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Remember when the Sugar Bowl was not the Nokia Sugar Bowl? Remember when the Boston Celtics didn’t play at TD Banknorth Garden?

If you’re ever in Sheboygan, Wis., be sure to stop at the high school and have lunch at the Kohler Credit Union kitchen.

So it shouldn’t surprise us to hear that Mercy Medical Center has been granted the right to put its logo on Clive’s water tower as a part of a land deal. Clive is hoping to build a new library on the land it acquires in the agreement. And yes, there will be a Mercy room in the library, too.

Good idea or bad idea? I think that depends on whose shoes you’re standing in. Before I dive in, I should share that I don’t see this as the end of the free world. In many cases, naming rights have energized cities, nonprofits and educational institutions. I am not advocating we throw out the baby with the bath water here.

For Mercy, it’s a huge billboard where billboards are not very plentiful. And it’s only a few blocks from where the organization’s competitor, Iowa Health System, is building its new west-suburban hospital. A win.

As for Clive residents, I doubt most of them will even notice. When was the last time you read a water tower? The deal stipulates that Mercy can put only its name on the tower, and it has to be tasteful. A draw.

But for the city of Clive, I think the whole situation is not so unimportant. If you can be bought once, you can be bought again. Although the city manager is quoted as saying it probably won’t happen that often, because it’s expensive, I’m not so sure that’s the reassurance Clive residents want to hear. A potential loss.

What do you think?