CAESAR, LIONS AND COMIC BOOKS: HOW RAHM’S LEGION XIII WAS BORN
As Jon Rahm mulled over potential names for his new LIV Golf team, he couldn’t help but remember his favorite comic books and cartoons while growing up in the Basque region of Spain.
Asterix & Obelix were lead characters in the French comic book series. Asterix is a fearless Gaul warrior; his best friend Obelix is a stocky, loyal sidekick gifted with incredible strength and a good heart.
“They lived in this village in France that the Romans could not invade because they had a wizard and had a magic potion that would give the villagers extra strength,” Rahm recalled. “I remember the legion or the army that tried to conquer them over and over again.
“It was Legion 13. That’s why it was so familiar to me.”
Legion XIII is now the expansion team Rahm will lead into battle starting this week at LIV Golf Mayakoba, the season opener of the 2024 LIV Golf League schedule. The comic book was not exactly the inspiration for the team’s name, but Rahm’s research and familiarity with Roman history – and especially the iconic Legio XIII Gemina in Caesar’s army – made the final decision a slam dunk.
Rahm said the “XIII” portion of the name was appealing early in the process. It fit the structure of a captain (X) and the three players in his lineup (III). Plus, Rahm’s team would be the 13th club after LIV Golf’s first two seasons with its original 12 teams.
But what to add to XIII?
“I wanted to go down the warrior spirit mythology side,” Rahm said. “I was thinking Gladiator. We were thinking when the Spanish Armada in that aspect of history. Even though it sunk and failed miserably, the name is cool, right?
“At one point, the front runner was Atlas. Then Titan, Hercules – all those names came up. And then somebody mentioned the name Legion. There were a few of us on that call – or in person at this point, I forget when it was – that kind of stopped for a second and said, ‘Man, that sounds good.’ Me and my wife included.”
The more Rahm thought about Legion XIII, the more he liked it. It seemed so familiar to him, even beyond his childhood comic books.
“I like that history a lot,” he said. “So, when I started reading about Legion 13 Gemina and how they supported Julius Caesar on his way back to Rome – to, for lack of a better word, basically take over and become the emperor – I think there was a bit of a story there. Here’s somebody who’s faithful to what they believe in and are going to fight to the end to try and see that through.”
Legio XIII Gemina believed in the credo of “Faithful and Loyal,” remaining loyal to Caesar. That struck a chord in Rahm.
“The term loyalty was very important for me,” he said. “I think that also shows a lot of that warrior spirit, that decisiveness and the ready-for-battle aspects kind of things.”
And then there’s Legio XIII’s mascot – the lion. Other legions generally used the eagle as their mascot. But not this one … and the lion became the inspiration for the team’s logo.
“That was something I was passionate about,” he said. “The soccer team I grew up following (Athletic Bilbao) is called the Lions. It’s just a fierce animal that everybody respects and kind of fears a little bit.
“So that’s where it all tied in. I was very insistent on the lion. I don’t know if the design team was happy with me at first.”
Ultimately, Rahm is thrilled with how it all played out. Legion XIII works on multiple levels. The name represents what he wants as a team and a brand. The warrior spirit attribute is strong, and the lion is the perfect emblem.
Having gone through the creative process, he also has an increased appreciation for the design team building something from scratch.
“I don’t envy them one bit,” he said. “Having to create and come up with an image or a drawing or lettering – I don’t even know what it looks like in my mind. I’m sure it’s a very hard job. To actually be part of the process and seeing what they came up with was very, very special.”