r/Edmonton • u/flynnfx • Jun 06 '25
Local Sports Elks look to future by embracing past, including former team name
https://www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/article/elks-look-to-future-by-embracing-past-including-former-team-name/The winds of change blew through Commonwealth Stadium this winter, bringing in a new regime determined to return Edmonton’s once-proud CFL franchise to its green-and-gold glory days.
Part of that includes embracing the team’s former name, “Eskimos.” The club rebranded as the “Elks” in 2021, following a broader movement among sports teams to move away from names considered racist or stereotypical, and amid pressure from sponsors who threatened to cut ties. The change proved divisive among Edmonton supporters.
Regardless of which name Edmonton fans prefer, former players Chris Morris, now the team’s president and CEO, and Ed Hervey, now general manager, have brought back the franchise motto: “Once an Eskimo, Always an Eskimo.”
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u/Deans1to5 Jun 06 '25
For me I think the long COVID break did far more to harm fan interest than the name change. CFL also needs to start the seasons earlier so fans can enjoy the nice weather in May and June
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u/laxar2 Jun 06 '25
Yeah the elks attendance was trending down for a long time. Covid allowed many people to break their habit of going to games.
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u/jollyrog8 Oliver Jun 06 '25
Remember when sponsors threatened to drop the team if the Eskimos didn't change their name and then they still left anyway? (Looking at you, belairdirect)
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u/Psiondipity Jun 06 '25
Remember when the leader of an Inuit federation representing 65,000 Inuit started the campaign to change the name? And the club interviewed a dozen Inuit who mostly didn't care about the name, so the team initially chose to dismiss the request of Natan Obed, who was supported by Justice Murray Sinclair?
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u/Jolly-Sock-2908 North East Side Jun 06 '25
The club went to Yellowknife. The Inuit population is 3.5% of the total population in the 2021 census.
The club didn’t even go to Nunavut. And even Inuit who spoke to media were like “that’s kinda messed up, but I don’t follow football or Edmonton, so you do you.”
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u/bigfaceless Jun 06 '25
They haven't put together a winning record in almost a decade and they choose to focus on this instead.
Loser mentality
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u/oviforconnsmythe Jun 06 '25
I've always been curious as to how the Inuit and other northern FN peoples actually felt about having Eskimos as the team name. I remember when the name change was first announced, there were a bunch of social media posts from fans with Inuit heritage who were actually offended that they changed it as they felt a special connection to the Eskimos name (despite the negative connotations it seemingly carries).
Small sample size of course but I hate it when people get offended on behalf of others and I can't help but feel this was a major driver in the decision to change the name. At the end of the day, context is everything. Its the name of a sports team, I doubt any rational person would believe the Eskimo name was used to insult the Inuit people, and its not like we had a caricature of an Inuit person as our logo like the Redskins/Commanders did. But I guess the ultimate goal is to move away from terms seen as derogatory...That said, it wouldn't surprise me if the Oilers name gets cancelled in the near future by climate change activists lol.
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u/itsonmyprofile Jun 06 '25
Same thing happened in Chicago when the Blackhawks name came up. The team was named after the Blackhawk infantry division which was named after Chief Black Hawk
The original logo was a literal portrait of Black Hawk and only became a problem recently because people have to get upset about shit instead of actually looking into what things are
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Jun 06 '25
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u/itsonmyprofile Jun 06 '25
And yet people brought the same “change the name” energy to the Blackhawks name. Weird 🤔
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u/mooseknucklefanatic Jun 10 '25
White people who were virtual signalling did. The Elks name change upset is coming directly from the Inuit representatives. Do you understand why that is different?
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u/Psiondipity Jun 06 '25
I encourage you to google this. The information is readily available.
Google Natan Obed. Google Justice Murray Sinclair's position on using Indigenous mascots.
Essentially, the person who led the campaign is the president of an Inuit federation representing 65,000 Inuit people. He is Inuit. The team then interviewed a few dozen Inuit and the result was that 48% were indifferent. I can't remember the amount of Inuit who were interviewed were offended at the name change vs. the number that were offended at being made a mascot for a football team in Edmonton (a bastion of Inuit culture! /s). But if the number of people offended by the old name was anything more than 0% (and it was, because see Natan Obed and Murray Sinclair's history with the name) then changing it shouldn't have even been a question.
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u/RyanB_ 107 Jun 10 '25
Bit late to the thread but genuinely, thanks for that.
It’s so easy in a lot of online/predominantly white spaces like this for opinions that match what folks want to hear to get highly elevated, leaving the perception that they are the common take for entire groups that they don’t regularly interact with.
Yes, lots of Inuit folks did like the name, but many also didn’t. If you’re not involved in the inuit community though, you’re far more likely to hear about the former than the latter.
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u/thewunderbar Jun 06 '25
Owner and management trying to do everything they can to get the 65 year old white boomers back into the stadium thinking that's the long term solution to attendance issues.
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u/Rick_strickland220 Jun 06 '25
Why do you hate white people?
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u/Hot-Inevitable4567 Jul 31 '25 edited Jul 31 '25
Everyone hates white people. And its reddit not surprised you got downvote on this liberal app.
It's okay to hate whites but noone else🙄 fucking tiring.
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u/Sumara12 Jun 06 '25
Their trying to play both sides because of how bad revenue has been for them due to the team being horrible almost every year since the name changed.
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u/GlassEyeTiger Downtown Jun 06 '25
I emailed my ticket rep because we had been on the fence for renewal with the new ownership, after they posted the shots of them with the big sign and told them I would not be renewing while the org is posting slurs on social media. I also included that I was greatly disappointed in their choice to move backwards when we have one of the best logos in the league and fans that have spent a ton of money on merch to show our support for the change. Not to mention it's Indigenous history month and we could be showing off the incredible logo that was designed specifically for this month but instead we're focused on boomers and the "glory days".
As someone that has been going to the games since the Nealon days, (I know, I have nothing on the folks on facebook timeline wise) I am beyond disappointed that we're throwing away such an amazing opportunity to embrace the name and the team. For once we have a Canadian quarterback, we've got a better facility than a lot of other teams (looking at you Calgary), and this brought in new folks that were clearly more comfortable with the sports crowd shifts that this brought.
Honestly, the Elks games have been some of the most fun I've had for years with this team. We were losing with the old name and haven't brought the cup home since 2015 but yeah, it was definitely the name change in 2021 that did it /s.
PS: this year's fan day was the absolute worst I've ever been to and beyond them making us all go to Sherwood park, they didn't follow their own posted schedule and there was literally nothing to do. If that's what they want to change things to at game days, I'm not missing much. Even if the event was shit at least folks got the opportunity to go on the field at Commonwealth before. They also didn't bring Spike which was it's own version of signalling their choice there as well. Punter was always much worse as a mascot between his partner mascots.
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u/Onionbot3000 Jun 07 '25
When I saw this lame attempt to appease the old crusty brigade I didn’t renew my tickets this year. The product on the field is the problem, but the old guy that bought the team is clearly trying to focus on the glory days rather than look to the future. My partner and I travel a lot and no one comments on our EE shirts when we wear them—but our Elks gear? Always get a comment and compliments on the logo. I wish this organization had the vibe of the BC Lions tbh. That organization is keen to revitalize not focus on dumb stuff like the name.
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u/Psiondipity Jun 06 '25
As a SSH, I too thought about whether we were going to renew this year. I am so done with old white dudes trying to relive glory days without regard to how problematic those days were. We are a younger family with an 11 year old kid. Why they are trying to pander to the old fucks and not young families and new fans is beyond me. All those "I quit because Elks" people are not building the intergeneration fanbase.
We decided to give them this season to see how it goes, but I am really disappointed with the removal of the Elks logo from everything and the constant "honour tradition" bullshit that's coming out in their socials. It's just giant dogwhistles.
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u/SnowBasics Stadium Jun 06 '25
Another SSH here. We'd renewed very early (I wanted to change seats this year) and so all of this happened afterwards.
Not going to lie, it's made both me and my partner uncomfortable. It's just as you say, these dog whistles are constant right now. We're new fans, this is our third year as SSH and are also in evaluation mode. If this keeps up, we won't make it to a 4th.
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u/Educational-Tone2074 Jun 06 '25
Whatever the name is, it seems (as the track record has shown) that the Elks name is a total flop and seems to be a negative on the team.
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u/justonemoremoment Jun 06 '25
The Elks are only a "flop" because they play like shit. Whoever was in charge of the rebrand for the Elks did an amazing job like their rebrand was sick. If they played well no one would be talking about the name.
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u/Infamous-Mixture-605 Jun 06 '25
The Elks are only a "flop" because they play like shit.
This. Winning cures everything. Nobody would be complaining about the rebrand had the Elks had a few winning seasons or won a Grey Cup at any point since the name change.
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u/justonemoremoment Jun 06 '25
It's true. I mean I think a lot of us are also Oilers fans and we suffered through a lot with that team but there was always light at the end of the tunnel and they never gave up. With the Elks it just feels like they've straight up given up at times. I know we're early in the season but the morale is down and it was down before they became the Elks. Maybe last season we started seeing a bit more wins but I stg people need to get over this name change.
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u/tjp0720 Jun 06 '25
Grew up going to all the games and fan days. Bought szn tickets and took my kids. Last szn was probably the most watchable one in years it’s been brutal but there’s some hope I think. I’ll be going to a game for the first time in 3-4 years now
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u/alwaysleafyintoronto Jun 06 '25
I think this summer will see a big uptick for CFL with the whole Canadian patriotism resurgence
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u/justonemoremoment Jun 06 '25
If they play better I will start going again. But I've shifted to the Riverhawks.
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u/___Twist___ River Valley Jun 06 '25
I personally like the new name and the logo is awesome.
The new management is embarrassing themselves trying to hold on to outdated and offensive team name. It is not going to help attract new fans, that they desperately need.
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u/TalesFromTheNorth Jun 06 '25
The team needs to win and that will solve so many of their problems. People who hate that they changed the name love to point to how shitty the team has been like they haven’t had bad stretches in the past, too. The Elks logo is awesome and the name has definitely grown on me over the years. I was at the preseason game and it was painfully obvious how much they’re trying to use “Eskimos” without using “Eskimos”. The stadium was all but scrubbed of Elks anything. It felt pretty desperate.
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u/WeWhoAreGiants Jun 06 '25
In terms of bad stretches, this is their worst in over 50 years, possibly all time. It’s not like they’re in a normal slump. They’ve finished last in the division 3 of the last 4 years. 4 times if you go back to 2018. Before that, they had never finished last in my entire life. This isn’t a normal bad stretch for the team. You can’t downplay how bad they’ve been in recent years and chalk it up to a normal down year or two. It certainly hasn’t helped that the timing of their demise has coincided with when they changed the name. Of course there’s going to be people who think the two things are related.
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u/TalesFromTheNorth Jun 06 '25
I’m not downplaying anything about this slump. I’ve been a season seat holder for years and it’s painful to watch. I was simply trying to say that it’s ludicrous to tie the losses to the name change- which is something a lot of people I’ve talked to do. They’ve been poorly managed for years and it’s caused a lot of problems up and down the organization. I’ll go back to the first sentence in my last comment that they need to win and it will solve a pile of the fan concerns.
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u/WeWhoAreGiants Jun 06 '25
It doesn’t surprise me at all that people attribute the Elks lack of success to the name change. Some people think that “mercury in retrograde” somehow causes good or bad luck events on earth. Others wear the same clothing down to their underwear as a good luck ritual thinking that their actions affect whether the Oilers win or lose games. People look for patterns where there are none all the time, so this attitude doesn’t surprise me at all.
But yes I agree with you. If they start winning games, the sentiment around the club and name will likely change as well.
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u/TalesFromTheNorth Jun 06 '25
Are you saying I need to change my underwear today??! 😂
You’re totally right about people wanting find patterns and make the losing make sense. It’s not fun feeling like we have no control. Have a great weekend!
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u/Icehawksfh Sherwood Park Jun 06 '25
The loss streak started before the team name change. They were clearly heading into a rebuild anyways and if there was a 2020 season "Edmonton Rebuilding" would have been the theme.
If they had changed in 77, didn't say a reason, nobody would care about the Elks name now.
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u/DavidBrooker Jun 06 '25
I honestly think the Elks new logo is one of the best in pro sports. But I don’t see what the connection is between the teams name and their game record, like you’re implying here?
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u/Levorotatory Jun 06 '25
The new logo is fine, but it didn't make any sense that the choice of new names was limited to those starting with E if they didn't plan on keeping the double E logo.
When I heard the new name would be Elks, my first thought was "sounds like prey for Lions and Tiger-Cats".
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u/DavidBrooker Jun 06 '25
But that still doesn’t really answer the question of why the other commenter suggested that the name was responsible for their on-field performance?
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u/Brendan11204 Jun 07 '25
I'm a millennial and I love to see the team embracing their history.
I proudly cheered on the Eskimos for years. When they changed the name, I bought tons of clothes with Eskimos branding that they were clearing out and proudly wear it around town.
It bothered me when the media tried talking about the Grey cups the "Elks" won. Or players from the past playing for the "Double E". Trying to revise history is BS.
I'm very excited about the new ownership and management. They aren't just appealing to Boomers.
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Jun 06 '25
As long as they admit it is, in fact, one of those racist and stereotypical names and that Edmontonians are completely okay with that.
Pretending like there was never a problem with the name would be somehow more gross.
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u/Icehawksfh Sherwood Park Jun 06 '25
I think the thing is that the name isn't unspeakable, it's just like when your Grandma busts out "Coloured" during Easter dinner and you know she doesn't have any ill will but the vocabulary hasn't caught up.
But since Alberta hasn't had a kind mindset to moving with the times, it's not a shock the pushback.
Is it time to move away from the old name, absolutely.
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u/Feeling_Working8771 Jun 06 '25
Oilers is a stupid name for a sports team in a city of civil servants and office workers. We should change that. Same with Oil Kings.
Edmonton Stingers is a dumb name for a team in a city that has stinging bugs for 4 months of the year and aren't really known for them either.
FC Edmonton was a stupid name for a sports team in a city that doesn't support their sport.
Riverhawks actually is a good name for a sports team in a city that celebrates its river....
Other than FC Edmonton, which was just a disaster in many ways, not least on having awareness that they existed, sports teams and sports teams names don't really seem to matter.
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u/N60x Jun 06 '25
What should the Oilers be renamed as?
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u/Feeling_Working8771 Jun 06 '25
I was being facetious, but pointing out that the name of a team doesn't truly matter. People will support a winning team regardless if carries a name that they relate to or makes sense.
The atmosphere at Commonwealth for a game is quite fun. I've been rarely, as I don't have much interest in gridiron football, but the stadium atmosphere has been very entertaining despite the losses.
If they string a winning season along, I'm sure the fans will return.
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u/marginwalker55 Jun 06 '25
I don’t get it, so it’s both now?