The Retro Dubuque Fighting Saints; here to stay, sorta
Our Dubuque Fighting Saints continue to pack the house at the Mystique Community Ice Center just outside of Downtown Dubuque. Over the last few weeks, some memorable steps have been made at the organization; Stephen Halliday, a 6 foot 4 forward for your Saints, is now the tier 1 scoring leader in Dubuque Fighting Saints History, and is pegged for many great moves as his career continues. In fact, Halliday has become the United States Hockey League’s leading scorer in the league’s Tier I regular season history and could possibly best 5 other records including assists, points, and additional USHL records as well. In addition, the Saints are currently in 2nd place for the Eastern Conference, and Dubuque Mayor Brad Cavanagh has rescinded the mask mandate for city-controlled buildings; meaning, face coverings are no longer required at home games moving forward.
One other new occurrence, and the focus of this article, is the emergence of some “new” retro gear for the local Saints community. The retro logo, seen below, is now available on a variety of gear in the team shop. This angel logo dates back to the Dubuque Fighting Saints inception in 1980. Since then the Saints have moved, been replace by the Thunderbirds, and then recently moved back with their current logo in the 2010/11 season. So, is the retro logo better than the new trademark logo? Personally, how could you choose. When I became a fan of the saints, I loved the red and white D- sword, halo logo. Its clean, crisp, and fierce in a way; but, that retro design angel really hits home for a lot of original fans of the Dubuque Fighting Saints. And you know what they say, nostalgia always brings you back home. Jordan Kuhns, Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations for the Saints, took a moment to talk with me. He explained that the retro logoed items have been flying off the team shop shelves. This could be in part to the Saints wearing their retro uniforms for the entire month of March. In fact, original owner Jack Barzee (who brought Hockey to Dubuque and is a hall of famer) and several Fighting Saints alumni from the 1980s will be in the house as they officially dedicate the Jack Barzee Saint 4 Life Suite at the March 25th game as the Saints take on the Madison Capitols. The saints close out their retro look for March on the 26th with Saint 4 Life Night, a title created by legendary head coach and GM Jim Montgomery. That matchup comes against the Chicago Steel.
As of now there are no plans to remove the retro uniforms; actually, they will become an alternate uniform for the future. There are also no plans to do away with the current logo as it continues as the mainstay for your Dubuque Fighting Saints. So, which logo do you like more? Drop your opinion and let us know. But don’t worry, both are here to stay and whichever you choose, you win!