Jaromir Jagr is actually going to have two jobs this season: Scoring goals for the Philadelphia Flyers in his long-awaited return to the NHL, and as owner of the Knights of Kladno in the Czech Republic, which sounds like either a great Muse song or a group of larpers.
It's a team he's invested $2 million in, and whose mascot he specifically chose. Yeah, about that mascot:
Wouldn't you say there's a striking resemblance to the Los Angeles Kings' much-lamented (but also somewhat revered) Burger King alt-logo?
It's something Sasha from Eastern Conference immediately realized at Jagr's press conference:
The color scheme, the angles. I mean, I would perhaps go so far as to say it was a bit of plagiarism. To take it a step further, the logo of the Manchester Monarchs, the Kings' AHL affiliate, bears traces of burger king man, too. Except, in the form of a lion.
What makes it all slightly more baffling is the fact it's not a king, but a knight. Then there's the prominent cross on the face of said knight. Mind you, the Czech Republic is one of the most atheist countries in Europe.
While the religious connection might seem coincidental, Jagr said it's completely intentional. From Sean Carney of Emerging Europe (s/t Kukla):
Mr. Jagr, one of a minority of active Christians in the Czech Republic, said he decided on the name The Knights because of moral and ethical images it conjures up.
"A knight is courageous, honest, and never gives up. Knights respect one another, it's never 'I' but always 'we' and everybody plays fair. I want our players and the whole team to have these qualities," Mr. Jagr said. The club's new logo bears a cross and features a medieval knight with the helmet of Saint Wenceslas, patron of Czechs.
So based on those virtues, would a knight acknowledge that he was more than a little inspired by a 16-year-old third jersey that he may have seen once or twice while playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins? What sayeth thee, Sir Mullet of Kladno!?