Sports

Fans think name of Wichita’s new Triple-A team, well, blows

By Pete Grathoff

November 14, 2019 10:59 AM

Wichita’s new Triple-A team doesn’t begin play until next year but judging by fan reaction, the team is off to a bad start.

The Miami Marlins’ minor-league affiliate is moving from New Orleans to Wichita, and the team’s nickname (“Baby Cakes”) needed to be changed.

On Wednesday, Wichita’s nickname was unveiled: the Wind Surge.

You read that right.

Here are the uniforms and caps the team will wear and the introductory video from MiLB.com:

How do we feel about the Wind Surge? pic.twitter.com/jRaKHqRjYA
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) November 14, 2019

These are the @WindSurgeIct’s home white and road gray jerseys along with two alternates.#Marlins | #RepYour2020 pic.twitter.com/jwIgquR6ya
— Fish On The Farm (@marlinsminors) November 14, 2019

Here are the new @WindSurgeIct’s home and road caps. #Marlns | #RepYour2020 pic.twitter.com/faJNsTpZnm
— Fish On The Farm (@marlinsminors) November 14, 2019

Fans in Wichita and elsewhere were not pleased with the choice of name:

Total number of dollars I will spend on merchandise with this name and logo in my lifetime = $0
— Mike Maas (@MichaelJMaas) November 14, 2019

Wichita Wind Surge is so bad I broke my no twitter rule just to ask “For real, for real? Stop playing. You crazy. For real though?”

But for real. pic.twitter.com/dr2PAQSzdz
— ShockerHoops.net (@ShockerHoops) November 14, 2019

Wichita WindSurge... pic.twitter.com/JrkmBiyYyE
— Bryan Holmgren (@btholmgren) November 14, 2019

I was so excited to buy gear of an obscure AAA team from my hometown but I absolutely will not own a single piece of Windsurge apparel. Way to go Wichita, all this wind and your find a way to take the air out of something else
— Jeff Chapman (@JeffKChapman) November 14, 2019

I was expecting bad but this is real bad pic.twitter.com/Se45HGgeKU
— Samantha M (@sambalamba) November 14, 2019

A "wind surge" is not a thing. No one says "wind surge"... except in World of Warcraft. We are named after a World of Warcraft spell. https://t.co/wCmvhjvgaV
— Fletcher Powell (@Fletcher_Powell) November 14, 2019

Look at these other MiLB logos and team names then go back to the Pegasus and Wind Surge. Look what this city COULD have had, then back at what we were served up. We got a generic EA Sports logo for team creation in Madden from 2011. pic.twitter.com/WW3Fvgf6Zo
— Brian (@BrianAyers29) November 14, 2019

My immediate reaction is that it is not a good name and an awkward logo. I kind of hate it. I'll be there watching them though, I hope at least the hat is good.
— Rudy Arroyo (@ruDEE80) November 14, 2019

pic.twitter.com/5QhztAiyHr
— NYBaseballNerd (@NYBaseballNerd) November 14, 2019

When you have to explain what it means...just awful.
— Ben Flaming (@ben_flaming) November 14, 2019

All we are is dust in the wind surge.
— wichitawindsurge (@WindSurgelCT) November 14, 2019

"Going to the Wind Surge game"
"The Wind Surge are in town"
"You should go check out a Wind Surge game"
"The Wind Surge win"

I'm honestly trying to like it, but it's almost a little embarrassing. https://t.co/uEhx5LRmjt
— Derek Pruett (@DerekInWichita) November 14, 2019

This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 10:59 AM with the headline "Fans think name of Wichita’s new Triple-A team, well, blows."

Pete Grathoff

The Kansas City Star

816-234-4330

From covering the World Series to the World Cup, Pete Grathoff has done a little bit of everything since joining The Kansas City Star in 1997.

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