John Oliver, HBO's late-night host, to give Erie SeaWolves a complete rebrand
Erie, Pa (WJET/WFXP) — The Erie SeaWolves were chosen overnight for a complete rebrand, selected from a list of 47 minor league baseball teams across the nation.
John Oliver, the host of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, chose the SeaWolves to receive a complete rebrand. From the name to the mascot, and even a theme night, Oliver promised that they would research the area, using 'all of our resources and stupidity,' to come up with something that no one else in the league has, and that can only come from Erie.
Oliver said that there were a number of good reasons the SeaWolves were picked, but the main reason was that the Erie SeaWolves play baseball nowhere near the sea. 'Which, yeah, that's a problem, Erie. We can help you fix that,' he said.
According to Oliver, the SeaWolves will have no input in their rebranding. The original offer included three conditions: You can't ask them any questions, you can't give them any notes, and you must do whatever ideas the show comes up with.
He paraphrased his favorite wedding invitation, which said that 'you will take what we have, and you will like it.' All that needs to be done to get started is for the contract to be signed, which he said is being sent out.
'And I promise this is going to be great,' Oliver said as he closed out the show.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver airs every Sunday at 11 p.m. and can be watched exclusively on HBO Max. If you wish to watch the announcement of the picking of the Erie SeaWolves, you can find it on the most recent episode, Season 12 Episode 12 which aired May 18, 2025.
This comes just over a month after Erie got attention on the show when John Oliver mentioned the canceled plans for a $300 million recycling plant for Erie, along with a historic anecdote about Mad Anthony Wayne and how his corpse was boiled in oil to have his skeleton shipped back to his home town, stating 'and thanks to the foiled recycling plant, remains the only thing I will ever know about Erie, Pennsylvania.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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