What's in a Name?

Recent rumors suggest that Citigroup, the now-crippled once-mighty financial behemoth, is considering pulling out of its sponsorship deal with the Mets. In addition, as reported on this blog and elsewhere, two high-profile House members have written to our newly appointed treasury secretary, imploring him to put the kybosh on the $400 million folly.

Setting aside the issue of whether Timmy "What the Hell Are Payroll Taxes?" Geithner actually has the legal power to tell a non-State owned company what to do (hint: he doesn't; bailouts and backstops notwithstanding, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 had less teeth than an octogenarian and the United States government is not -- yet -- the majority shareholder of the "House That Weill Built [on Sand]"), the deal's getting nixed would be a blessing for all stakeholders.

The "Citi" moniker/trademark may soon be a relic of the past, as Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit continues to shed co-called "non-core legacy assets," returning the company to its pre-1998 status, when it was known simply and unabbreviatedly as Citicorp. "Citi Field" would thus quickly be reduced to an anachronism, a monument to the latest spate of corporate avarice and mismanagement. Needless to say, the Mets have enough bad mojo as a franchise, and their long-suffering fans certainly deserve better than having a huge Faustian symbol for a ballpark. Likewise, acutely cash-strapped Citigroup would save $400 million, which it, oh I don't know, could lend out?!

Maybe we'll never quite return to the quaint and innocent era when stadiums were actually named after teams or great personages. Maybe the Enron Fields and the MCI/WorldCom Centers of the world are destined to continue to blot the legacy of the teams that called them home. However, maybe, just maybe, corporations will eventually realize that splashing their name across a sports venue is not only a bad investment, but it could potentially also prove to be an embarrassment for its host city and the folks that live there.

So, here's hoping that sanity and prudence prevails, and that the Mets will take the field at newly re-named Seaver Stadium on April 13.