Brentford football club launched our new badge yesterday and, now that the shock of the seemingly sudden reveal has worn off, what is your opinion? Brilliant? Terrible? Indifferent?
Initial thoughts from myself were in the positive camp – it does happen đ – and remain as such. Likewise much of the feedback to that column , whether directly in the comments or on social media. Equally though, Iâm not so naive to realise there were some less than favourable initial observations out there.
Thatâs life. People are absolutely entitled to opinions whilst reaction to change can be a tough thing to deal with. Moreso sudden, unexpected change.
Yet, for some reason, the tabloids were lining up, lemming like, to immediately pour scorn. Why go for the positive or just reporting the story when you can do so in such a negative fashion? Do we have a bad relationship with the media or are Brentford just a soft target?
âBrentford supporters left furiousâ. Â Â
âAre we the wasps now?â Â
âBrentfordâs new badge angers fans who claim traditional bee looks more like a wasp.âÂ
These, the respective headlines yesterday from the Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and that bastion of the footballing moral high ground, The Sun. Bearing in mind these were the same sources whose leading stories yesterday included :
Why are you sitting here on the sofa?’: Alex Jones asks Cliff Richard why he is on The One Show despite SUING the BBC –Daily Mail
‘Why are you sitting here on the sofa?’: Alex Jones asks Cliff Richard why he’s on The One Show despite SUING the BBCâ –The Daily Mirror
‘THIS IS AWKWARD’ The One Showâs Alex Jones asks Cliff Richard why heâs on the sofa despite ÂŁ1.5 million lawsuit against the BBC The Sun
Iâm no Cliff Richard fan and please donât get me started on The One Show (the audience of which is, presumably, interchangeable with that of Mrs. Brownâs Boys). Yet this is the calibre of apparent news our supposed badge based fury and/or anger is lined up against.
Aside for the fact this fan fury seems such a skewed perspective , I donât even get the whole Bees / Wasp thing. The bee on our new badge is clearly a bee. Maybe more ‘bumble’ than ‘honey’ but still clearly a bee. Who could even think this was a wasp? Desperate editors, internet comedians or Mrs. Brown aside?
Wasps. Real and shirt based. Not Bees
We’ve seen wasps before at picnics and on rugby shirts. I can’t say this enough but ours is clearly a bee.  As for the claim that it only has four legs rather than six⊠Erm??! Not sure I follow the logic there. Presumably the âmissing pairâ are under the wings.
Funnily enough, it IS possible to draw / photograph a bee with only 4 of the traditional 6 legs visible to the naked eye.
If nothing else, just look at the current badge and start counting.1, 2, 3, 4. Iâve no recollection of any fury / anger from Brentford supporters at what seems to be much more of a leg based inaccuracy. If, indeed, it even is one. Which it isnât.
Have there been 20 years of marches and placards outside Mark Devlinâs office? âGive us back our legsâ being shouted by an angry mob or #wewantourlegs appearing on Twitter ? (note to media team – don’t ).
The current badge. 1,2,3,4 erm that’s it..
Of course not. Because, much like the self-importance and perceived popularity of the John Lewis Christmas advert, it isnât actually âa thingâ outside of a small section of cyberspace. That clickbait grabbing headline writers then chose to turn it into one is, sadly, endemic of todayâs journalism.
And I say that as a football fan looking in rather than any form of journalist (which clearly Iâm not) looking out. Iâm just the numpty on the terrace with a bit more spare time on my hands early in the morning than is probably advisable. Oh, for some sleep..
But I digress. What I would ask is why was the release so rushed? So sudden. No fanfare. No build up. No cryptic clue from Matthew Benham. No âBig announcement coming soonâ type advice. No âstrip teaseâ – an annual favourite
Instead, like a bolt out of the blue it was suddenly here. An email in the inbox and a headline on the website announcing âOur new club crestâ .
Much like the subject of kit, this is clearly an emotive one. Fans were apparently consulted although this is something I, and many others, were unaware of over this consultation period. “During the past 18 months we engaged with a wide range of fans and stakeholders within the Club about our crest and received a clear mandate to look at change.” Those aren’t my words yet something which could have been made clearer if it was happening. And if it was just with a select group, at least explain this in the announcement .
Whilst this is ultimately their decision as a general rule I think our club goes out of it’s way to involve the fans. Being realistic, it is one Iâm presuming is a decision they had to get right for many more reasons beyond simply something to stick on the shirt and say âWe are BrentfordâÂ
Involving the supporters a bit more, even just in the build up to the release, might have been a bit of a smarter move in retrospect. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and in a village such as football, where gossip and rumours can spread like wildfire, perhaps this was just a case of wanting to get the news out there.
Either way, the badge is here to stay. Iâm hoping it grows on supporters. I love it and, whilst I have no qualms in voicing a less than club friendly opinion when warranted (as regular readers will be aware), in this instance I think theyâve come up with a great design.
Certainly, it is one Iâll be proud to wear on my shirt next season. Now Bob just has to get his part of that deal right ….
Nick Bruzon
BrentfordFC 