(New Poll) The Washington Commanders Brand 2.0: Beer Drinkers and Hail Raisers

[Commander PK]

I guess some people will see it that way PK but you know, some others could say, the fact that after three years they're still trying to, or feel it necessesary to explain to fans " wtf " their team name means ... tells you something.

Well, it tells me that this is the hand they have been dealt. I believe 100% they were told the team will not be rebranded by the NFL. They are trying to make the best of it. I think this approach is natural for Washington D.C. and it’s the only thing that can create a true identity for “Commanders”

I don’t believe this was Snyder’s plan all along. I don’t give him that much credit.

I do think in time this approach will endear itself to the fans. Not going to happen overnight.

 

[Spearfeather]

I believe 100% they were told the team will not be rebranded by the NFL

If this happened, when do you think it happened ?

 

[Boone]

This is absolutely the right approach. The new ownership group is crushing it.

Crushing it?

I think trying to move forward with some generic 'warrior' theme is probably the best marketing strategy they have at this point. But it's still pretty 'cringe' for me and I'm guessing a lot of fans. Ultimately, the name is what it is. I sort of think at this point, the less they try to sell what is ultimately almost unsellable, the better.

It's Commanders. Just leave it alone. Time will ingrain it and make it feel normal. The marketing stuff just makes it worse imho.

 

[Commander PK]

If this happened, when do you think this happened ?

First, this is purely speculation on my part.

I believe the ownership group when they purchased the team went in with an open mind about changing the name. I truly believe that they did. I believe one of two things have happened in the months since.

One, the NFL would not allow them to rebrand the team even if they wanted to. The league probably believes that the fan base will come around in time and they don’t want a flagship franchise looking for what would be their 4th name inside of 6 years. Redskins, Football Team, Commanders, New Name. Build the brand and wait out the naysayers who will die off, check out, or come around. Simple reality.

Two, I also know that all the names the fans wanted are not reasonably accessible for secured trademarks. There is no other name that we wanted that we can get legally that is better than Commanders is right now in 2025 with a Greco-Roman identity. The only names that would appease the fanbase are Warriors or some variation of Wolf. They can’t get them, so there is no sense in trying to change the name again for Admirals or Presidents which are no better than Commanders. The ownership group knows this, so that is why they have let it go.

Of course, the truth could be one of those or a combination of both.

 

[Conn]

I guess some people will see it that way PK but you know, some others could say, the fact that after three years they're still trying to, or feel it necessesary to explain to fans " wtf " their team name means ... tells you something.

Not really. If you accept the premise that ownership already decided that we’re stuck with Commanders—as you must, because that’s what happened—then logically it follows that ownership needed to present an avenue for the branding to follow. Beholden to the name they decided to stick us with, but not beholden to anything Snyder tried with the branding before.

This is that avenue. Call it a silver lining, or making the best of a bad situation, or whatever you want. But this is clearly a new direction they’re taking the branding.

In an ideal world would they have settled on it faster? Sure, but we’re here now. The marketing department has to do SOMETHING with the brand lol.

 

[RedWolf]

I guess some people will see it that way PK but you know, some others could say, the fact that after three years they're still trying to, or feel it necessesary to explain to fans " wtf " their team name means ... tells you something.

Do you think the Redskins identity was built quickly?

I think the new owners are doing a great job

 

[Commander PK]

Crushing it?

I think trying to move forward with some generic 'warrior' theme is probably the best marketing strategy they have at this point. But it's still pretty 'cringe' for me and I'm guessing a lot of fans. Ultimately, the name is what it is. I sort of think at this point, the less they try to sell what is ultimately almost unsellable, the better.

It's Commanders. Just leave it alone. Time will ingrain it and make it feel normal. The marketing stuff just makes it worse imho.

I disagree brother. I just think you have to approach it with an open mind. I know not everybody is ready to do that, and may never be ready. I’m not trying to tell anybody what they should think. I’m only stating what I think. People are free to agree or disagree.

Back in the day when all this was up in the air one of the suggestions I was really high on was the name Warriors with the Greco-Roman theme. Spartan helmet with Crossed Spears over a shield kind of thing. Instead, we got Commanders, and now they are starting to embrace the Greco-Roman theme. They are using a spear again in a new context. As an identity for “Commanders” it can work and be great.

I think this can eventually be cool for most people. If they can start to bring some of the most ardent haters of “Commanders” back into the fold all the better.

 

[RedWolf]

I disagree brother. I just think you have to approach it with an open mind. I know not everybody is ready to do that, and may never be ready. I’m not trying to tell anybody what they should think. I’m only stating what I think. People are free to agree or disagree.

Back in the day when all this was up in the air one of the suggestions I was really high on was the name Warriors with the Greco-Roman theme. Spartan helmet with Crossed Spears over a shield kind of thing. Instead, we got Commanders, and now they are starting to embrace the Greco-Roman theme. They are using a spear again in a new context. As an identity for “Commanders” it can work and be great.

I think this can eventually be cool for most people. If they can start to bring some of the most ardent haters of “Commanders” back into the fold all the better.

Agree... I'm a hardcore Redskins fan, it's hard for me to accept the new name. I'm doing the best I can. Trying to find something I can get behind and support

 

[Commander PK]

I also think, and I’ve said this before, Commanders is more palatable for people who are from the DMV. I think people from here are more open to accepting the name.

If you are a fan of the team more because of Redskins and the Native American theme…and care significantly less about the Washington part…there is nothing for you to like now. I understand that reality.

I was both, but this is my home town team regardless. I was not going anywhere no matter what they did short of leaving my home town. If that happened, go Ravens.

 

[Spearfeather]

Not really. If you accept the premise that ownership already decided that we’re stuck with Commanders—as you must, because that’s what happened—then logically it follows that ownership needed to present an avenue for the branding to follow. ...

It's also logical to think there was a reason Josh Harris did not mention the fans when listing the reasons for keeping the name.
So yeah, if you know the name your insisting on sticking with, falls flat with a significant portion of your fanbase, then you would do things like that video.

 

[Conn]

It's also logical to think there was a reason Josh Harris did not mention the fans when listing the reasons for keeping the name.
So yeah, if you know the name your insisting on sticking with, falls flat with a significant portion of your fanbase, then you would do things like that video.

Online sentiment isn’t the same thing as real life purchasing power. Their numbers obviously told them Commanders could make them money, otherwise they’d have changed the name, at worst, out of pure greed to avoid catastrophic financials. I believe Harris & Co. want to win, but I also believe they’re billionaires driven by the unquenchable pit inside them that hungers for money and market dominance. I feel very confident that no matter how negative the loud online outcry is, they made a cold analytical choice to stick with the name and ride out the heated sentiments for a reason. That reason is money. And that tells me way less people care than we think, we just spend all our time together in bubbles with others who also hate the name (online and in real life).

I always trust the ultra wealthy to do what’s best for their wallets. In this case that means they have a lot of reasons to believe they can make Commanders a huge money-maker. The quiet majority of the fanbase (and the fans they’ll create by being successful and not scummy) is who they care about. Not us.

 

[Spearfeather]

Their biggest seller in the pro shop this year will be an item that pre-dates and really has nothing to do with " Commanders "
And its not selling just because its " Commanders ".
But, sure, with things like this that draw from the past, along with playing well, they can make decent money with " Commanders ", but its not like they're introducing a new logo or or wordmark.
They're still trying to sell us on the name.
And, thats really all I was saying.

 

[Conn]

Their biggest selleri n the pro shop this year will be an item that pre-dates and really has nothing to do with " Commanders "
And its not selling just because its " Commanders ".
But, sure, with things like this, they can make decent money with " Commanders ", but its not like they're introducing a new logo or or wordmark.
They're still trying to sell us on the name.
And, thats really all I was saying.

It’s just a hype video for the season. Every team does it, a lot of dumb money gets poured into social media/marketing stuff like this. The content is being made regardless, so the only decision is how to present the brand. They aren’t making videos like this just to try to win people over to the branding, like that’s not the purpose of the video—just a byproduct of videos like that being popular in the first place. It’s just part of doing business these days.

It’s only significant to people paying attention, like us here, because it reveals the direction they want to take the brand in going forward, and it’s a change from the Rivera years where they leaned into corny modern military stuff more often.

But the way you’re characterizing it as some sort of concentrated push to get people to accept the name, as if they’ve failed before and this is another new attempt, is overblown imo. They were always going to market their product, which they believe will make them huge amounts of money regardless of negative sentiment from hardcore fans.

 

[Spearfeather]

But the way you’re characterizing it as some sort of concentrated push to get people to accept the name, as if they’ve failed before and this is another new attempt, is overblown imo.

I wouldnt say its only about the name, but " What is a Commander ? " ... It definately has something to do with it.

 

[Conn]

I wouldnt say its only about the name, but " What does it mean to be a Commander ? " ... It definately has something to do with it.

They and every other team do this stuff every offseason, is all I’m saying. Some teams do it before every game. The fact that they produced this video isn’t because they are struggling to sell the brand. A similar video was always going to exist, which is why I’m saying that the only interesting part is the insight it gives us into the direction they want to take Commanders. This exact video could have easily existed with generic tanks and soldiers or whatever if they wanted to go that direction. But it was always going to get made.

This is getting repetitive anyways, hopefully it’s not painful for people to read in the morning 😂 that long TNF delay had me pouring a few fingers of Bulleit

 

[Primus Porcus]

Their biggest seller in the pro shop this year will be an item that pre-dates and really has nothing to do with " Commanders "
And its not selling just because its " Commanders ".
But, sure, with things like this that draw from the past, along with playing well, they can make decent money with " Commanders ", but its not like they're introducing a new logo or or wordmark.
They're still trying to sell us on the name.
And, thats really all I was saying.

This isn't really fair considering the fact that this brand is only 3 years old. The overwhelming majority of the fanbase is still over the age 25, which is also the age where you actually are able to start spending adult money.

10 years from now, if they dropped the throwback stuff, the numbers would be significantly different for a multitude of reasons, but a major one would be that the fans of the team since becoming Commanders actually have 'adult' money to spend. I've seen A LOT of kids wearing plenty of gear surrounding the Washington Football franchise, and the overwhelming majority of gear that KIDS are wearing, dawns Commanders.

The hype video's are getting more and more frequent because of the new Social Media team we've got in place. They're likely among one of the more active teams in the NFL in regards to content and creating. The name isn't changing, so the team as a whole is embracing it and building that brand up. They ultimately hit a crossroads where they had to make an actual choice (and we don't even know what the limitations on choices may or may not have been) and they're embracing it instead of neglecting it. At this point any smart business would do the same..

 

[Spearfeather]

10 years from now, if they dropped the throwback stuff, the numbers would be significantly different for a multitude of reasons, but a major one would be that the fans of the team since becoming Commanders actually have 'adult' money to spend.

Some of this is going to depend on and it'll be interesting to see how the " new " throwbacks are received by the younger ccrowd.

 

[Primus Porcus]

Some of this is going to depend on and it'll be interesting to see how the " new " throwbacks are received by the younger ccrowd.

I also believe that the 'new' throwbacks will become the White jersey for next year, and it wouldn't shock me if there is a Burgundy variant to go along with it and we essentially go back to what we used to wear with a true 'alternate' being the only change from what we used to wear. That may also unfairly support my point as we may not get a 'real' idea of how it's supported or not by the younger generation, if it becomes the full time unis.

 

[formerly4skins]

This is absolutely the right approach. The new ownership group is crushing it.

That hype video had me cringing so hard I thought I might turn inside out or just implode into the void 😆

Seriously, calling out "identity" at the exact moment they're showing a spear...something that's been erased from the team's identity...is either next-level irony, unintentional trolling, or a hopeful sign for the future.

The fact that I can't really tell, I think, speaks to just how muddled the messaging is.

Also, agree that if we're three years deep into calling ourselves the Commanders and the team is still pleading its case and explaining to fans what a Commander even is, then the marketing has failed.

 

[AngryChuckT]

They did a really good job with that video. "A Commander is a leader of Warriors."

They are doing the best job they can with the crappy hand they were dealt. A team under the WOS would have screwed it up.

I definitely prefer the Greco-Roman theme. SB Era uniforms become the regular uniforms. Alternate helmet with a Roman spear that just happens to look like a Redskins spear without the feathers and I can rock with that until the grave.