I have never been a fan of trying to ‘Redskinize’ the Commanders brand. Once they changed the team identity, it just feels inauthentic and like pandering to me, but I know I am in the extreme minority so that’s the only comment I’ll make about it.
I totally get it. I have been one who advocates for going in a totally new direction with the branding—for instance, the Roman centurion vibe of those leaked spear pics got me kind of excited (since we’re stuck with this name). I was imagining lots of things you could do with the branding concept of the iconic Roman shield wall, the teamwork symbolism of it all, etc.
When they were changing the name originally (before revealing Commanders as the choice) I was actually advocating for totally new colors and everything, a total break with previous eras. I’m one of those fans who is also sick of always looking back to our history rather than moving forward with a modern winning brand. I hate when fans older than myself can’t help but to ALWAYS comp incoming rookies to Redskins legends of the past as if it’s their only reference point for the sport.
Anyways, hopes for better branding died originally with the Commanders reveal and the Snyders ruined all that, of course. They were never going to be the ones to pull it off. It was never going to be bold or imaginative. I’ve accepted it as the cost of getting new ownership, the final nail in Snyder’s coffin when he killed the brand.
With this new crew, because they’re competent or better in most other categories…I’ve landed on “I don’t mind being pandered to by people who know what they’re doing”. If that turns out to remain true of this ownership group over time, I’ll continue to feel that way. I still hope we ditch Major Tuddy and lean into a new flavor of warrior for the vague “Commanders” gimmick (like the Roman spear legions idea), but the uniforms being pure fan-service I can accept at this point. It is what it is, as long as it’s designed well and looks good.
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