs with a Z or a Zed, that's a reference to the animal. The Zed at the end of it is a reference to, of course, the Z at the beginning of Zebulon. Uh, and then of course the the dungarees. That explains why this mascot character is wearing some blue jeans out there uh on

Consulting Dreams And Inside Jokes

SPEAKER_00 39:10

the baseball field. He's got uh his tail, uh has a little, it's like a little devil tail. That's not what Tasmanian devils tails look like. He's got a little devil tail with the the the spike on the end, I guess. Is I don't the the the I don't know what you would call that thing on the end of it there, in the shape of, of course, the letter Z. Uh and then they have a great cap logo that is just that swoopy tail in the shape of the Z there with the with the the spikiness at the end of the city.

SPEAKER_03 39:40

I cannot wait for the rest of the merchandise to drop.

SPEAKER_00 39:42

I know, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh and we may have to get back there, Ed. You know, when I when I live on the East Coast, I may just have to drive down there and we'll we'll go see a uh I'm in uh a Zebulon Devil Dogs with a Z game. It's gonna be great.

SPEAKER_03 39:54

You know it'll be there already, so let's go.

SPEAKER_00 39:58

Well, yeah, we might as well just go together, right? So lots of fun little little tidbits here. Uh I I do like the devil horns coming through the blue baseball cap. I I like that the the the devil dog is himself kind of kind of menacing looking, but also he's a little bit cute, right?

SPEAKER_02 40:16

Like he's a little bit cute, and he's uh he's throwing a baseball, right?

SPEAKER_00 40:22

Like, and he's not he's not cont like a lot of you know logos that show mascots in baseball poses have them like contorted into like the worst non-baseball positions, you know. He's this is you don't ever want to find yourself with your left foot forward while you'll throwing with uh uh you

Ballpark Reality At Five County

SPEAKER_00 40:42

know with your hands still back behind your head and your glove in front of your face, but you know, it's well that's one thing I noticed.

SPEAKER_03 40:48

And then do you notice that there's two zets in the he's got one on his jersey and one uh as his tail, right?

SPEAKER_00 40:55

Yep, uh yeah, which makes me kind of bothers me. Is he asleep?

SPEAKER_03 40:59

Is it like I don't I don't understand. I don't know. I I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Yeah, other than that, it's a great logo.

SPEAKER_00 41:07

It's a fun logo, it's you know, it feels uh like it was designed by a talented designer, but it's not it's distinctive, right? Like it has its own style. Uh because Brian Begley has not done a ton of work in minor league baseball, right? Like, so this is I think it's it's a fun sort of character-based logo without you know being overly uh uh it's it doesn't feel overdone, right? Like it feels it still feels sort of distinct to me, right? Like, and so I uh I I like it. And the sort of combination of the the animal and the blue jeans and the the sort of the the devil aspects of it. Um, you know, it's uh I think it's I think it's I think it's fun. I think it's really well done. Uh not too many like little Easter eggs or anything, but uh you know, I I think it's I think it's good. I like it.

SPEAKER_03 42:02

No, I I I don't hate it at all. I'm waiting, like I said, um I we did see some renderings right from the uniforms and we saw some other hats that they were gonna be bringing out, and I'm just waiting for another hat to drop. Yeah, I particularly, me personally, I'm okay with the with the Z. I wouldn't buy the hat with the with the letter on it. I I prefer to have like the character itself, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:27

There are more fun logos that but that's is that gonna be true for you of most teams? Like, is there a team that you can think of like there's a character, but I'm gonna buy this text-based one instead? No, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:40

I it's Wilson, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:43

Right, I'll get the W, right? Um, the only like I remember buying a text-based logo on a cap because it was a classic logo that I wanted, the the interlocking STP from the St. Paul Saints when we were there.

SPEAKER_03 42:57

I have that one.

SPEAKER_00 42:58

The first curve brim media meetup.

SPEAKER_03 43:00

That is correct. I have that one, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:02

It's a good hat.

SPEAKER_01 43:03

It's a good hat. I I assume the the the Z will probably be the road cap and then the uh the character head hopefully will be the home hat.

SPEAKER_03 43:10

Correct. Again, we're we're going into the speculation world here. I like or are they gonna do the blue hat with a red brim on there?

SPEAKER_00 43:20

You know, I mean, really what we're doing is just making our pitch to be hired as consultants by this team because honestly, if you listen to uh the DAC sports show, we have been pitching to minor league teams Kirkbridge as a CBM consulting. I love it. Okay, you know, CBM consulting. I'm gonna need a job soon.

SPEAKER_03 43:41

There you go. So CBM consulting, we will be doing uh, we will be ranking all of the teams, we will be telling you, hey, this works, this doesn't work, and you know, here's some suggestions. What do you think about that?

SPEAKER_00 43:54

When we have those meetings and we bring in CBM consulting as a team, it is Eric gonna talk more in those meetings. Meetings than he does on the show? Uh, probably not. He'll just give you the look.

SPEAKER_03 44:06

That's that's Eric. Okay. And for those of you that we keep saying Eric, Eric of the Earn Fun Average Podcast, you guys follow him, Eric Prophet. He's a really nice guy, but he he's not talkative at all. And he knows it too.

SPEAKER_00 44:19

He doesn't except on that podcast, he's like the lead guy on the podcast. He is the lead guy. Correct. He takes over on the podcast. Yeah. Chatty. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:27

Chatty Kathy over there. And then all of a sudden, you know, on the show, he's like, whatever. So that's I'm

Renovations, Food, And Fan Experience

SPEAKER_03 44:35

giving him that. I told her I already told him. So there you go. Anyway. Um, okay. Is there anything else that we haven't uh touched on on the on the on the town, on the logo, on the name itself? Um, I am very excited. Uh, will you guys try kangaroo meat?

SPEAKER_00 44:56

Not only will I, I have tried kangaroo meat.

SPEAKER_03 44:59

Woo!

SPEAKER_00 45:00

I have eaten kangaroo meat in Australia. They're very proud in Australia of the fact that they they told me, and I don't know if this is true, I haven't fact-checked this, uh, but they told me that theirs is the only country in the world where they eat their national animal. So I was I was at a conference, I was at a conference in uh in Australia in 2010, and we went to this uh little event, uh, this little like a pre-conference event, and they were walking around like they were the servers were walking around with these little tiny like slider style sandwiches, and they were like kangaroo meat, kangaroo meat, kangaroo meat. And my daughter, who was three at the time, well both of them were there, three and six, but Maya, the animal lover, who was three at the time, like child down on it. And we told her years later, we were like, we thought it was gonna be this like massive, you know, big emotional event when she learned that she had eaten kangaroo meat, and she was just like, uh, I remember it was kind of dry.

SPEAKER_03 46:04

So do tell how was uh kangaroo meat?

SPEAKER_00 46:07

It was so this was like ground kangaroo meat, and it was in patties, and it it was nondescript, uh like it was it was not it was a little bit dry, uh and um you know the Australians are are not really known for their culinary abilities, I wouldn't say it's like no one's like we're going out for Australian food. Um true, meat so yeah, so it was a it was a little, I would, you know, in in the form that I had it, it was a little sort of overcooked. It wasn't really like seasoned in any way, and so uh, you know, I remember eating it and being like sort of underwhelmed by by that as an experience.

SPEAKER_03 46:50

We should send them some Puerto Rican adobo so that way they can learn how to season their meat.

SPEAKER_00 46:54

Put some sauces on it, right?

SPEAKER_03 46:55

Like uh do some, bro.

SPEAKER_01 46:57

Yeah, yeah. I don't I I I'm pescatarian, so I would not eat it, but I don't know if Christina has, uh, but we will actually be going to Australia in 2028 for the eclipse. So if she hasn't had it yet, she will definitely have it then. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:18

In Australia, the eclipse goes the other direction. That's the other thing about this team, uh, Zebulon being Australian uh players, they're gonna hit the ball and run to third base.

SPEAKER_03 47:29

Well that uh did you did you listen to part two?

SPEAKER_00 47:33

Of course, I've listened to every episode that you have.

SPEAKER_03 47:35

Appreciate your man. Uh, you know, it's it's called you know, Aussie Ball. So maybe we'll get uh we'll get that uh Aussie rules roll. Aussie rules roll, yeah, exactly. So there you go.

SPEAKER_01 47:46

I I do have to say when when when we were in New Zealand, we were supposed to go to Australia and New Zealand, but because of the wildfires in 2020, we dropped Australia and just went to New Zealand, which I gotta say, if you haven't been incredible, definitely go. Very cool. Uh but I have to say, because of the all the efficient toilet, efficient toilets, there wasn't much going the opposite direction.

SPEAKER_00 48:11

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:12

Okay, all right.

SPEAKER_00 48:13

I did think your line from that episode, Ed, was very funny. Where when they were just like they were talking about Aussie rules baseball, and they were just like, which is basically just baseball. I was like, Whoa, I'm about to learn something here. Like, nope, nope, nope, just baseball.

SPEAKER_03 48:29

It was a fun, it was Galeb. He he was he was really he it was he gave us a lot of information um when when we did when I did have him on on the podcast. So that was a lot of fun. He I I had a lot of fun. He was he was very good.

SPEAKER_01 48:41

Yeah, really, I'm really looking forward to seeing what they do at the ballpark. Like where they say it was like a three-year project that uh 10 million dollars be all done, yeah. So it's like it, I mean, it it was it's I I don't like to talk bad about ballparks. I mean, it was definitely outdated, it was a product of its time. It's you know, it was uh built in the early 90s where you know you they didn't think about this stuff.

SPEAKER_03 49:06

I mean, I let him know, don't get me wrong, like I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. Like, I mean, it wasn't it's not a good thing.

SPEAKER_01 49:12

He didn't build it.

SPEAKER_03 49:12

I mean, he was and he admitted it himself.

Travel Plans, New Pods, And Plugs

SPEAKER_03 49:15

There's a lot of things that we gotta do, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:16

And and so, yeah, that it needs to be fixed up, and and yeah, we all know why they don't do they're not gonna do day games because they can't, but I I really do want to go back in once they're done with all the renovations and see exactly what it looks like because I think it's gonna be much, much better.

SPEAKER_00 49:34

Yeah, it reminded me quite a bit actually of the diamond in Richmond, which is now defunct. Although uh it sounds like the new ballpark may not exactly be ready for the new season. So I there's uh yeah, I know, I know it like this drama about a ballpark in Richmond has just been dragging on and on and on and on and on. But uh that that ballpark, Five County Stadium in Zebulon, reminded me a lot of the diamond uh in in Richmond. I it was I was braced for much worse than it actually was. Like I actually I thought it was gonna be like actively bad, like with all due respect to our friend Annadi Tomaso, like the trop, and you know, even before it was damaged, right? Like it's just a terrible viewing experience for a baseball game.

SPEAKER_02 50:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:24

I thought it was gonna be that. I thought it was just gonna be like a like an actively bad viewing experience, you know, except for that it it was hot, uh, and it was a lot of concrete.

SPEAKER_03 50:36

And concrete jungle, baby.

SPEAKER_00 50:39

Yeah, and then and the concourse wasn't open, right? Like that's that's always a thing, you know, like these older stadiums, you can't see the ball game when you're in line for for concessions or whatever. Um those were all things I was sort of expecting, but there was nothing in my mind that made it sort of like like an like a not enjoyable experience. Like there was nothing in the ballpark that where it was just it just wasn't actively impressive, you know. But it was it was otherwise like it was kind of meat and potatoes, right? Like it was pretty, pretty blah. You know, you were you were there, A, like we were to check the stadium off our list, uh, and B to catch a baseball game. You weren't there for the between activities and like all the things you could do.

SPEAKER_03 51:22

Which was there was none.

SPEAKER_00 51:23

Yeah, and the the Ferris wheel out beyond the home, you know, out beyond Centerfield Wall, or you know, the view of the river, or you know, the they didn't have there was none of that, right? Like there wasn't a lot of things.

SPEAKER_03 51:32

Well the fact that the that the mascot was just like sprawled out in like two rows of uh on the in the on you know on right on the bottom, right? You know, when we were all hanging out, we're like, bro, like put your hands. So that was interesting. Both the mascots, both of them, right? They had like the male-female version of it, and they were like, nah, we give up. Yeah. And so, anyways, yeah, anywho. Um yeah, so there is uh there's a lot of work that that needs to be done. There's a lot of work that is being done. Um, for example, like that's the the one thing I'm talking about, right? On the third base set side, those those bleachers are gone. That's it. They're they're removing those, they're putting a kid's park, you know, there, uh, which is a little playground, which is actually as a dad, I'm all for that. Sure, um, because you know, they can be playing while we are just watching a game, and so kudos to them on that. Um, they were saying that there are developing around them, um, which that's good.

SPEAKER_00 52:40

Um, because there's nothing around them, right? Like there was there was no like let's go to the brew pub and grab a beer before the game, right? Like there's like a like a food distribution company across the street.

SPEAKER_01 52:50

That was like it. Like aware of it.

SPEAKER_03 52:52

This is the one that they're working with for all the food items for their ballpark.

SPEAKER_00 52:55

Uh what I did like the catfish sandwich. Again, talk about a uh a nation eating its national atom uh animal. The uh catfish sandwich at the Mudcats game was uh as tasty. Kelly, did you have that? You're as a pescatarian, that's what's in the film.

SPEAKER_01 53:12

I'm not I don't really like catfish. Oh, okay. So no, I did not. Okay, I don't remember what I had.

SPEAKER_03 53:20

You didn't have much, I'll say that.

SPEAKER_00 53:22

Yeah, you could have had a hot dog, there's no meat in that.

unknown 53:26

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.

SPEAKER_03 53:27

Yeah, don't be hating on hot dogs, don't be hating on the hot dogs, bro.

SPEAKER_00 53:31

I love hot dogs. She does dog walking and she always has hot dogs in the fridge, and she's like, Don't eat the hot dogs because I'm bringing them for like as treats. I cut them up and bring them as treats for the dogs. And I'm like, hell with that. I was like, There's hot dogs in the fridge, I am having a hot dog. So it's like I have to fight the dogs for the hot dogs.

SPEAKER_03 53:50

Yeah, no, bro. If they're hot dogs in my house, I'm eating hot dogs.

SPEAKER_00 53:54

Eating the hot dogs, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 53:55

Yeah, that's not we know we don't do that here. We don't do that here. Hell no. Uh uh. So um again, but they're doing some renovations, so I'm glad that they are actually just taking on and and and they're they're renovating the the concession stance, which by the way, they look like it was from the 1990s, like it hasn't changed at all. So we'll see. I'm I'm I'm optimistic about the changes that they're going to be making to the ballpark. So yeah, that's not

Wrap-Up And What’s Next

SPEAKER_03 54:20

yeah, anyways. Uh anything else, guys, because man, I've been having a whole bunch of fun with the two of you, especially with Paul correcting me, it was so much fun.

SPEAKER_00 54:29

Um, we get to hang out for five days in Puerto Rico. You got five days. Oh, but you can correct me on my Spanish. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 54:38

Just you wait. Oh, just you wait. You pronounced it wrong, white man.

SPEAKER_01 54:42

I I did not see the you you mentioned it, but I did not see the messages from Paul on the side here because that's where my notes were on the history. And so when I closed it, I'm like, Oh, that's what he's talking about.

SPEAKER_03 54:53

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's 1970, and not only that, we got a little bit of background on this. He literally said 1970 to 1998 is 19 years.

SPEAKER_00 55:03

That's what I said.

SPEAKER_03 55:04

Thanks, Dad.

SPEAKER_00 55:05

You because you said 1970 to 1988, 18 years, and I'm like, only if 1970 was year zero and not year one.

SPEAKER_03 55:14

Anyways, my mic on my mic is this on. Uh all right. Well, guys, thank you so much for doing this. Um, these two folks will be on next when we talk about another team. Um, actually, I know the next episode after this, you know what it is gonna be? The USPBL.

SPEAKER_00 55:42

Oh, we're gonna talk about some mammoths and some unicorns.

SPEAKER_03 55:45

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 55:46

Some beavers.

SPEAKER_03 55:47

Some beavers, yeah. Which I have their hat right here, the beavers one. That's a pretty funny hat. I like it a lot.

SPEAKER_01 55:58

So I I'm looking at all all eight I've got from them over here.

SPEAKER_03 56:02

Do you have all their new era ones?

SPEAKER_01 56:03

No, no, I got these back in 2022.

SPEAKER_03 56:07

Well, if you want to get the new era ones, maybe you should use code CBM25. You get 25% off. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 56:18

That code is one year old.

SPEAKER_03 56:20

CBM25 for 25% off, Paul. Jeez, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 56:28

How long? How long has that code been available?

SPEAKER_03 56:30

Um, for since we talked a couple of weeks ago with Abby.

unknown 56:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 56:35

Merchandise Manager. What up, son?

SPEAKER_00 56:38

She sent you hats. I'm gonna have her on the podcast just so I can get hats. I need I need one of those unicorn hats.

SPEAKER_03 56:43

The unicorn, the unicorns that's I I love that logo, it's great, it's amazing. So, and as Kelly is looking at it right now, or should I say Eric?

SPEAKER_01 56:52

If I'd known Paul, I I I could have given you. I had an extra unicorns cap. Uh I could have given you, but you it probably wasn't a dad hat, though, was it? It was not. It was not a dad hat. It ended up going to uh Chris Storm. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 57:04

I mean, what's a good place?

SPEAKER_00 57:06

Yeah, I'm gonna see Chris Storm in uh Tulsa on a drive across the country in May.

SPEAKER_03 57:11

Oh, that's right, because you are doing your uh cross all the way across, aren't you?

SPEAKER_00 57:15

Gotta bring my niece her car back from Colorado.

SPEAKER_03 57:18

There you go. Uh, all right, guys, let's uh let's end this here. Um, where can people find all of your your you know the stuff that you guys do? Less social media stuff, you know, YouTube stuff. How about you, Paul?

SPEAKER_00 57:32

Well, I'm on baseball by design. You can find me on uh threads and Instagram and blue sky and Facebook. Uh it's the baseball by design podcast. But hey, this is gonna be the brand new first ever public promotion of a new adventure that I'm involved with. Uh we this won't this isn't gonna be publicized until probably Tuesday or Wednesday of Monday, bro.

SPEAKER_03 57:58

I'm doing it a Monday, really.

SPEAKER_00 58:00

No, but that's what I'm saying. Your episode is Monday, and we are not gonna be promoting it until Tuesday or Wednesday, but uh there is a brand new sportslogos.net podcast, and I am a co-host along with Chris Kremer.

unknown 58:15

What?

SPEAKER_00 58:16

Yeah, find it on all of your podcast networks, and you can find it right now. The first episode is actually already up, and we are we just haven't promoted it to anyone. So it has, I think at this moment it has five downloads because we haven't told anyone that it's there. So uh yeah, sportslogos.net, search it in all of your podcast platforms.

SPEAKER_03 58:37

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 58:43

Wow, did I get gonged? Was I talking too late?

SPEAKER_03 58:46

Yeah, shot off already, will you?

SPEAKER_00 58:51

I like how Ed trailed off while he was looking for his audio file.

SPEAKER_03 58:55

How do I do this? So where the hell is it? I lost it. No, on on honestly, though, I'm very excited to listen to it. I have it on my queue when I go to the gym, so it's it's queued up. I'm very excited just because I know um you are a perfectionist when it comes to your podcast. Uh, so I know it's gonna be great. It's gonna be great. So very excited for you, my friend.

SPEAKER_00 59:18

And then the other place people can find me is in freaking Puerto Rico later this week with Edward.

SPEAKER_03 59:23

Yeah, that's right. We're gonna be hanging out in Puerto Rico, World Baseball Classic. Everybody's asking me, so of course, you're gonna go see Puerto Rico. I'm like, bro, shut up.

SPEAKER_00 59:34

We're gonna we're gonna do the bioluminescent bay, we're gonna do uh El Yunke. That's right. We're gonna get out there. We're going for a run on the beach, I assume. We got some running in us.

SPEAKER_03 59:44

Uh I I will most certainly try my hardest.

SPEAKER_00 59:46

There you go. There you go. I'm bringing my running stuff. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 59:49

And uh we're playing catch on the on the beach. Oh, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_00 59:51

We're gonna we're bringing some baseball gloves so we can throw a ball around. It's gonna be great.

SPEAKER_03 59:55

I cannot wait for Paul to do the uh wave at the game, it's gonna be amazing.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:00

Look, I'm gonna be I'm bringing my drums and I'm bringing my costumes.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:04

I am gonna be it's all different there, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:06

You know there's all different and uh actually I made a joke with Chris Creamer about how the fact that we're seeing the Canadians play the Panamanians, and I was just like, I can't wait to see all the the drumming and the singing from the Canadians.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:18

Oh, it's gonna be exciting. So uh we couldn't get onto the Portuguese because they they were sold out within minutes, like they're sold out and on Stub Hub, it's like hundreds of dollars. Yeah, dude, I'm not doing that. There's no way in hell. Um, we can I'm sure I got family all over the the island, so we can find somewhere we can go to a bar or something, and just have just a good of a time watching that. So we're good. I'm so excited.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:43

Um, all right, Kelly, my friend, where can people find you? Sorry, I I was listening to the new uh uh sportslogos.net podcast.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:50

Well, let me check my download numbers and see if they're up to six now.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:54

Um you can follow me on basically all same social media platforms, uh Facebook, uh, Instagram, Blue Sky Threads. Uh we do uh we do podcasts and YouTube channel where we cover history of minor league baseball teams. Uh the show is next season starts uh April 4th, but we did release two episodes uh in celebration of Black History Month about the integration of minor league baseball, or in the case of one team where the league tried to stop the integration. Uh but yeah, you can follow that. Uh, you watch it episodes on YouTube or just uh any podcast platform, you can get the uh episodes and listen there.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:37

Nice, love it. Uh, make sure you guys are following them. They're great followers. Both of them are great podcasts. Um, actually, right now, um, I got yours. Uh to be honest with you, uh Kelly. I got yours right now. All my literally, like it's the next one queued up. Hot sports logo, yep, uh, sportslogos.net. So there it is. Uh, that one already, let me just say.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:01

And I love I love I love the mind. I am a huge, huge fan, by the way, of the uh my favorite memory uh episodes of Mind League. Like, I love all the the podcasts that you guys do, but my favorite memory episodes are so much fun. And you know, many of the folks who you featured on those have been people I knew, and so it was sort of like, okay, well, that's you know, that's uh fun, and I'm getting to hear people I know. And I thought maybe I just liked them because I was felt like I was listening to friends. But then your most recent one uh was with your longtime friend uh from you know many decades. And the stories that he was sharing, I I didn't know him, and uh the stories that he was sharing were still like really engaging and fun for me. So it was uh turns out it's not just that I know the people, it's that it's a fun, engaging platform and a fun, engaging idea for a podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:46

It's funny that yeah, when you were on, you were the longest episode, of course, and then the episode right after you was Virgil, who beat you by like five minutes, and then my Sean, my friend Sean went past both of you.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:59

It's like the Olympic Luge, like they just keep setting new records. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:03

Is it over an hour and six minutes long or something like that?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:06

Yeah, because that's where we are right now with this one.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:08

Yeah, no, I can't long again. People are gonna love this. Uh, we should probably, you know, Eric is probably editing to do. I know it's gonna be great. Uh, I'm not gonna do much editing, I can believe it or not. I'm gonna keep it just like this, just so that people can see it and hear it. Um, but there's one thing that Eric is gonna tell me. I'm just waiting. He's gonna get sent a text message, he's gonna be like, So, are you guys gonna get back and do it? And the three of you gonna do Brockmeyer. Just wait. I cannot wait for him to say that. Just wait. So, uh, and then of course, guys, you can find me uh DST I am on Blue Sky on Threads, Instagram, uh, YouTube as well, and of course, you know, the one that I'm on that these guys are not on, TikTok. Uh there's that. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:56

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Ed. You're you you inspired me to get into the podcasting game. And uh you're the the the dad hat chronicles. It's uh it's it's like the OG. It's the OG CBM podcast.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:11

If it was fat blame uh, was it flat brim chronicles? I would have now followed you.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:15

We we we we wouldn't be friends if you were if if if you had been flat brim chronicles, I would have been like nerd.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:23

What a loser, nerd hipster. Uh guys, um thank you for again for listening. Make sure you guys are, like I said, following each and every single one of us. Uh, the DHC Sports Show, it is Tuesday and Thursdays at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. I also have two other shows. Yes, Paul, I do. I know. I love it. I love all your shows. Breakfast takes on Monday mornings at 6 a.m. Eastern time. These all these times are Eastern time, guys. And then, of course, later on in that day at 8 30, we have break-even sports where we talk about the sports that you know they're not the major sports, like Major League Baseball or an NFL, you know, like maybe some soccer, you know, a little soccer. Paul, I know you're excited for that. And so we're arena football. So there you go, guys. Thank you so much for joining us. We will see you guys in the next one.