The LA Dodgers “Los Doyers” Marketing Gimmick – Has Become a Latino Cultural Movement

LT Staff

July 21, 2018

Amigo, how about those Doyers huh? The Doyers. For those who have managed to avoid the term, Doyers is supposed to be how Latinos with accents pronounce Dodgers.

You see, because their English-speaking skills are so poor, that is as close as they can get to pronouncing Dodgers. Pretty lame and crazy, right?

It supposedly began with a radio interview with long time Dodgers coach Manny Mota, a Dominica player who did, in fact, pronounce Dodgers as “Doyers.” And the radio talk-show guys picked it up and started to use it — and to make money the Dodgers began to sell Doyer Dogs, a hot dog with nacho cheese and jalapeños. The team also trademarked the term and is selling T-shirts and other “Los Doyers” gear.

Someday, people who use the term may realize it is not clever, if it ever was, and that it can easily be construed as racist.

Many Latinos are serious Dodger fans, and they say “Doyers” they pronounce the team “Dodgers, like everyone else.

To some, the Doyers term and branding by the ownership is racist, a pejorative term based on ethnic stereotype that Latinos can’t say “Dodgers.” Except they can. Let’s look at recent history. How does “Doyers” differ from the “sho ’nuff, boss” phony black dialect of the “Amos ’n’ Andy” radio and television shows of the first half of the last century? To others Doyers is simply a clever marketing move to both market to and make money from Latinos…however everyone, not just Latinos are buying up los Doyers hot dogs at Dodger stadium. However it has become popular with the local Hispanic fan base, the majority being Mexican Americans, and they love it and are celebrating it.

“With 48 percent of its fan base being Latinos and its current roster at 25% Hispanic the Dodgers cannot afford to use an offensive term. Today, this concept has obviously paid off and it appears that it has not really angered Latinos as a whole, in fact, while some disagree, many  are celebrating it.

The dodgers also host events at its stadium, such as Viva los Dodgers music festival with multiple cumbia and norteño artist and Carne Asada Sundays in which a dodger player actually hosts a grill-out at Dodger Stadium for fans before a game.

Los Doyers definition in the Urban dictionary is; A common nickname for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jokingly caught on because of the huge percentage of Mexican American fans. A purposeful mispronunciation which now appears on t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and jackets. At any given game a huge portion of the audience is Mexican American or Latino.

There have been other on the edge of racism campaigns, such as; the “Frito Bandito” advertising character from a few decades back? He wore a big sombrero, wore two guns and sold corn chips. Many Latino fans don’t care what they are called as long as they win.

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