NRL 2021: Denis Fitzgerald reveals why he wanted to rename the Parramatta Eels
Former long-term chief executive Denis Fitzgerald has broken a 30-year silence to reveal his controversial plan to scrap the Eels’ nickname and rename the club the Parramatta Rams.
Just days before
Parramatta’s knockout final against Penrith, Fitzgerald admitted he had discussed the possible name change during the early 1990s with directors and senior club management.
In charge of Parramatta for a record 30 years, Fitzgerald never liked the Eels logo and had begun searching for a more positive brand name and emblem.
A big fan of US sport, Fitzgerald had long admired the Rams – an NFL franchise run out of St Louis and Los Angeles during the 1990s. Describing the response from directors as “lukewarm”, Fitzgerald elected against taking the proposal to the board for final approval.
“The Rams’ nickname was monosyllabic and more aggressive. I was looking for a mascot that was easy to recognise for people,” Fitzgerald said.
“I was keen on the Rams even though I was generally looking for names that started with a ‘P’ because that was the first letter in Parramatta. I spoke to club directors and managers at the time about a possible name change.
“There was always a difficulty in doing anything in terms of marketing with the Eels. People associate Eels as being slippery, slimy marine fish.
“The Aboriginal word for Parramatta is ‘where the Eels lie down’. That in itself is passive. No one wants a team that lies down.
“Even the Parramatta Council logo has an Aborigine supposedly spearing an Eel. So once again, the poor old Eel lost out. I wanted to get away from that with something aggressive. I harboured those thoughts for a long time.
“The Rams were also a huge brand in US sport. There was certainly some support internally yet others disapproved of any name change. It was lukewarm. These talks came after the late 1970s and 1980s when Parramatta enjoyed our golden era.
“It was difficult securing change back then. I wouldn’t have had the numbers to carry it. I try not to use Eels when I’m talking about the club. I say Parramatta or Parra.”
The Rams were a more appropriate nickname to Fitzgerald because of Parramatta’s history.
“There was a link with Parramatta and Rams – the Australian sheep industry was founded at Parramatta by John Macarthur, he was a wool pioneer (in the late 1790s). It was actually at Rosehill,” Fitzgerald said.
The admission comes after Fitzgerald had held merger talks with Penrith – Parramatta’s opponents on Saturday night in Mackay — and Balmain in hope of swallowing either the Panthers or Tigers moniker.
The proposed amalgamation with Penrith after Super League was blocked while Balmain elected to merge with Western Suburbs, forming Wests Tigers.
There had even been suggestions Parramatta once eyed off a joint venture with North Sydney with the club to be known as the Parramatta Bears.
Asked if he still believed the Eels logo should be scrapped, Fitzgerald said: “It’s too late. The Eels are so well known around Australia. If you mention Parramatta in Adelaide, for example, they say: ‘That’s where the Eels come from’.”
The club’s most famous Eel was a long mascot, manned by fans, which appeared at the SCG before the 1976 grand final against Manly.
Parramatta was named the Eels during the 1970s. The Eels nickname was first mooted by the late, great Sydney rugby league journalist, Peter ‘Chippy’ Frilingos.
“In the early days, Parramatta was unofficially known as the Bush Boys. It’s hardly a place full of Bush Boys now. The CBD is full of 40-storey buildings,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzy wanted to call us the Rams
