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What “The City” Means to the Golden State Warriors

By Carlos Murillo

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The Golden State Warriors, since moving to the West Coast in 1962, have truly become the Bay Area’s team.

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The Warriors are the common ground in a region where a bridge separates some of the fiercest rivalries in sports. Though they’ve called Oakland their home since 1972, the team has honored all of its fans, occasionally re-discovering and re-inventing old uniforms. For the 2015-16 season, the Warriors will don jerseys featuring the iconic “The City” logo, paying homage to the past and possibly foreshadowing the future.

After playing with uniforms that said “San Francisco” across the chest, the Warriors unveiled “The City” jerseys that featured  a graphic of the Golden Gate Bridge over water on the front and a traditional San Francisco Cable Car on the back for the 1966-67 season. Worn by Hall of Famers Rick Barry and Nate Thurmond, the uniforms were destined for greatness. Full of personality, this jersey elevated San Francisco through simplification. “The City” became an instant classic.

According to NBA.com’s uniform history of the franchise, Warriors’ great Al Attles noted that:

"“It had the bridge on the front with the words The City and a cable car on the back… Imagine, we’re in New York, people from New York consider it the Big Apple, The City…I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but nobody wanted to be the first to take the jacket off. Finally, we take the jackets off and I’ll be darned if we don’t get a standing ovation from the New York crowd.”"

Though they only lasted five years–as the team moved to Oakland and were renamed “Golden State”–the logo and uniform became an iconic part of basketball and Bay Area history. It successfully blended the sports world and the essence of the city it represented into a cohesive image.

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Nearly forty years after they made their debut, the jerseys reappeared. The blue version found its way to the Oakland Arena in 2005, but it was the home yellows that resurfaced in 2006-07 during the “We Believe” season left a significant mark on Warriors’ history. While not quite on the level of Barry, Thurmond, and Attles, fan-favorites Baron Davis and Jason Richardson surely made their mark in the beautiful uniforms.

The move to bring them back for eight games makes complete sense for several reasons. For starters, the current Warriors uniform is inspired by this classic logo. From a business standpoint, the merchandise makes a lot of money.  Furthermore, they just look really good. Universally accepted as one of the greatest logos ever, the Warriors should look as good as they play–and Curry and co. play some aesthetically pleasing basketball.

With the impending move across the bridge, perhaps ownership is trying to pique San Francisco fans’ interest. Maybe they’re trying to see what the response is towards a more San Francisco-oriented team. Obviously the team belongs to the whole bay and as the Golden State Warriors they can show that. It’s unknown if the team will change it’s name back to the original San Francisco after the move, but this could be a way to see how East Bay-based fans would react.

No matter which side of the bridge you’re on, it’s hard to deny that these are special jerseys. As a San Francisco native, I’m excited that they’re back. It’s only right that (arguably) the best player in franchise history on the best team in franchise history should wear the best uniform in franchise history.

Last night, I looked through the Warriors’ Team store and I was uneasy. As a kid, I adored the jerseys. It felt as if “The City” belonged exclusively to the likes of Davis, Richardson, Stephen Jackson, and Al Harrington. It was strange seeing new numbers and names printed onto the jerseys. Part of the mystique and charm of “We Believe” was the beautiful jerseys that seemingly compelled them to play some of their best basketball en route to an incredible playoff run. It’s a part of the lore and their identity and now it’s something they have to share.

https://twitter.com/warriors/status/659966355181928449

During the Warriors’ title run, Rick Barry made several comments about  the Warriors. They were negative and they felt like desperate attempts to hold onto relevancy. For forty years, he was the best player on the last championship team in the Bay Area. Now, Stephen Curry and the Dubs were breaking and setting records, seemingly making his team fall towards some kind of irrelevancy. That’s how I feel about his uniform. That while I’m ecstatic to see my favorite players in them, I hope that the significance of their role in 2007 doesn’t dissipate.

I know how crazy it sounds and I also know I’ll get over it. It’s going to be awesome to see a brightly colored Klay Thompson splash threes on the new court. This team deserves to wear this jersey. Some players became Hall of Famers in a new city. Others were pioneers for pace and space. It’s time for this team to write the next chapter in the story of this jersey.

“The City” is one of the most iconic logos in sports that transcends into popular culture. It has influenced countless knockoffs and imitations. It bridges the gap between folks that watched Barry to kids that support Curry and everything in between. It inspires a 12 year-old to find creative ways to sneak it into his art projects for school. It represents a city very well, capturing the essence and giving it a cool nickname in the process. It means a lot to some and some to a lot.

And it’s going to look absolutely gorgeous on the defending champs as they add to the history of the logo..

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