http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/6155023.htm
It used to simply be “The Bears still suck”, but now I have to say “The Bears, presented by Bank One, still suck.” It just doesn’t flow. I actually now feel a little sorry for the Bears, presented by Bank One, fans.
“Did you see the Bears, presented by Bank One, stink up the place yesterday?”
“Hey, I got an extra ticket to the Bears, presented by Bank One, game this weekend.”
That is horrible. I hate to imagine what will happen if this catches on. Especially since the owner of my beloved Falcons fans is a Home Depot gazillionaire. “And there goes Michael Vick, the World’s Greatest Athlete[sup]TM[/sup], zipping through defenders like a 16-inch circular saw for only $89 this weekend!”
Er, please mentally delete the word “fans” from the above.
Thank you.
Oh, they will use it. I read the Trib for many years, and every time the Bears stink it up it’s going to be “The Bears presented by Bank One bit the big one again yesterday…”. I wish Steve Rosenbloom was still there. I’d pay $100 to have tomorrow’s Trib flown in to me and delivered to my door. Hope they still think they got their money’s worth ten years from now. Or not.
Maybe Kimberley-Clark will buy up the Bucs. The Tampon Bay Buccaneers does kinda have a ring to it.
Thank goodness Mike Royko aint around to see this.
So sad…
Oh, by the way, Gangster Octopus, “The Green Bay Packers presented by WisPride” has a certain ring to it, I’m sure you’ll agree. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.
A “Lions presented by (Ford, Little Ceasars, Dominos, pick one)” fan weighing in here. 
I guess the day is coming that we will hear about the game between the Nextel 49ers of San Francisco versus the Seattle Microsoft Seahawks.
Makes Jonatham Lethem look damn near prophetic in his science-fiction short story “Vanilla Dunk”, where the NBA teams in that story were all known by their corporate sponsor names instead of their city names (Sony Trailblazers, IBM Warriers, Disney Heat, etc.).
Want a real shiver, Atreyu, take the next step. How does “Dow Chemical Wolverines” or “Asgrow Spartans” strike you? Makes me want to puke. But I’m the sensitive type, I guess, not well suited to the modern world.
Of course, it has always been this way in Japan; 11 of the 12 Japanese League teams are named after corporations - only the Yokohama Bay Stars play under just a city name.
I believe that Pepsi is going to pay big bucks to change the Cincinnati Bengals to the Cincinnati Bengals Presented By Coke.
I assumed I was in the majority, but apparently I am one of few that doesn’t find this a big deal. So what if the Bears have a corporate sponsor? Sure, their broadcasters may use the term but does that really hurt anything? Will they be referred to as the Bears presented by Bank One on Sportscenter? Perhaps, but only in a mocking sense.
Will their personnel decision be affected by this? No. Based on recent history, it might help, but there won’t be a change.
Will other teams do this? Probably, but so what. Look at European soccer, Japanese baseball, Nascar, youth sports of all kinds. It’s already a widespread phenomonon, yet those teams have huge, rabid fan bases that cheer the teams and athletes.
The Bears get an infusion of cash that should help them field a more competitive team, you’ll hear a few more mentions of a sponsor that will eventually fail to register when you hear it, the beloved name of Soldier Field won’t be changing, and the game itself doesn’t change. Sounds fine to me.
Just think, a star athlete today could play in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, win the Suzuki Heisman Trophy and then get drafted by the Chicago Bears Presented by Bank One!
This may not be a Big Thing yet, but it has potential to become ludicrous:
"Today’s game at Heinz Field, in which the Bears, presented by Bank One, face the Steelers, presented by PNC, is sponsored by Budweiser, King of Beers, and Toyota, Go Out and Buy one Now… We’ll Wait.
“The Bears, presented by Bank One, are led by Kordell Stewart, sponsored by The Home Heimlich Kit- Stop choking Now!. His stats…” blah blah blah
“…Kordell’s biggest game this season was against the Browns, presented by the Cuyahoga River- We’re not on fire anymore- where he passed for 298 yards and three “Doritos” touchdowns. since joining the Bears, presented by Bank One, Kordell has…”
At least the announcers won’t have as much time to “fill” with inane banter.
Myself? I’m a ShopKo Packers, presented by Sargento Foods, fan.
Steeler, presented by Southwest Airlines (we’ll take you there!), phan, that was beautiful.
Actually, this sort of thing has been happening around the world for a while. Japanese teams in several sports take the name of their sponsor rather than a location, and Australian rugby league teams have been doing it too - IIRC, the “Brisbane Broncos” were the first to do this, becoming instead the “131-SHOP Broncos”. When the contract ran out after the tech wreck they went back to being “from” Brisbane.
Cronulla-Sutherland lost its team (originally to Toyota? They’re now the LG Sharks), and Canturbury-Bankstown did for a while too. Oddly, when they went back, only Canturbury got their share of the team back.
While I am not thrilled by teams having corporate names, this is not exactly anything new. Both the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers started out as corporate teams with corporate names. The Bears were the Decatur Staleys (sponsored by Staley Starch Company) and the Packers were the Green Bay Acme (Meatpacking Company) Packers.
The NBA Detroit Pistons were once the Fort Wayne (Indiana) Zollner Pistons, sponsored by Zollner Piston Company.
I agree with Mullinator. People thought the (sports) world was going to end when the trend of selling “naming rights” for stadiums was revived a few years ago. Same thing with college football bowl games. Now that everyone is used to it, it’s no big deal.
Just another excuse for people to get riled up and talk about “the good ol’ days” (which, as Jerrybear points out, weren’t all that different anyway).
Pash