Sanche and Frecce
The mascot of Sanfrecce Hiroshima is a Japanese black bear -- a fairly common resident of the rugged hilly country that surrounds the city of Hiroshima. The original version of the Sanfrecce mascot was an adult bear with a fairly powerful image and a dangerous gleam in his eye. His name was "Sanche", which is not only based on the team name, but sounds a bit like the name of a South American player.
However, in 1996 the team gave its entire "corporate identity" a makeover. In addition to changing its team logo, it also re-imagined the team mascot, and gave him a girlfriend named "Frecce". Sanche and Frecce are now a cheeky-looking youngsters with nowhere near the imposing look of the original. On the other hand, this seems to have improved their appeal to youngsters. Since sales of team merchandise provide an important source of revenue, I guess you cant argue with success.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima -- Team Uniforms (1993-present)
Click on the small pictures to see a larger-size image
|
