The Staples Center is getting a new name — and social media users are not here for it.
The arena in Los Angeles, one of the most iconic music and sports venues, will become Crypto.com Arena starting Christmas Day as part of a 20-year agreement.
After the news broke Tuesday evening, fans channeled their disappointment into the native language of the internet: memes.
On Twitter, several tweets referred to the line from the film "Coming To America": "His mama named him Clay, I'm-a call him Clay."
"His mama named him Staples Center. Imma call him Staples Center," legal analyst Adrienne Lawrence tweeted.
Others joked about the form of currency that Crypto.com used to buy the naming rights.
"A crypto company has bought the naming rights to the Staples Center for a record breaking price tag of SEVEN monkey pictures," comedian J.P. Dade tweeted, referring to non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.
Some, who appeared less attached to the Staples Center title, joked about their distaste for the new name.
"wow they did it, they came up with a worse name than Staples Center," podcaster Molly Lambert tweeted.
Others, like actor Zeno Robinson, said the name change felt a little suspicious.
"……idk why but renaming the Staples Center into Crypto . Com Arena feels like gentrification to me," Robinson wrote.
Sean Yoo, the creative producer of WAVE.tv, summed up what a handful of Angelenos were thinking with a video clip of a man in a Lakers jersey. When asked how he's doing, the man replies: "Not good, man. I'm not good."
