Josh Harris Speaks... Commanders is permanent name.

burgold said:
Harris upgraded the facilities and the stadium this year. He already has detailed more that he wants to do. I think this speaks to the neglect of the prior owner that in year one Harris needed to spend $100 million dollars and that wasn't good enough. Part of me wonders if all these expenditures play a part in the name change decision, too. After all, Josh Harris is rich, but he's not Bill Gates or Elon Musk rich. The amount he paid for the team was more than double his gross worth.

So, maybe adding in the cost of a name change this quickly after looking at how well sales were going and how happy fans were with the team felt like too little bang for the buck given everything else he's already paid out. Some on this board estimated a name change would cost at least $30 million dollars and while that isn't huge in NFL money, it's still a big chunk of change for uncertain returns.

Somewhere in his calculus he knows there's a percentage of name change fans who will never buy anything that doesn't say Redskins. Is that 5% of the name change crowd or 20% or 50%. We don't know. He might. He may have looked into it. I bet he did. If his research shows that the pro-Redskins faction won't be moved and might get further alienated by another new nonRedskin name... maybe he just thought that he'd rather spend on the team than the brand.
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everything that i have read show name changes as an investment upfront that pays off far more in the end then it costed up front.
 
Commander PK said:
I’m really surprised that some people don’t see how the name Commanders ties into the Nation’s Capital.

COMMANDER Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

COMMANDER definition: a person who commands. See examples of commander used in a sentence.
www.dictionary.com www.dictionary.com

“Commander”

“noun​

  1. a person who commands.
  2. a person who exercises authority; chief officer; leader.
  3. the commissioned officer in command of a military unit.
  4. U.S. Navy. an officer ranking below a captain and above a lieutenant commander.
  5. a police officer in charge of a precinct or other unit.
  6. the chief officer of a commandery in the medieval orders of Knights Hospitalers, Knights Templars, and others.
  7. a member of one of the higher classes or ranks in certain modern fraternal orders, as in the Knights Templars.”
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In other words, it could be used as a team name in any and every city in the U.S.
 
Commander PK said:
The white jerseys definitely need altered in my opinion. I’d prefer the old white style we had.

The black jersey…that’s going to be a tougher sell to get rid of. The only people saying it looks like the Steelers are some of the old fans. In truth, the only thing they have in common is that their base color is black. Nothing else about them looks the same. The black jerseys I think are here to stay, but they may be altered. Honestly, I wonder if that isn’t the best selling version of our jersey at the moment.
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I know the black ones are popular now. (I am convinced that it is due to the Hail Jayden.)

But I am an indeed an old fart and black has never been one of our colors and to me it was a purposeful in the move to distance the team from Redskins so I will always hate them. The stench of people who don't care about our team heritage are all over those jerseys. The minimalist burgundy (RED) on them is the biggest problem and no coincidence IMO... Of course, the young people love them for reasons we all know, so they are here to stay. 🤮

The white ones MUST have a significant overhaul. Our primary jerseys home and away need to be close to the classic look, especially for most older fans like me to buy in. Tanya Snyder's fashion school Falcons throwbacks need to be collected from fans and burned in a bonfire that can be seen from space. Of course, that is probably impossible because I rarely see anyone that have purchased them young or old - because most people find them putrid.
 
CrimsonHide1970 said:
Actually, the Texas Rangers is a decidedly Texas name. Here's a link to some historical information about them: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Texas-Rangers-United-States-military-forces

And I think the Angels has reference to Los Angeles (which in Spanish means, "The Angels").

As for Pirates, a quick search says that it was a name they chose when they "pirated" players from other teams using questionable practices.

My main issue with "Commanders" is that it is generic and not a name that is obviously related to D.C. and/or the DMV. I've mentioned this lack of specificity in many posts I've written regarding the name. I think team names should be directly related to the city/region in which they're located. "Commanders" was originally the name of an Alliance of American Football team based in San Antonio. The name is presumably a reference to the battle of the Alamo at which, I suppose, there were some commanders.

I guess one could argue that "Commanders" as attached to D.C. refers to lawmakers and military officers (more so the latter) who work in the district. It's never been explained or fleshed out (there's no logo, only a font).

But Washington, D.C. is a city rich with potential names which would be references to its uniqueness. That is one of the main issues I have with "Commanders". It's generic. It inspires no pride in its city/region.

For many this seems to make no difference. Even those who want "Redskins" want the name in large part because it's traditional, not because it is specifically related to D.C./The DMV.

That's my issue. It's not that Dan Snyder was behind it, it's that it's lazy, ill-conceived and has very little to do with the area.

Winning football games would be even better with a better name.
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Totally my fault - I was referring to the NY Rangers hockey team; cede the point completely when it comes to the super historical Texas Rangers (and given that I listed other baseball teams, your counterpoint is well made and spot on).

And Angels is another bad example. I stand by Pirates. :)

And I stand by the general theme which is that many professional sports nicknames are objectively generic to start and then come to have a more close association and affinity over time and with success.

(And for completeness, I don't like Commanders!)
 
Good thing Harris didn’t change the name. Cause we’re all so ‘united’ now, lol…

I think at the end of this week we may close down the name change threads. I don’t think there’s much more to be said. Uni and logo discussions can be had elsewhere.
 
SkinsGuru said:
everything that i have read show name changes as an investment upfront that pays off far more in the end then it costed up front.
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Probably, but strictly from a business POV the question really becomes how much more are you liable to make. You don't want to change the name and break even because then you're thirty million in the hole. You have to figure that the name change will be worth 25% more annually than doing nothing.

Now, the interesting thing is that since Harris is open to redoing the uniforms and helmets (I think he said that) then unless that redesign money falls under Nike's expense sheet (I doubt it, but who knows) then Harris is already committed to spending some portion of the rebranding costs anyway.
 
AngryChuckT said:
I know the black ones are popular now. (I am convinced that it is due to the Hail Jayden.)

But I am an indeed an old fart and black has never been one of our colors and to me it was a purposeful in the move to distance the team from Redskins so I will always hate them. The stench of people who don't care about our team heritage are all over those jerseys. The minimalist burgundy (RED) on them is the biggest problem and no coincidence IMO... Of course, the young people love them for reasons we all know, so they are here to stay. 🤮

The white ones MUST have a significant overhaul. Our primary jerseys home and away need to be close to the classic look, especially for most older fans like me to buy in. Tanya Snyder's fashion school Falcons throwbacks need to be collected from fans and burned in a bonfire that can be seen from space. Of course, that is probably impossible because I rarely see anyone that have purchased them young or old - because most people find them putrid.
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Couldn’t agree with this more. We are burgundy and gold not maroon and black. I’m afraid Josh Harris has taken the side of the people who don’t care about our team heritage. I didn’t feel this way last year when he honored Wetzel, changed to the burgundy and gold home unis, etc., so hopefully I’m wrong.

I can learn to live with the Commanders name, but we really need to lose the black, fix the fight song, etc.
 
Well. I can finally find something this new ownership group did that I don’t like.

I don’t like the decision. Not just personally but from a business perspective I think it’s a terrible decision.

And the explanation was total bullshit. They are just doing the one thing many of us pointed out as a concern, but assumed was super unlikely, which is that they had so much success year 1 they’d not want to go through the expensive, time consuming, risky rebranding process.

Idk if it’s been discussed - but they failed to sell out the majority of games this year. Local TV ratings having them somewhere around #25 in the league which is atrocious.

As happy as we’ve been and as much uptick as we’ve seen in fan activity across the spectrum, the attendance and ratings suggest otherwise. Now this.

Very disappointed.
 
Spearfeather said:
But, none of them wear burgundy and gold and use a pig as a mascot.


:)
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True, but the colors are what ties our past to our future.

I look at the name Commanders more in the abstract sense. The qualities I liked about Warriors can also be applied here with some effort.
 
tshile said:
Idk if it’s been discussed - but they failed to sell out the majority of games this year. Local TV ratings having them somewhere around #25 in the league which is atrocious.
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What's your source on these? I am not sure about the ratings, but the sellouts is blatantly untrue. I thought, and I could be wrong, they sold out all their games. They averaged over 63K per game, and Northwest sits at around 62K now, max capacity. So the math there doesn't add up
 
iheartskins said:
Totally my fault - I was referring to the NY Rangers hockey team; cede the point completely when it comes to the super historical Texas Rangers (and given that I listed other baseball teams, your counterpoint is well made and spot on).

And Angels is another bad example. I stand by Pirates. :)

And I stand by the general theme which is that many professional sports nicknames are objectively generic to start and then come to have a more close association and affinity over time and with success.

(And for completeness, I don't like Commanders!)
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I get your point. I do think names not inherently specific to a city just become part of the scenery over time and don't get questioned by fans.

I'm a bit of a nerd about team names, so I'm particularly sensitive to having a team name that's applicable to the place in which the team is located. I know I'm in the minority.
 
formerly4skins said:
I hear you. And I get trying to denigrate people who are anti-name with the whole <insert laughing Nelson .gif> "ha-ha, you think about Dan" schtick.

But here's the thing...as much as i dont care for it, i get that "Commanders" is the here, now, and future. At the same time, what I just don't get trying to shut down any rational conversation about its, and Dan's, place in the history of the franchise.

The simple fact that Commies has the baggage of being the fruit of Dan's supple mind will always make it fodder for debate and conversation among fans of a few generations. And, that it can get a little snippy here and there i think just speaks to the baggage it brings maybe being a bit toxic.
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For me, the fact that Snyder chose it is secondary. It is simply a boring-ass name chosen in a panic when better options were and still are available.

If Snyder had chosen something better, none of us would mention him in this context. But he did not.

The fact that he chose it makes me like it less, but I would not like it under any condtion. In short, I agree with your points.
 
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