The Indians have reached an agreement with Progressive Insurance for the naming rights to the Jake, and it will now be known as Progressive Field. I would like whoever makes decisions about this sort of thing to know that I'd prefer a cashier's check for my finder's fee for suggesting this idea nearly four months ago.
So, what's the short version here? The Prog? Will there be lots of keyboards and laser light shows too?
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7 comments:
Obviously, they should hire Rick Wakeman to play the organ, with Jon Anderson singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"* during the 7th inning stretch.
*To the tune of "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida," of course.
I wonder--does this now make the Indians unable to partake in the apparently limitless Geico budget? I'm not in Ohio. In New York, you can't listen or watch anything without a snooty, condescending Gecko getting in your face.
Posted by barabus on 01/11/08 at 9:06AM
Richard Jacobs, where were you on this one? You dropped the ball and everything that was great about "the Jake" has now been swallowed by these corporate grimy handed idiots at Progressive. You couldn't dig in your pocket just a bit more? I'm sure your team and all the ridiculous concession prices could rake you in enough to keep the name or at least go halves with Progressive. They're dirty scoundrels, in light of all those jobs they just cost their employees. I can't think of a worse or more scamming type company than an insurance company of all things. Screw you, Progressive, I'm seriously dropping them as my insurance carrier just out of spite, I can care less if I even pay a few more dollars a month. Their not that great of a company anyway. I encourage all Clevelanders to consider shopping elsewhere as well. Let's boycott these greed-mongers. I guess the only silver lining is that at least it was bought out by a local millionaire and not some other pr^ck who has no concept of the Jake's tradition, all the same, this still sucks.
Dr. P: I also hear that the dude who sits in center with the big drum is going to be replaced by Neil Peart, which should be quite interesting.
Matt: Here in Ohio we're stuffed with the gecko, and the cavemen, and whatever else they're peddling as well. Not that I mind too much. Unlike most commercials, at least they can be entertaining. Also: if you believe his wikipedia page, Rob Neyer went to high school or college or something with one of the actors who played the cavemen in the Geico commercials. No point, but I thought I'd throw that out there.
Anon: If Progressive is a bad insurer (I don't know; never used them) you're more than justified in canning them. I wouldn't do it out of spite over a naming rights deal, though. Life is too short to get worked up over that kind of thing. Moreover, I'm pretty certain that naming rights deals are a net loss for companies. Unless "the Prog" sticks, everyone is still going to call it the Jake, and I highly doubt anyone is going to switch their carrier simply because the ballpark is named after it.
When you get your finder's fee for that, let me know so I can pursue my finder's fee for when Wrigley eventually becomes Old Style Park.
"Dr. P: I also hear that the dude who sits in center with the big drum is going to be replaced by Neil Peart, which should be quite interesting."
I heard it would be Carl Palmer, with Keith Emerson stopping by to stab the organ.
Maybe one of these days I'll take the time to do a mini-study on corporations that have entered large naming-rights deals with sports teams, because anecdotally it seems like a ton of them end up going bankrupt. In Phoenix, both Bank One and America West have either gone under or merged with someone larger and more solvent, and I can rattle off a host of companies for which a similar fate was met.
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