'People mocked us about the Care Bears and stuff like that... but Bears is now part of our fabric'
Pat Lam has had a wry chuckle about sceptics who mocked Bristol when they officially became the Bristol Bears two years ago following a name change. On the verge of becoming Championship champions at that time in April 2018, owner Steve Lansdown controversially decided to ramp up the razzmatazz ahead of the club’s return to the Gallagher Premiership by renaming them in the hope that it would attract a new generation of supporters.
The rebrand was dismissed in certain quarters as a marketing gimmick, particularly the accompanying 19-page brochure where comparisons with the bear, which referenced physicality, spirit, hunger and fearlessness as well as awakening from hibernation, caused much mirth.
Even the Bristol Rugby Supporters Club weren’t impressed, its treasurer Mike West commenting on the BBC: “I’m not best pleased… I’m confused about why – this is a club that has been around since 1888 and is one the oldest rugby clubs that still exists at the highest levels. I don’t understand why they have suddenly contorted the name after 130 years without some reference. People don’t go bear in Bristol that often. In the Premiership next season the opposition fans will surely be calling us Yogis, or Boo Boos or the Fuzzies.”
However, with Bristol sitting third in the Premiership when the current season was suspended indefinitely last month and attracting average crowds of 17,916 to Ashton Gate, coach Lam has declared the name change to the Bears a success that is now driving them on during the sport’s current suspension.
Speaking on Bristol Sport TV about the two-year anniversary of the controversial name change, Lam said: “There was a little bit of controversy there but I went straight to Steve, why Steve, why the Bears? When he talked to me about the spirit of the bear, he talked to me about the bear, the qualities of the bear that will look after its community, that when it needs to defend its ground it will.
'I actually had to retire over a Zoom call. I had all the boys, all the staff and there is me getting emotional'
A brutal collision ended @BristolBears centre @whhurrell 's playing career, but his rugby story isn't over, writes @heagneyl https://t.co/7VLM2nDwb0
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“But the biggest thing is that it will look after the people within that whole community and that is all around the place. I suppose it aligned so much with my coaching philosophy, that it is not just about winning rugby.
“I know people mocked us about ‘oh, the Care Bears’ and stuff like that but that is actually what I want people to see in our staff and in our players, that we do care about our community, and when it is time to be aggressive and have that winning instinct – it has that too – but more importantly it will stand its ground and it will defend our community.
“At the time it was just an idea and, like our vision, to sit back now and look at it and think how far we have come that it is just part of our fabric, it’s who we are, it’s what we are about and it will hold us in good stead and it will get us through this challenging time and we will come out of it an even stronger club I believe.”
Bears was the second time in the past 20 years the club adopted a nickname, having previously taken the name Bristol Shoguns as part of a sponsorship deal.
Comments on RugbyPass
I’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
3 Go to commentsFinals are always tense affairs for the players so I do not expect this to be a spectacle of running rugby unfortunately.
1 Go to commentsBulls***': Ex-England international calls out Eben Etzebeth… Not to his face but from very far away… after he’d left. Checked to make sure he wasn’t in the building.
85 Go to commentsHopefully this will mean a new Auckland league team to support in the west. Big Warriors fan but it’s very, very stale on that front and I’d like the option of another team if it was to watch league again. League needs to step up BIG time if its to get anywhere, another AK team and something from the capitol or south is a must for the game.
3 Go to commentsGood, deep interview, nice job Frankie!
1 Go to commentsNRL players don’t have anywhere near the number of Tests. Some people would be happy having Rest Homes full if 40 yo ex-players walking, or hobbling more like it, into walls. It’s just a game!
4 Go to commentsNOW Razor is worried about ABs getting injured or overplayed! Didn’t bother him last year. He happily played his AB Crusaders.
4 Go to commentsWhat is the World Rugby U20 players born year.
2 Go to commentsMuch like the Chiefs finally gave up waiting for Atu Moli to ever not be injured, you have to wonder if the Chiefs and Crusaders will let Josh Lord and Ethan Blackadder go next season. They’re being well paid to sit in the injury ward every year. Better off putting those funds towards someone who might actually play.
7 Go to commentsShowed better basic skills than some nz Super sides, who probably would have botched some of those backline moves. This tournament really is too short though. Needs more teams, or have them play two rounds to properly prepare them for the near full-time NH U20 sides.
4 Go to commentsGood grief it’s only six months. Probably just upset it’s not an established kiwi entering their prime they can “project” into green to join the rest.
2 Go to commentsGood player but far from being best in the world. That's an exaggeration. Perhaps Best in world by Northern Hemisphere standards and biasis but certainly not Southern Hemi standards
3 Go to commentsWell one thing about World Cup knock out rounds and Ireland is very clear: they won’t be getting ahead of themselves in ‘27! Because making it beyond the QF is well and truly ‘IN THEIR HEADS’ now…😉
85 Go to commentsHas this guy been dope tested? Sounds like a case of “roid rage”.
1 Go to commentsI would like to see him say that to Eben face to face in a dark alley.
85 Go to commentsYep, lost in translation. There are arrogant people in Ireland, yes. As there are arrogant people in every country, but as a nation, arrogance is not a general characteristic in Ireland. There has not really had a strong representation for any global sport over the years, and hence arrogance is not endemic to Irish people in this regard. I seriously doubt that was said or meant by 12 or 13 players. If it was said, it would have been said in jest and to pay Etzebeth and the Springboks a compliment for how hard fought the game was.
85 Go to commentsOne of the few Bidwell articles I can agree with. If coaches played their players through niggles and consistently played them 80mins then you could make an argument for resting protocols - they obviously don’t and are incredibly responsible, let’s give up the resting nonsense and let the boys play.
4 Go to commentsDaniel Gallan, please for the love of all that is holy, stop writing about rugby. Or at the very least stop telling people you are South African.
21 Go to commentsThis Dr.Rassie 6-2 filth is spreading. We need to ask World Rugby to ban something
1 Go to comments