It’s not if. It’s when.
I’m talking, of course, about the idea of Cleveland’s baseball team changing its nickname.
It’s a conversation which has lasted longer than some are willing to acknowledge, but one which found itself in the spotlight earlier this month. When the franchise publicly announced it was having discussions about the “best path forward with regard to our name,” the idea of Cleveland no longer being called ‘the Indians’ suddenly felt more realistic than ever.
Yet, there were still many fans who loudly declared their displeasure. Who held out hope that, despite the team’s announcement, there was still a possibility this ordeal ended with no updates being made.
After this past week, I’m not sure how anyone could sell themselves on that belief anymore. All Cleveland has done across the past few days is confirm a change is practically inevitable.
Casey Drottar is a Cleveland Indians writer for Sports Illustrated. Subscribe to his podcast, or follow him on Twitter and Facebook