Jerry West and How To Revitalize Sports' Image

Jerry West first got married in 1960, at age 22. A star basketball player, it’s easy to assume he was on the top of his so-called “game” at that age. But surprisingly, he went through a divorce and remarried 18 years later. What the average reader of Wikipedia may not understand is that unlike most, Jerry peaked AFTER his first marriage, not before or during. Obviously something happened that made Jerry West more tolerable, more attractive, and moved him up in the unwritten social hierarchy. What was this? Well, in 1969, the NBA fashioned a new logo featuring a silhouette of a player in motion – a player that not coincidentally is none other than Jerry West.

Studies say women love a man in uniform, and the appeal is easy to see. What’s more attractive than blue-collar grit and grind, with a healthy dose of professionalism sprinkled on top? But what about the man who not only wears a uniform, but himself is a brand? One who represents not only a working spirit, but the delicacies of induldgement, entertainment, and leisure? Therein lies the sex appeal of the logo. Think about it. Mr Clean would literally clean up with the ladies. Tell me Colonel Sanders doesn’t look like an awesome grandpa or uncle. Tell me the Michelin Man – never mind. So there’s a stopping point, but the idea still stands.

It’s common knowledge in sports circles that the famous globally branded logo of the National Basketball Association is the former Lakers point guard. In fact, this fact is so universally known (besides never having been officially acknowledged by the NBA) that West’s nickname is “The Logo”, which has to rank beside Evan Fournier’s “Don’t Google” as on of basketball’s greatest monikers.

What does giving the NBA logo an identity accomplish? For the league, it’s an automatic ambassador, someone who represents the league everywhere he goes. For Jerry, his public perception changes from a scrappy white hustling point guard on a decent team of yesteryear to a living basketball icon that represents the highest standard of the beautiful game, not to mention the aforementioned value-add upon his sex appeal.

Now the question may have already been posed in the intellectual reader’s mind: are there others like Jerry West relating to their respective sports? The answer is yes, maybe, and no.

True to form, the NFL’s logo is nothing more than its own name upon a shield – fitting for the only corporation in America led by a group of rich old men and a robot. But in an age where the keagye has received more and more bad press, putting the right man (or woman) forward as the face of the brand could do well in changing the perception among the more casual fans, which learn about the NFL not directly from watching games, but from third-party, non-sports news sources. But whom to choose? It’s got to be someone who has seen all parts of the sport, who has never been a part of a scandal, someone who is his own brand off the field… you know where I’m going with this. It’s Tebow Time. Make it happen Goodell.

In baseball, the logo situation is decidedly more messy. The silhouette of a player is clearly represented, but is drawn in such a way that it cant be confirmed to be a certain player. Urban legend suggests that the logo stems from a photo of Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew, who I’m told despite his name was not a huge hit at frat parties. Killebrew was surely a great player in his day, but I believe it’s time to update the MLB logo, give it not just a specific identity but a modern identity at that. Baseball needs a different face than football, so a one-size-fits-all approach will not work. Baseball needs a face to usher in a brighter future, not hearken back to an ancient past.

In order to find the perfect candidate for Major League Baseball’s logo, we first need to consider what plagues the Old Ball Game. For one, baseball is increasingly white and Hispanic – there is record low numbers of African-Americans in the big show. For another, baseball is increasingly an old man’s game, as the widely circulated statistic states that the average age of a baseball fan is pushing 60. Finally, although it is not terribly relevant to the issue at hand, softball players experience tons of prejudice and discrimination just for being women, making girls in baseball a terribly underrepresented class. It is because of all of these factors that I recommend that Mo’ne Davis become the new face of Major League Baseball, instantly giving minority credibility to a struggling industry.