Toronto PWHL logo looks close to Taylor Swift music video

The Toronto Sceptres were officially introduced on Monday, giving the city’s PWHL franchise an official identity.

After the league went its first year without official team names or logos, Toronto’s PWHL franchise, along with five other teams, unveiled its new look.

There were many opinions about the team’s look, with “Sceptres” being a team name that’s not commonly used in the sporting world. (For those curious, it’s a type of staff used by royalty, being described by the Cambridge Dictionary as “a decorated stick that is carried by a queen or king during some official ceremonies as a symbol of their authority.”)

But the brand reveal likely had some unintended consequences, with some people saying it looked like a Taylor Swift video from 2014.

Not only did the franchise’s logo feature the “TS” initials worn by Swift and backup dancers in cheerleader outfits, but it also used the same blue and yellow colour scheme that the pop megastar used in the “Shake It Off” video.

Y’all I think that logo is already taken pic.twitter.com/3jAhn59GPA

— betty (vancouver n3) 🌈 (@bettysgardenco) September 9, 2024

this is important to me 🙂‍↕️ https://t.co/baaXohOOpU pic.twitter.com/SrqdYDPKeS

— erika (@hereincolour) September 9, 2024

you simply can’t stop me from calling them the toronto swift https://t.co/EymM3MzNts pic.twitter.com/Y76aWY3H2g

— nat 🩵 (@fearlessnat13) September 9, 2024

??? https://t.co/fxyOWUhsiw pic.twitter.com/5JteJo60VW

— 🇲🇽 Sickos On Ice 🇨🇦 (@SickosOnIce) September 9, 2024

Given that “Shake It Off” has amassed more than 3.4 billion views on YouTube, it might be a while before the Sceptres can reach that level of global popularity.

But they’ve at least grown bigger over their first year in operation, as the organization announced that it will call Coca-Cola Coliseum home for the 2024-25 season after spending one season at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

The Sceptres form part of the PWHL’s inaugural six, with the other five new team names announced Monday as follows:

Montreal Victoire
Ottawa Charge
Minnesota Frost
New York Sirens
Boston Fleet

(Re)introducing the inaugural six, as you've never seen them before:

Boston Fleet
Minnesota Frost
Victoire de Montreal
New York Sirens
Ottawa Charge
Toronto Sceptres pic.twitter.com/oMTyeTbecL

— PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) September 9, 2024

However, the Sceptres weren’t the only new PWHL logo to be accused (at least lightly) of a bit of plagiarism.

With the team using a red, yellow, and white colour scheme and a C with some lines behind it, fans everywhere drew comparisons to the classic Calgary Flames logo.

Teams will play 30 games each this regular season. A schedule and a start date are expected to be announced soon.

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