Dallas Mavericks will no longer be known in China as little cows

Affectionately known in China for the past two decades as 小牛 — which translates into English as the “Little Cows,” a moniker incongruous with the team’s equine logo and mascot — the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks will henceforth go by 独行侠, or the “Lone Ranger Heroes.” The franchise revealed its new Chinese name during the Tencent broadcast of the Mavs’ game against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

It’s the product of a grass roots rebranding campaign launched in September by team owner Mark Cuban. The club crowdsourced proposals from Chinese fans and whittled down more than 50,000 submissions to three finalists, with the “Lone Ranger Heroes” triumphing by popular vote over the “Wild Horses” and the “Fierce Colts.”

A press release on the team’s website, accompanied by a hype video, declared the dawn of a new era in the Mavericks’ distinguished legacy in China. “With this Chinese name change, we’ve made history by giving our Chinese-speaking fans the opportunity to redefine our identity,” said Cuban. “I think that fans will be proud of this new name.”

On Chinese social media, however, longtime fans were not so keen to dispense with two decades of history, nor did they hold back in voicing their displeasure with the fruits of the democratic process. Netizens rolled their collective eyes at the official announcement posted to the Mavs’ Weibo account, which as of this writing still bears the handle 达拉斯小牛(Dallas Little Cows). Selections from the comment section roast:

“Okay, Little Cows.”

“You’ll always be the Little Cows to me.”

“I’ve been following the Little Cows since 2004, and all of a sudden the name changes just because you say so? Did you ever even think to ask my opinion? Unbelievable.”

“The Lone Ranger Heroes? You don’t understand Chinese people at all. I feel sorry for the Little Cows for being so behind the times. What a stupid name. Whose decision was this?”

“The cuts in this video are painfully awkward. The dubbing is lame.”

“Who chose this name? It’s an insult to my childhood.”

[Images via Fort Worth Star-Telegram / Weibo]

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