The MountainStar Group is playing El Paso for fools. As if the whole fleecing of the El Paso taxpayers wasn’t enough, the MountainStar Group is playing El Pasoans for fools with the “naming” of the team. The Aardvarks, the Buckaroos, The Chihuahuas, the Desert Gators and the Sun Dogs are just further proof that MountainStar doesn’t take El Pasoans seriously.
The names are just a big joke being perpetuated upon the taxpayers that are funding the ballpark for the invading horde. It is an “in your face, how dare you” question us stab at El Paso voters for daring to oust Steve Ortega from the public trough. That El Paso has dared to let its will be known has angered the overlords intent on taking over the community.
They will not allow and cannot allow that to happen. But they are a patient lot, first they will have their fun with the naming of the team and then they will unleash their attack dogs on the voters. Make no mistake the horde is angry.
The naming is yet another layer of propaganda to perpetuate the myth that El Paso is behind the ballpark. Don’t think this is big joke by the ownership group and further propaganda for the myth?
Let’s take a look at the evidence.
As for the propaganda, the spokespeople for the team are out in force, first adding to the myth that this is a choice being made by El Pasoans and that El Paso is fully supporting them.
Let’s dissect this even further.
First they announce that the five names were chosen from a pool of 5,600 names submitted by the public, that according to General Manager Brad Taylor. Here is the “spin”. Taylor states that 5,600 are well beyond the average usual submissions for Triple-A teams.
What Taylor conveniently does not allude to are what were the other 5,595 names submitted? I don’t know and neither do the majority of El Pasoans. Therefore all we can do is look at the empirical evidence.
Almost everyone agrees that the names are terrible, some have even said horrible, but more importantly the five names have nothing to do with El Paso. Further, the commentary, in response to the names, on KVIA and the El Paso Times is arguable overwhelmingly negative. It is important to note that as much as the ownership group would like to control the public commentary that they are faced with, an angry mob that can and has relied on social media to vent their anger is dangerous to them.
The horde knows, from history, that they must allow the mob a venting point or else the mob could explode into outright rebellion. They don’t have the resources to control a rebellion so they allow the commentary to be a venting outlet.
But, the horde needs to control the public perception and further perpetuate the myth of the community being behind the fiasco. They create the illusion that the public is voting on the name for the team. They then distract the debate by alluding to legalese in regards to trademarks and such. The problem is that you cannot trademark a word such as “aardvark”, or “outlaw” for that matter. A trademark is a representation made from a combination of words or imagery that defines a sellable product. So unless someone has already trademarked, and or copyrighted “el paso”; add whatever here, then the notion of the trademark is a red herring designed to distract.
By the way, here’s a little insurgence someone can try to aggravate the horde a little. A trademark requires that it be in use before it can be trademarked. In other words, some merchandise or marketing material has to be developed before the application can be filed. Yes, I realize that a reservation can be filed for but according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office no such reservation has been made; as of Sunday, June 23, 2013 for either of the names. So if you are inclined to be a pain-in-the-ass to the horde, do a quick sketch on paper of the five names and file trademark applications for each for apparel. Don’t forget to add El Paso to each. You’ll make the ownership group’s ability to make money from t-shirts, hats and all sorts of clothing difficult, if not impossible. You might even get some royalties for “letting” them use it.
Now back to the propaganda. The illusion that there were over 5,000 names adds to the notion that El Paso is fully behind the ballpark. What we do not know is what the submitted names were. If social media is any indication, then the submitted names are likely irreverent, statements of disgust or outright displays of voter anger towards the ballpark. Not publishing the names conveniently allows the ownership team to create the illusion of support without revealing the true nature of the community’s anger.
And, as for the joke, just take a look at the names. They have nothing to do with El Paso. Either Foster, the Hunts and De La Vega are so insulated in their ivory towers to truly understand what El Paso is about, or they are so egotistical that their only thought is let El Pasoans eat cake. Or, likely, they are such jerks that, in their minds, what El Paso is and wants doesn’t matter and eating cake is all El Paso deserves. That makes more sense to me.
According to the El Paso Times, Alan Ledford, president of MountainStar Group stated; “The quality and thoughtfulness behind the names submitted was truly remarkable.”
Say what? Thoughtfulness! And the five names were the best?
“El Pasoans really gave serious thought and consideration to the history, culture and unique attributes of their hometown”, added Ledford.
Really? Does he really believe that or is he just regurgitating what he was ordered to say? Had the El Paso Times asked; please tell us exactly where “history” and “culture” is reflected in the Aardvarks, the Buckaroos, The Chihuahuas, the Desert Gators and the Sun Dogs the façade might have come off the whole lie.
Of course, the biggest cheerleaders for the ownership group would never have asked such a simple and obvious question but then again, Ledford already knew that so he had nothing to worry about.
Obviously the “history” and “culture” of El Paso means nothing for the ownership group just as the ownership group doesn’t really give a damn about what the city’s voters really care about. In other words, El Pasoans are just fools to be used to fund the downtown debacle also known as the ballpark.
So, although I know you are angry buckaroos, please try not to hit any aardvarks on the way to pick a name, and be sure to keep your distance from the desert gators and try to remember that the chihuahuas are meaner than the sun dogs.
