For years, Rockets fans who have watched the team cycle thorough various logos and color schemes have begged them to return to the classic, the one that brought Houston its first two championships.
The ketchup and mustard.
After moving to Houston from San Diego (fun fact!) in 1971, the Rockets adopted the old school logo that many of us who grew up with the team remember. The dull yellow and red basketball with black lettering is what we all knew.
After Leslie Alexander bought the team, he ordered a change that would excite kids, a really bad time in uniforms that saw fuzzy animals and pajama-like designs that included the blue (???) pinstripe Rockets unis with the smiling rocketship on them (we won’t tell you what most fans called that rocket given it is decidedly PG-13).
Finally, the team pivoted again, this time in an effort to something that would draw in Asian fans suddently interested after the drafting of Yao Ming. The result was the paint-dripping R we still have today and a return to red, at least, while adding white.
Since then, there have been a number of alternate and “city” uniforms, some better than others. But, certainly the biggest winner was the introduction of the Dunkstonaut, a huge fan favorite.
For the first time in many years, the Rockets have rolled out a new-ish set of logos. Let’s discuss.
The really significant change is the color scheme.
Whatever you thought of the variations of Rockets logos over the decades, the one constant among fans is the best color scheme remains the original red and gold (ketchup and mustard for the real ones). The red has been a part of the uniforms for all but a few of those god-forsaken “blue” seasons, but the nostalgia for the original red and gold remained strong among fans, much the way people still cling to the Astros rainbow colors and the Oilers Columbia Blue.
The gold had made appearances in throwback and city uniforms, but the official return is significant and something the team finally seems ready to re-embrace after years of what felt like running from it.
The Dunkstronaut remains but so does the ‘R’.
Unequivocally, the most popular addition to the canon of Rockets logo iterations in years was the Dunkstronaut, rolled out as part of the retro Columbia Blue H-Town uniforms. Fans (us included) loved the cool cartoon dunking space man and the Rockets clearly go the message. Some were worried that it would not make it into the new logo and while it isn’t the “primary” design, it is the main alternate and will remain a part of the overall branding, which is great news.
The one confusing element is the fact that the dripping Rockets R logo remains integral to their designs and the “primary logo” even though they changed fonts for the full name. The new font is a blending of the more modern typeface of recent years with the older italics Rockets logo, complete with the lowercase ‘t’ in both the city and team names. But, outside the pinstripe blue uniforms, nothing had been as polarizing among fans as the big red R. The fact that it remains even though the team name doesn’t use it will certainly vex some who had hoped it would be disappeared for good. (Changing entire logo schemes ain’t easy!)
The rollout was pretty spectacular.
Huge props to the Rockets for their video teaser, Rudy T’s Diner, featuring Rockets legends like Hakeem Olajuwon, Ralph Sampson and Calvin Murphy, and a starring role from comedian/TV star Mo Amer (with a sweet cameo from Slim Thug). Hard to imagine a more fitting “trailer” for the launch of new uniforms, particularly given the color changes. One of the better marketing approaches we’ve seen for a sports team in a long time.
About that yield sign…
The Rockets also released what they are calling a “global logo” that is in the shape of a yield sign with the full name and the R logo plus new colors. In fact, it’s meant to mimic the patches worn by astronauts right down to the two “quasars” on either side of the word Houston. It is the one fully integrated logo change that features both the R and the new name/font plus the color scheme (which also hints at the black they will have in some uniforms as well). With the patch and the Dunkstonaut — nevermind the very NASA-y font — they are wisely leaning into Space City.
It’s interesting that there was a point Houston sports teams and residents wanted to do everything they could to distance themselves from what many thought was a rather embarrassing past. But, as an entire generation (yay, Gen X!) grew up in the city and embraced both the good and the bad, a real pride in our collective weirdness began to shape our collective identity. In terms of our city’s physche, this feels like another step in the right direction.
