New Tampa Bay Lightning Logo / Branding

Dear Mr. Vinik,

For the record, your quest in making the Tampa Bay Lightning a world class organization has been nothing short of miraculous. Especially considering the amount of time that has elapsed. You've hired fantastic and well-respected people with stellar track records. To date, I struggle to come up with a poor decision that was made by you, or your direct reports.

Today, the first phase of the total brand transformation was announced. I for one am ecstatic insofar as your mission statement, and fan-centric operating philosophy. This is something that has not gone unnoticed by myself and the fans of the Lightning. This is something that has been a long time coming here in the Tampa area, and make no mistake, we DO appreciate and desire this to be the environment for many, many years to come.

With that being said, we have an extremely hard time accepting the direction the team has taken aesthetically. Specifically, the team's new logo and uniforms.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have existed for 20 years. For 20 years we have worn black, blue, silver and white. These colors are a part of our heritage. We wore these colors as Stanley Cup Champions not too long ago. For 20 years we have included design elements uncommon to any other team in the league. Specifically, under-arm victory stripes and vertical bolts on the pants. These elements have been stripped from our identity, and we now resemble the team from Toronto.

In addition and moreover, our logo has undergone modification only twice in the first 20 years. Now, we will have seen three Lightning logos since we were crowned Champions 7 years ago. The new logo is not classic, it is, in fact, modern. Its uneven, slanted oval does not suggest "classic" or "tradition" - even with the entire uniform's monochrome scheme. The new logo conjures up thoughts of DC Comics' The Flash, Flash Gordon, The Incredibles, The Grateful Dead, etc., and is now NOT getting positive press around the web. Our first logo, admittedly, was no Picasso either. It was however, our first identity. Our first flag, and something I hold near and dear to me. Our second iteration was a decent modernization of the old, and something we fans have embraced since then.

We, the Lightning fans, urge you to regroup. Our feelings for the new logo are unrequited. We urge you to reconsider your decision to opt for this logo as the main crest.

You have time to get this right. These jerseys are not for sale to the general public yet, and more importantly, the team has not played in them. Please take this request not as a demand, ultimatum or boycott. This is quite the opposite. Mr. Vinik, you seem to be truly engaged in the community and have the fans' best interest at heart. If that's the case, I and any fan who signs this petition will be unable to fully appreciate and support the new Tampa Bay Lightning branding going forward.

In closing, I would urge you to visit the following sites as reinforcement of this petition.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Pass-or-Fail-Tampa-Bay-Lightning-s-new-jerseys-?urn=nhl-314781

http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=865200&page=20