Courtesy of NYTimes.com
Multiple outlets reported late in the afternoon yesterday that the Mets logo had been changed. The change, a tiny one, replaced the United Nations with the silhouette of 601 Lexington Avenue, formerly known as the Citigroup Center. Mets officials were quick to point out that their original logo included the United Nations and social media accounts which featured the new logo were quickly changed.
Adam Rubin seemed to have led the charge on Twitter regarding the logo. Many, including the New York Times, speculated that this was the work of hackers, frustrated with the Mets and calling the team out on their alignment with Citi. The company does pay $20+ million per year to own the naming rights to Citi Field. While the speculation is surrounding hacking, I have serious doubts about those claims. Here’s why.
Hackers are usually very calculated and by their nature, extremely smart. Why would a hacker take time to break into the New York Mets official Facebook and Twitter accounts, just to replace the profile photos with a slightly altered version? Even more so, a hacker would have done his research. He would have known that in 2001, Citi sold their controlling stake in the building and it was renamed, by the property owners, 601 Lexington Avenue. This makes the entire hack irrelevant.
What is the real story here? Is it that the Mets are dealing with a hacker that just isn’t all that smart? Is it that the Mets changed the logo themselves in a back room deal with Citi Group? The world may never know. What I can say is that the “statement” from a hacker is ill conceived and the idea that the Mets could slip this past fans is equally pathetic. Either way, peace seems to have been restored, in the form of the UN, to the Mets skyline.
