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One year ago, the Capitals made an important† change

By Peter Hassett

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November 22, 2020 11:54 am

Hello, happy Sunday. I want to discuss something stupid with you, like usual.

Welcome back to RMNB Investigates.

Note†: according to petty people like me and My People

Just over one year ago, on November 18, 2019, the Washington Capitals defeated the Anaheim Ducks five to two. It was the Garnet Hathaway spit game. At the final buzzer, the Capitals tweeted this image:

And on November 30, 2019, the Capitals Washington defeated the Detroit Red Wings by the same score. Ovi got a hat trick. The Capitals tweeted this image:

Two identical scores, but two very different images. I’m speaking specifically about the five.

Before After

Prior to November 22, 2019, the Capitals used an inverted 2 glyph for their 5. After November 22, 2019, the Capitals used a new, distinct 5 glyph. Why?

Here’s you right now: Who cares?

Yes, this is a good point, and one shared by all reasonable human beings whose minds have not been positively sundered by the ceps. But I’m different.

And so were My People all up in the Caps’ menchies:

My People 🤗💕

So one year ago, I began an intensive forensic analysis. After agonizing minutes of research, I learned that the font used by the Capitals is called Bison. Bison was created by British designer Ellen Luff.

In April of 2019, Luff updated the font. From the release notes:

NEW NUMBERS – reworked numbers including a new 5 and stylised 5

So the Caps had been using an obsolete version of the font. After lots of polite internet bullying, seven months later, the Capitals updated their copy of the font.

Thus, from the November 30 menchies:

(I love My People.)

I reached out to Ellen Luff, the designer of Bison, about the controversy.

“I’m so sorry to have railroaded the season focus into the number 5,” Luff told RMNB via email. “I never knew the drama it could cause. The original font was meant to be more stylised, with ‘normal’ alternatives accessible only in the full typeface. After a while it became clear people weren’t using the font in a stylised way. Instead it got picked up by sports and films, and so in April 2019 the benched 5 became the main 5.”

I also reached out to the Capitals for comment. This story, which again is very stupid, seems not to be at the top of their priorities. I’ll let you know when they get back to me.

What have we learned today? Nothing. This was an utter waste of time, one that teaches us nothing except that sometimes internet harassment can effect a positive response, which maybe isn’t a lesson we need right now.

I apologize.

You can find Ellen Luff’s work, including both varieties of fives, on balance.net.

Headline photo: @Capitals

A much earlier version of this story appeared on the RMNB patreon.