With apologies to Lionel Messi, the Florida Panthers and championship-chasing Miami Hurricanes: Is there a South Florida sports brand that is hotter than the Palm Beach Frozen Iguanas?
The irreverent “alternate identity” of the Palm Beach Cardinals, the minor-league baseball affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, was introduced online on Saturday, with green-and-blue jerseys, hats, T-shirts and hoodies featuring a scowling, icicle-draped lizard and another passed out on its back under a palm tree. The entire line sold out that day.
While a lot of the new gear likely was ordered by Cardinals fans in the Midwest, the rebranding is “a little inside joke” for the local audiences who have first-hand experience with finding an unconscious iguana during a cold snap, said Sophia Monteleone, a team spokesperson.
“We really wanted to create something that people down here can relate to. What’s better than a frozen iguana?” Monteleone said. “It helps that [frozen iguanas] make the news once a year for other people around the country, but this is really for our local community.”
The Palm Beach Cardinals will play in their Frozen Iguanas “alternate identity” uniforms during 12 Saturday games this season. (Abbie Schultz/Courtesy)
Based at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, the team plans to don the Frozen Iguanas uniforms for 12 Saturday games during their upcoming Single-A Florida State League season. The first of these Saturday games will be on April 4.
Locals can get a first look at the rebrand during a Fan Fest at the Jupiter stadium this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Along with music, games, inflatables, giveaways and mascot appearances, fans can pre-order the new gear, which is currently being restocked. For updates on new merchandise, check Milb.com/palm-beach and Instagram.com/gopbcardinals.
The Cardinals are one of several minor league teams rebranding with temporary name changes and new merchandise for some games this season, including the Miami Marlins’ Pensacola Sky Jockeys, the Cincinnati Reds’ Louisville Humidity, the Chicago White Sox Carolina Reapers and others.
You can order Palm Beach Frozen Iguanas merchandise through the team website and social media. Some of the new gear will be on display during Fan Fest at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter on Saturday. (Abbie Schultz/Courtesy)
None has the oddball humor of the Frozen Iguanas, which was celebrated in responses to the Instagram announcement that drew nearly 14,000 likes. “Omg I’m dying at this,” said one commenter. Others called the new logo “genuinely hilarious,” “genius” and, yes, “very cool!”
Monteleone said the Frozen Iguanas rebrand has been in the works for several years and was done in coordination with the St. Louis Cardinals, a tradition-rich National League franchise founded in 1882.
“We wanted to make sure they liked the idea and that they were in on the joke as well. They helped us out a ton,” she said.
Iguanas are a way of life for Pierce Kennamer, president and founder of IggyTrap, a Pompano Beach-based company that specializes in “humane” iguana removal and is a presenting sponsor of the Frozen Iguanas.
“It’s such a quirky and cool rebrand, so unique to South Florida. Anybody that lives here or visits here knows exactly what they’re talking about. I think this [rebrand] is a total home run, no pun intended,” Kennamer said.
But iguanas are no joke, Kennamer said. He’s seen these nonnative lizards measure more than 6 feet long and 15 pounds and end up in the most unusual places.
“Toilets, that’s a scary one. We’ve had unfortunate people getting ready for work in the morning, lift up the lid and there’s something staring back at them,” Kennamer said. “[Iguanas] get up on the roof and come down the plumbing stacks. They can hold their breath for 45 minutes until they see somewhere that they can pop out.”
Even frozen ones can pose a problem. “The first thing that we tell everybody is don’t pick it up,” he said.
“There’s been nightmare stories about people who put them in the trunk of their car, thinking they’re hurt or they’re injured, and by the time they get to the vet it’s all warmed up and running around. The recommendation for normal citizens is to just let it be.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Palm Beach Cardinals Fan Fest
WHEN: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10
WHERE: Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, 4751 Main St., Jupiter
COST: Free
INFORMATION: Milb.com/palm-beach
Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on IG: @BenCrandell.