The Brooklyn Nets are celebrating their 60th anniversary. January 29th will be on of the specially-themed nights, commemorating the 'Swamp Dragon' title that never was.
Throughout the upcoming season, the Brooklyn Nets have multiple theme nights planned to celebrate the franchise's 60th anniversary.
Some of the themes include an ABA night, a 'Hello Brooklyn" theme to signify the team's move, and a "Swamp Dragons" night.
The latter is a big piece of Nets history that could have become one of the most unique professional sports team names to ever be dawned on a jersey.
Over 30 years ago, the Nets proposed a big change - becoming the Swamp Dragons to try to counter dropping attendance rates.
The team president at the time, Jon Spoelstra, (father of Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra), proposed the concept.
It went to a vote, where 26 of 27 votes favored the change, with the New Jersey Nets vetoing their own proposal in the end.
The name remains a crazy "What if?" question, and begs the question whether a Swamp Dragon-themed franchise would survive in today's political and economic climate.
Nevertheless, the franchise will honor their almost-surname on Jan. 29.
In a phone interview with NY Daily News, Becky Kimbro, the Nets’ senior vice president of marketing, talked about her excitement for that theme in particular.
"I think this is one of the most fun stories that hasn’t been told," Kimbro said “I mean, by our organization at least. A lot of journalists have taken a shot at telling this story.”
Kimbro said the team plans to give away Swamp Dragon themed merchandise, including a bobble-head, but the players will not wear any special jerseys or play on a different court.
Still, it is a fun night for fans to honor a piece of team history that could have changed the Nets' branding forever.
As the current less-popular team in the Big Apple, a brand change may have given Brooklyn a different type of vibe from the big-brother New York Knicks.
But, it remains difficult to see a world where the Swamp Dragons would have survived over three decades.
"The Swamp Dragons might seem to be a little out of left field, but the reality of it is, one, it’s a really fun thing to celebrate," Kimbro told NY Daily News.
For now, the Nets are scheduled to host the Los Angeles Clippers for this special night, welcoming their cross-coast foes.
The Clippers will be a team to watch this season as the front office and ownership was recently stripped of five first round picks due to salary cap circumvention surrounding former NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.
This matchup will be about halfway through the season, giving Nets fans a good gauge of what this year's revamped team will look like and compete for the rest of the way.
