The Stadium Thread

[Boone]

I put a lot of this on the Ownership group. They opted to stick with a name a majority of fans at best tolerate and at worst detest. Had they committed to finding one that resonated better with the fanbase and at least didn’t have Snyder/Wright/Rivera stench all over it, there would be no major populist sentiment and hence no political impetus to try and return to ‘Redskins’.

Count me as one who isn’t thrilled about the idea of re-embracing controversy (despite feeling the name change thing was an overreaction from the start).

But this whole issue could’ve finally been put to bed with a new name that shed all-things Dan Snyder imho.

 

[skinsmarydu]

And WFT offended no one.

Like I've said so many times, I would've rather kept that than some bs that pisses off at least half of the fan base.

 

[Spearfeather]

Was just thinking, breaking out these uniforms for the second half of this season, certainly isn't gping to subdue the discussion.

 

[NickyJ]

It was already put to bed the moment Josh Harris said that the name stays. It is only in this unique and annoying (to me) circumstance of outsiders stirring the pot and saying "no, the private property that you paid the full rights for is not yours to decide the name of".

Harris owns the team, Harris said it's done. There shouldn't be anything more for him to say. He shouldn't have to get on his knees and beg people to not throw political molotov cocktails at his property.

 

[Boone]

I agree he had the right to move on. The problem is there was a significant part of the fan base that didn’t want to move on who were ignored. I 100% agree ‘outsiders’ should stay out of it. But ignoring what such a large portion of fans wanted may end up having the opposite effect of ‘putting it to bed’.

There is a sick, twisted part of me that will enjoy watching whatever drama ensues.

 

[Riggo44]

Had they committed to finding one that resonated better with the fanbase and at least didn’t have Snyder/Wright/Rivera stench all over it, there would be no major populist sentiment and hence no political impetus to try and return to ‘Redskins’.

That's just it: This name does not exist. Any name would be "tolerated at best, detested at worst." There is one, magical, unifying name and we are not going back to it. This is a fantasy. I mean people think WFT was better--completely ignoring that was Snyder generated and displays everything Snyder did wrong with the name even moreso than Commanders.

Going back to Redskins is a massive mistake looking for a place to happen. Right or wrong, and I have my thoughts and what the facts seem to say, but relitigating it is pointless. There's single digit probability of it ever coming back; and like Conn astutely pointed out--there is so much baggage that comes along with the old name that it comes with it's own bellhop. It's not worth it.

God that one season without all this drama was so nice, wasn't it?

 

[Spearfeather]

It was already put to bed the moment Josh Harris said that the name stays. It is only in this unique and annoying (to me) circumstance of outsiders stirring the pot and saying "no, the private property that you paid the full rights for is not yours to decide the name of".

Just saying, technically, the Federal government still owns the land.

 

[Commander PK]

We are in a perpetual state of

“Give me what I want and I will leave you alone”

 

[Boone]

Yeah, I don’t want to go back to it at this point either. I just think creating this big disaffected group by refusing to find a suitable alternative set us up for this kind of BS.

 

[Anselmheifer]

I agree he had the right to move on. The problem is there was a significant part of the fan base that didn’t want to move on who were ignored. I 100% agree ‘outsiders’ should stay out of it. But ignoring what such a large portion of fans wanted may end up having the opposite effect of ‘putting it to bed’.

There is a sick, twisted part of me that will enjoy watching whatever drama ensues.

Well, it was really a no win situation. As much as that part of the fan base really didn’t want us to move on from the name, a lot of other people did.

The simplest way to handle this, to make both sides the happiest, would have been to at least drop the name Commanders, without going back to Redskins. A better name would have done something to assuage both sides, I think. I’m sure it was mostly a business decision not to do that.

 

[Riggo44]

All data though points to growing acceptance and affection for "Commanders." 62% of Commanders fans like more love the name--looks like the people who don't like it are in a shrinking, vocal minority...

 

[Boone]

Well, the threat to scuttle the RFK deal can only do that - no one can force a name change. What remains to be seen is how serious that threat is.

 

[NickyJ]

The trouble with playing to the fanbase is that the fanbase is already fractured and no matter what choice he makes, a significant part of it will disagree. This thread alone is a clear example of it. I was desperately in love with Redwolves and was heartbroken it wasn't chosen. I have made my peace with the Commanders. Skinsmarydu dislikes Commanders and would rather have Football Team. I personally hate that (lack of) name more than probably any option. I don't know what your preference would be, Boone, but I bet someone somewhere will dislike it as much as anyone else would love it.

There is no option that wins the game of even near universal fan support. The team already lost the name game, why play it again when the only outcome is losing again?

If it got me my Redwolves, I'd love it. But there are also lots of fans who have already said they think it's stupid, so I'm ready to accept what we have now rather than spinning the fan hate wheel again.

 

[Boone]

All data though points to growing acceptance and affection for "Commanders."

View attachment 11960

Of course - because Harris said it is the permanent name and most sane people assume when something is stated as final, it’s final. If the question was ‘would you prefer a name other than Commanders’ that is something g entirely different - even now.

 

[Boone]

The trouble with playing to the fanbase is that the fanbase is already fractured and no matter what choice he makes, a significant part of it will disagree. This thread alone is a clear example of it. I was desperately in love with Redwolves and was heartbroken it wasn't chosen. I have made my peace with the Commanders. Skinsmarydu dislikes Commanders and would rather have Football Team. I personally hate that (lack of) name more than probably any option. I don't know what your preference would be, Boone, but I bet someone somewhere will dislike it as much as anyone else would love it.

There is no option that wins the game of even near universal fan support. The team already lost the name game, why play it again when the only outcome is losing again?

If it got me my Redwolves, I'd love it. But there are also lots of fans who have already said they think it's stupid, so I'm ready to accept what we have now rather than spinning the fan hate wheel again.

I am resolved to be a Commanders fan because again, I am a generally sane person and can recognize that life doesn’t always cater to our individual preferences. I think there is a lot of truth in your comments except that I do believe there was a pretty clear consensus that most would prefer just about anything other than ‘Commanders’.

I’m as tired of the whole thing as most are at this point

 

[Riggo44]

Of course - because Harris said it is the permanent name and most sane people assume when something is stated as final, it’s final. If the question was ‘would you prefer a name other than Commanders’ that is something g entirely different - even now.

Maybe, maybe not. But it's objectively, exponentially growing in acceptance and affection. Those who dislike the name are in a demonstrable minority among Commanders fans.

 

[Boone]

Acceptance? Maybe. Affection? I don’t know anyone who would express that emotion, but just me

 

[Spearfeather]

The trouble with playing to the fanbase is that the fanbase is already fractured and no matter what choice he makes, a significant part of it will disagree. This thread alone is a clear example of it.

This thread is an example of what the fanbase here thinks, which is not necessarilly an accurate representation of the entire fanbase.

 

[NickyJ]

I don't disagree that the fan consensus was against it. I just don't think there ever was a name other than the name we started with that the majority of fans would have supported. Not with enough support that Harris could afford to rebrand the team over.

This thread is an example of what the fanbase here thinks, which is not necessarilly an accurate representation of the entire fanbase.

That's exactly my point. If a small and insular community can't agree, I don't think the wider public with its Twitter polls and even more of those who aren't keeping up on social media would be that much more cohesive in their feelings.

 

[Riggo44]

According to the Washington Post, in May 2025, 62% of Commanders fans "Like" or "Love" the name Commanders.

Like:
as a verb: find agreeable, enjoyable, or satisfactory.
as a noun: the things one likes or prefers.

Love:
as a verb: feel deep affection for; like or enjoy very much
as a noun: an intense feeling of deep affection; a great interest and pleasure in something

Yes, I think it's quite safe to say almost two thirds have an affection for the name Commanders.