OT: Washington Football Team now named the Washington Commanders
February 2nd, 2022 at 8:57 AM ^
Washington Football Team was actually pretty unique as a one off in the NFL but my understanding was they couldn’t trademark that name
Commanders is pretty terrible but so was every other suggestion I heard and I definitely can’t think of anything better
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:17 AM ^
I heard "Washington Red Tails" back when they initially changed their name to WFT. It was a nod to the Tuskegee Airmen of World War 2. I understand that Tuskegee is no where near Washington but it would have been a better name than "Commanders" in my opinion. Also the color scheme would match the name nicely.
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:45 AM ^
Commanders? B O R I N G. Should have been Washington FT. Unique. Captures the vibe of worldwide futbol.
Nor sure which name displays less imagination...Commanders or Guardians.
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:01 AM ^
NHL's Seattle team picking "Kraken" was pretty cool.
Wasn't there a local Washington pro lacrosse team (or some other non-major sport) with the same name the WTF chose? There was an OP on this here blog about it. I recall a web page redirected was changed several times that day.
February 2nd, 2022 at 11:53 AM ^
I thought kraken was a joke when I first heard it…I mean why not name a professional sports team after an imaginary sea monster popularized by a bad Walt Disney pirate movie, which was already been assimilated by a brand of rum. It’s up there with the Raptors hitting Toronto during the Jurassic park boom.
February 2nd, 2022 at 12:22 PM ^
Well, the team is co-owned by Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of said Disney pirate movie...
February 2nd, 2022 at 12:28 PM ^
I had bonuses even more hilarious now thanks for that.
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:06 AM ^
Red Tails would have been a seamless transition with a unique and meaningful name.
Washington Commanders has a lot of clunky syllables. Also, DC area teams always have a shortened nickname they go by: “caps” “nats” “wiz” and “skins”
They’re now the…”comms”?
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:27 AM ^
Commandos
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:33 AM ^
No panty lines on their uniforms.
February 2nd, 2022 at 12:24 PM ^
Commandants
February 2nd, 2022 at 1:47 PM ^
Washington Commandos - balling out since 2022
February 2nd, 2022 at 11:55 AM ^
Did you know what a RedTail was before that Lucasfilm Movie came out or people threw it out on Twitter when the old name got dropped? I did not.
February 2nd, 2022 at 1:33 PM ^
Red Tails is genuinely cool. Don't know why they didn't go with that.
February 2nd, 2022 at 1:33 PM ^
Red Tails is genuinely cool. Don't know why they didn't go with that over the far more generic "Commanders."
February 2nd, 2022 at 1:38 PM ^
‘Ders
February 2nd, 2022 at 1:40 PM ^
Red Tails would have been a seamless transition with a unique and meaningful name.
To me that is a clear example of cultural appropriation, co-opting the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen and using that legacy for their own profit. Although not a racially offensive name, that would have been just as awful a choice as the one used before, since that legacy does not belong to the owners of the Washington Football Team.
February 2nd, 2022 at 5:31 PM ^
I hear that, though I offer a counter. A major difference here is that—before recent gentrification, at least—Washington, D.C. was the Blackest city in the country ( At 82%, Detroit has claimed that title for three decades. DC is now at 41%). The Parliament song “Chocolate City” from the mid-70s was an homage to DC’s Black identity.
Can’t blame them for going with something more neutral. But assuming the residents supported it, I do believe that naming the team after celebrated Black (and national) heroes in a largely Black city is certainly less problematic than the Redskin name was.
February 2nd, 2022 at 1:31 PM ^
Should have named them the Washington Swamp!
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:18 AM ^
They should have kept 'Washington Redskins' and changed their logo/mascot to a potato.
February 2nd, 2022 at 3:01 PM ^
An improvement to that logo would be a photo of a yellow bowl of steaming whole redskin potatoes in a pot roast, to replace the yellow circle
February 2nd, 2022 at 8:59 AM ^
I'm a lifelong Washington fan, this is a big failing 2 regards. They did not take the fans or the history into consideration which they said they would. Redwolves was such a obvious move that only Dan Snyder could screw it up. Also the white jerseys are trash ?. Now go get a QB and as always #HTTR
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:02 AM ^
#HTTC
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:05 AM ^
head to the river?
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:03 AM ^
Take me to the river (drop me in the water)
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:10 AM ^
As a local, but not a skins/commanders/tf fan... what i heard was that redwolves was a legal issue. and lets be honest, the last thing snyder needs is another legal battle
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:13 AM ^
I heard that too and just don't buy it. There's multiple sports teams with similar names or even the exact same name as other teams.
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:21 AM ^
Just look at the name "Wildcats". We have:
Arizona Wildcats, Kentucky Wildcats, Northwestern Wildcats, Davidson Wildcats, Kansas State Wildcats, and Villanova Wildcats.
Those are only the most recognizable universities with those names. There are a lot more. Lets not forget about the LSU Tigers and the Detroit Tigers too.
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:28 AM ^
In pro sports alone you have the ny Giants and SF Giants
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:04 AM ^
...and the SF Giants used to be the NY Giants!
February 4th, 2022 at 12:02 AM ^
Hence the Football Giants nickname.
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:00 AM ^
Not good, should have stuck with WFT. Also the navy/black helmet with the W at the front looks really dumb.
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:36 AM ^
I think the jersey's are pretty clean. The one thing they could have done differently is the "Commanders" on the front of the all-red home jersey. Feels like a shoe-horned piece of clipart in there and doesn't match the font of the other jerseys. They should have went with a similar design to the white jersey and put "Washington" on the front in the same font. That would have looked sharp.
February 2nd, 2022 at 11:51 AM ^
WTF would better define anything Snyder was involved with.
This is from years ago, but Snyder hasn't changed. Still a fun read:
https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/221900/the-cranky-redskins-fans-guide-to-dan-snyder/
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:02 AM ^
Damn, was hoping they’d go with the Washington Foreskins.
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:00 AM ^
So was this guy....
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:06 AM ^
What do they command?
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:13 AM ^
Deez nuts.
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:14 AM ^
The same thing the Cleveland Guardians guard? Other the revenue from the people in the stands, IDK..
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:21 AM ^
What do the Lions lion? What do the Raiders raid? What do the Buccaneers buck?
Though there may be lots of reasons to mock the name, the failure of a team name to demonstrate a function probably isn’t one of them.
PLUS, see below: Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen! Whether or not they noticed, they chose an Ann Arbor connection.
But maybe the DID notice. Their new team president Wright was a Northwestern running back, so he was in Ann Arbor on occasion.
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:23 AM ^
I'll give you "What do the Raiders raid?", but "lion" isn't a verb and Buccaneers don't "buck" anything.
February 2nd, 2022 at 11:27 AM ^
I’d love to reply “Buck you” but you did notice the flaw in my examples.
February 2nd, 2022 at 2:29 PM ^
Buccaneers don't "buck" anything.
Well, they buck societal conventions.
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:31 AM ^
A nod to George (Frayne, not Washington) and the boys. For you young'ns, you need to listen to some hot trucker swing music by Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen.
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:28 AM ^
What do the Raiders raid?
The opposing team's backfield?
February 2nd, 2022 at 12:02 PM ^
The liquor cabinet before driving apparently, also Arnette looked like he was equipped to do some raiding judging from that YouTube video.
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:58 AM ^
We’re lion about being a professional football franchise!
I’ll show myself out.