Long Live The Jag

by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt
I like Rolex, or to be more specific, I like how Rolex is a short word. For sure I like their watches, love their watches, but as an editor I like how their name easily fits into the events they sponsor. Like Rolex Big Boat Series. Clean, like the watch.

See, I don’t like bogging down my readership with wordy sponsor-driven event titles. Space is limited. Time is short. If the event name is too bloated, cuts get made. Any event name that has the addition of “presented by COMPANY” is at risk. My mission is to be efficient and provide information. I can’t always sell widgets too.

The dream scenario is when the event, the event name, and the sponsor become synonymous. Like Volvo Ocean Race. But what happens when the sponsor changes? You have to be of a certain age to remember its previous name, Whitbread Round the World Race, but when the British brewing company moved on, the 20+ year event was suddenly without a name. Yikes!

Another event now without a name is what had long been known as “The Jag”, or The Jaguar Cup Series, a collection of four winter events in Miami for the Etchells class. Arguably the biggest and best circuit, the car sponsor has moved on, and with that change goes the event’s identity.

What was cool about The Jag was its name. It was a unique and recognizable brand. What it has been replaced with is now the “Etchells Biscayne Bay Series“. Yawn. This new name now blends in with other Miami circuits such as the Star Winter Series and the Melges 20 Winter Series.

Long live The Jag…