Edmonton Elks: CFL team unveils new name
The CFL team headquartered in Alberta's capital city will be known as the Edmonton Elks.
The club made the announcement Tuesday morning at Commonwealth Stadium, the new team name and logo in the background on The Brick Field.
"It feels great. This is something that has been an ongoing conversation for frankly since June of 2018," club president and CEO Chris Presson told CTV News Edmonton.
"It's something you don't get a chance to do very often. Maybe once in a career. And to be involved in an iconic franchise with now a new iconic logo mixed with our former logo and the refreshment there, it's quite a moment for our city and for our league."
The reveal – of not only the new moniker, but also logo, butter-yellow helmet featuring antlers stretching across a player's skull, and Twitter handle – ends about 10 months of the club being known as simply the EE Football Team.
It discontinued the previous name in July 2020, citing "shifting" views and growing discomfort with the former brand.
The team then began a fan and stakeholder consultation process, shortlisting seven options: Elk, Evergreens, Evergolds, Eclipse, Elkhounds, Eagles, and Elements.
Roughly 40,000 people voted.
Though the results weren't made public, Presson called Elk the clear favourite with the rest of the animal-related options trailing behind.
The CFL team headquartered in Alberta's capital city will be known as the Edmonton Elks. The club made the announcement on June 1 at Commonwealth Stadium, the new team name and logo in the background.
"When you look at demographically, socioeconomically, age groups, it was number one or two in every facet, in every combination," Presson said.
"It's about bringing everyone together. It's about bringing our league together. It's about bringing the people of our province and across Canada together, as well, because right now, we need this. We need positivity, we need something good."
ELKS WITH AN S
Elks – plural – however, was not one of the shortlisted options.
The grammatical decision was immediately noticed, questioned and challenged online to varying degrees.
But a linguist – who during her time as a professor at MacEwan University did not support the team under its old name – called the choice absolutely correct.
To begin with, Sarah Shulist said, proper names follow different rules and generally take the regular plural when formed from a common noun.
"This is what happens with Toronto Maple Leafs. Now, nobody wants to talk about the Leafs today," she joked, before continuing to predict fans will come around to Elks. "Nobody says the Toronto Maple Leaves, right? If you say that, you sound really weird."
Plus, she added, language is formed not only by a set of rules but also cultural practice, an idea called descriptivism.
Shulist pointed to the Boston Red Sox, whose predecessor was Boston Red Stockings and shortened to "sox" by a newspaper, and the Colorado Avalanche, which uses the singular noun.
"Team names are actually a really kind of interesting form of plural because the name refers to a collective, a group of people, which has one pattern. And it also refers to individuals," she said.
"You're not talking about an elk. You're talking about a football player. So when you're talking about the Elks or the Leafs or whatever entities … the frame of reference is entirely different. So it absolutely is the case that the rules get set just on a different playing field."
Presson says the club consulted with a University of Alberta linguist and the Oxford Dictionary, which notes the plural form of the noun can be elk or elks.
"We were told again by those two people that not only is it in line, it's more than acceptable, especially for a team name," he said, stressing the club's desire to symbolize inclusivity.
"We probably talked about this for three weeks, internally and with our agency. Frankly, I felt like adding the S was more inclusive. It's not about me or you, it's about us. It's about a pack."
Shulist believes the phonetic similarity between Elks and Esks is a benefit, too.
Now a professor at Queen's University specializing in Indigenous language revitalization, she said she'd be buying an Elks jersey to support the work the club put into rebranding.
"When we talk about meaning, it's not just a dictionary thing. It's not just something that happens and is stable for all time. So regardless of whether it was intended to be hurtful or intended to be something at the time," she said of the team's former name, "it has clearly become something with a lot of baggage attached to it."
The CFL announced earlier in the year its return with a full 18-game season, but later delayed the start to Aug. 5 and reduced the number of games to 14.
According to Presson, those plans haven't changed and the Elks are expected to play their first game in two years on Aug. 5.
"We're looking forward to a season and the focus not being on our name but being on getting everyone back together."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.