“Baseball has never been hotter with the Jacksonville Suns!” Well, not anymore it’s not. This week the beloved Jacksonville Suns made the executive decision to change their name to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. Jumbo Shrimp? Really? I guess all of the other animals were taken so we had to go with one found on the bottom of the food chain. Hearing “Jumbo Shrimp” reminds me of the kid’s meal I would order at Joe’s Crab Shack (one of Jacksonville’s best restaurants, if you ask me).

I was born and raised in Jacksonville, so I am very familiar with the popular baseball team known as the Jacksonville Suns. I spent many weekends of my childhood at the Baseball Grounds, whether it was with friends or family, and all of those memories include me singing the familiar jingle while stuffing my face with Cracker Jacks. Just hearing the words “Jacksonville Suns” makes me think of buying hotdogs and snow cones, and running the bases after the game with my younger sister.

My biggest concern is geared towards the jingle. The beloved jingle we all know and love. Hearing the song play through the speakers made watching the games even more enjoyable. What will the new jingle be? “Baseball has never been hotter with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp!” Whoever is coming up with the new jingle has some big shoes to fill. The jingle is known and loved by not only the younger generations but also the older ones as well.

No matter how much we hate on the name, it is not changing anytime soon. There could be 10,000 signatures on the “Change the Name Back to Jacksonville Suns” petition, and they would not change it. The more I think about it, the more it is growing on me. And I have to admit that their new merchandise is pretty cool. As Sharpay Evans once said, “It’s out with the old, and in with the new.”