In Denver, sportsmanship might’ve just reached a new Summit.
Now, the wise apples over in the Grading The Week (GTW) offices will readily confess our sins because 1.) There are so darn many, we’ve lost count; and 2.) It’s good for the soul.
And Team GTW has got to admit: Before last Tuesday, we’d never really heard of the Colorado Summit. And, because of what is believed to be an act of sporting/community altruism … we won’t be hearing that name for very much longer.
OK, OK, OK, here’s the juice. You know that sweet Denver Summit FC logo that dropped earlier in the week? The nifty green, gold and red number? The one that’ll represent the city’s new National Women’s Soccer League expansion team? The same NWSL team that features Peyton Manning and Mikaela Shiffrin as part of its ownership group?
At any rate, the “Summit” part reportedly needed a little … um … navigating.
Denver’s Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) franchise, which calls Mines’ Marv Kay Stadium home, has been using “Summit” since it was founded in 2022.
A Classy Summit — A
Now this is usually the part that gets the lawyers excited. Because while registering trademarks can cost hundreds of dollars, acquiring them from their original rightsholder often costs a whole heck of a lot more.
The Summit could’ve played hardball. Instead, the new soccer brand/nickname was met with a public bow and a hearty congratulation on the part of the “old” Summit, the little guys on the block.
The ultimate frisbee team said via a release that it was “passing the torch” to the new NWSL team, announcing that it would “relinquish its name to Denver’s new … expansion club.”
That’s it? No shakedowns? No litigious finger-wagging? Just a “passing of the torch?” Nobody’s that nice, surely. This is America. We want receipts!
“There was no payment for the team name,” Denver Summit FC spokesperson Brendan Hannan told Denverite.com last week. “The two clubs collaborated on a mutually beneficial relationship.”
And as part of that, moving forward, the old Summit will soon cease to be the Summit at all. The frisbee crew has already begun the process of a rebrand, starting with an online survey for fans that features 10 options — “Alpine,” “Echo,” “Sky” and “Mint” are our personal faves — as well as a box for a write-in option.
Might we suggest “Class?”
Summit FC’s logos — A
And speaking of classy, a GTW salute to Matthew Wolff, who designed the new Summit FC branding. A golden sky? Check. Tip o’ the cap to Red Rocks? Check. A clean green and white base? Check and check. There’s even a secondary logo with mountains tucked inside a giant, burnt red “D” — a very cool, yet totally unique, nod to Broncos helmets past.
Betts powers Team USA to gold — A
Sticking with folks who can’t seem to stop winning, Sienna Betts just took home another trophy.
The former Grandview High School girls basketball star and UCLA signee this past Sunday helped Team USA’s national women’s basketball team notch its fourth straight gold medal in the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup in Czechia.
Betts recorded a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) in a victory over Australia that clinched the gold for the Stars & Stripes. She also averaged a double-double for the tourney (14.6 points, 10.0 boards per game) and led all players in field-goal percentage (58.7%). Her older sister, Lauren, whom she’ll join in Westwood, was part of the Team USA squad that won the U19 World Cup in 2021.
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