Sigh...... "good grief" indeed..............
You all are just eat up with capitalist consumption. I'm not against capitalism (I'm really not) - but you all seem to not grasp the downside of overproduction and waste. And I doubt any points I would try to belabor on that subject here would find purchase (pun intended). That said..........read on.......
A step back into recent history:
the view 3 years ago, "two years after rebranding"
I'm quite shocked the rebranding thing was (almost) 5 full years ago; seems like 2, or 3 at the most. If it's really been 5 years, then this "retro" things isn't *quite* as silly - but silly it still is.
From reading that thread, it's clear everyone (including yours truly) was pretty happy with the re-brand. So the silliness is that the organization (ETSU) has put allll.... this effort into creating a new logo, new brand, new identity, etc. -- and now that same organization is at least partly responsible (by licensing the old stuff again, one presumes) for watering down that progress with more confusion. "Hilarious" is *exactly* what it is. This is helping lay the groundwork for yet the *next* rebranding in oh, what, 2025?
As BucDoctor stated on another thread back some time ago:
"The problem was that ETSU had over 100 logos in use and no consistent brand at all." So how is this new/old stuff is supposed to clarify things?
I'm truly wondering if whoever is putting out this retro stuff is just grabbing an opportunity. 'They' have the old patterns laying around, and decide "hey, it's been 5 years......is it time to try a "retro promotion"?" Are these items actually new productions, or just old stock carefully stored?? [Just an idle thoughts; not saying that's what's going on here.]
But as to the "retro-lution" (thanks - I just made that up - lol).......I'm sure some of you, at least will remember this:
Bring back (old? new) Bucky?
And here's the genesis of this from (nearly) 5 years ago:
unveiling of the new logo
I completely get the "retro" thing - if one is talking about the 1918 Chicago White Sox, the 1950 Chicago Bears, or the 1963 Kansas City Athletics, etc., etc., etc. But bringing back gear from only 5 years ago doesn't seem to be capitalizing on the retro bandwagon to me -- it just seems wasteful and confusing. If one is concerned about one's "brand" integrity, that is. If one just wants to increase licensing fees, and money from product sales, etc............AT THE EXPENSE OF THE 'BRAND'............then ok - have at it.
Was 1977 disco cool in 1982? No. Etc. There are tons of examples. If we really wanted to be truly retro, how about the uniforms that just said "STATE", which some of this board were advocating not all that long ago? Or even "ETSC" or "ET Normal"? Now *that's* retro. Have "Rapper's Delight" playing over the speakers as the (basketball) Bucs warm up? (just once, maybe)
I've truly got nothing against anyone buying whatever they want, or whatever makes them happy, or however we want to characterize it. But I just think (once again wearing my idealist's hat) we should cut down on waste and use of natural resources. And certainly there's nothing wrong with supporting a business........but one should take into account the follow-thru of those actions, and the secondary and tertiary effects of one's actions. Just sayin'. Buying extra, new, unneeded stuff is NOT necessarily a good thing. Just sayin' that, too.
"Be not the first by whom the new are tried, Nor yet the last to lay the old aside."
-- Alexander Pope