When the Tucson Roadrunners developed their El Lazo identity, they wanted to do more than just slap “los” next to their Roadrunners logo.
So the organization came up with El Lazo de Tucson, an identity the Roadrunners don a few times a year. On those nights they switch to El Lazo’s sweaters and logo.
Roadrunners president Bob Hoffman said the team wanted an identity that tells “a story” and connects to Southern Arizona on a cultural level.
“We just didn’t want to throw something out there that essentially didn’t have a ton of meaning to it,” he said.
Professional sports teams are glued to their brands. That of course includes names or mascots, but also colors, fonts, logos and accents.
So it’s become commonplace for franchises to alter their kits to try to appeal to a wider array of potential fans.
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At some levels, that includes being more kitschy; in minor-league baseball, the Durham Bulls have at times gone by alternate names such as the “Durham Lollygaggers” or “Durham Shower Shoes” (both plays off of quotes from the famous sports movie “Bull Durham”).
In the big leagues, many teams have gone a simpler route. That’s where fans will usually see “los” appear next to a team’s existing name or logo as a way of attempting to connect with a bilingual or Spanish-speaking audience.
“We wanted to create an alternate identity,” Hoffman said. “That included a very thought-out logo, a story, what it meant and what it hoped to accomplish.”
The last time the Tucson Roadrunners wore their El Lazo jerseys, defenseman Ronald Knot carded an assist during Tucson’s 6-2 victory over the Bakersfield Condors on Jan. 20 at Tucson Arena.
Tucson’s second of three El Lazo games this season is Friday at 7 p.m., when the Roadrunners host the San Diego Gulls at Tucson Arena.
Roadrunners coach Steve Potvin said the team’s El Lazo jerseys are his favorite, although he also liked the new “First Responders Night” jersey announced earlier this week.
“The Lazo jerseys are pretty cool. I think those are fun to see the guys perform in,” Potvin said. “I like these new First Responders for sure — that’s going to be a new favorite for us. But I think the biggest thing for us is being able to compete in front of our fans no matter what jerseys we wear.
“It’ll be a good series here. We need some points.”
The El Lazo logo features what resembles a Roadrunner-head-shaped sugar skull, referencing Dia de Los Muertos and the All Souls Procession. The skull sits in front of an Arizona flag with the Roadrunners’ colors, the word “Lazo” in a western font and a cowboy hat to allude to the Tucson Rodeo and Parade. And, of course, there’s the lasso itself.
Tucson Roadrunners rookie forward Nathan Smith adds an insurance goal, scoring his second of the game just outside five minutes to play in a 6-2 Tucson win over the Bakersfield Condors on Jan. 25, 2023, at Tucson Arena. Courtesy Tucson Roadrunners
El Lazo is Spanish for lasso or lariat and points back to the traditional City of Tucson logo that featured a lasso around the modern city and historic sites.
Hoffman said El Lazo is meant to lasso Southern Arizona together.
“Tucson is just crazy in how great it is with so many different people,” Hoffman said. “There’s just so many different cultures and so many different pieces to Southern Arizona. The point of El Lazo, meaning the lasso ... is to try to tighten and bring those cultures together.”
This season’s El Lazo jerseys are mostly red, featuring tan upper sleeves and shoulder separated with a lasso rope and a mostly black mountains and cactus landscape on the bottom.
“There are a lot of people that talk about it,” Hoffman said about El Lazo. “They say they came to a game specifically because of that or that they came to a game not knowing and saw that and thought, ‘Wow, that’s a really cool idea that you guys are doing.’ ”
Tucson Roadrunners rookie forward Nathan wins the draw deep in the Bakersfield Condors' zone and ends up scoring scoring barely a minute into the game Jan. 20, 2023 at Tucson Arena, giving the Roadrunners an early 1-0 lead en route to a 6-2 victory. Courtesy Tucson Roadrunners
In addition to the red El Lazo jerseys, the team’s recently announced special sweater for First Responders Night features a Roadrunners cartoon logo over the Maltese cross that fire departments often use. The bottom piping mimics the peaks and valleys of an electrocardiogram (EKG) line.
This season’s new, more common third jersey is the Roadrunners’ Kachina sweater. The team previously wore a black version of the Kachina through last season. Hoffman said while the white one is a salute to the Arizona Coyotes’ famed white Kachina — a fan-revered design that was brought back permanently in recent years — he expects the team will don a dark-colored version of the Kachina again as soon as next season.
Roadrunners captain Adam Cracknell, in his first season in Tucson, is impressed with the array of jerseys the Roadrunners wear. His favorite is the white Kachina, but he said likes the First Responders Night one a lot too for what it represents.
“Obviously those people sacrifice a lot for us, and even if it’s a small token of honoring them one night, it’s something that we’re proud of,” Cracknell said. “To be associated with them — and first responder’s not an easy job — just honor them for a night, I think it’s huge and hopefully they have fun at the game.”
Slap shots
Last weekend in two-game split at Chicago, Tucson forward Michael Carcone set the Roadrunners record for goals in a single season (25), tied Tucson’s power-play goals mark for a single year (13) and moved within three points of setting the Roadrunners’ scoring record (he’s at 65; 68 would be a new high).
“It’s been great to see him get rewarded the way he has, and he’s making the guys around him better,” said Cracknell, who has often been a linemate of Carcone’s. “It’s been an honor playing with him this year and really helping step my game up.”
On Tuesday, the Coyotes recalled forward Laurent Dauphin and defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok. On Wednesday, the Roadrunners recalled defenseman Noah Laaouan from their ECHL affiliate, the Atlanta Gladiators.
The Coyotes sell-off near the NHL trade deadline took a hit on the Roadrunners roster this week. Per an ESPN report, Longtime defenseman Cam Dineen, one of only three players to ever play in more than 200 games in a Roadrunners uniform, was dealt as part of a deal Coyotes’ forward Nick Bjugstad to Edmonton for a third-round draft pick this summer, and defenseman Michael Kesselring. Kesselring will likely report to Tucson, having played 49 games this season with the Roadrunners’ AHL Pacific Division rival Bakersfield Condors.
Tucson goaltender Jon Gillies was also dealt by the Coyotes Thursday. Gillies heads to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a sixth-round pick this summer and the contract of forward Jakub Voracek. In 15 appearances for Tucson this season, Gillies (5-8-2-0) posted a 3.70 goals against average and .878 save percentage.
But Gillies hadn’t played since Jan. 16, coinciding with the Roadrunners’ recall of Tyler Parks from the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators to help backup No. 1 netminder Ivan Prosvetov. Since joining Tucson, Parks (3-4-0-0) has a 2.93 GAA and .896 save percentage in eight appearances.
