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

[SkinsOrlando]

I dig the sweatshirt on the top right in that picture., the hoodie as well, the white to me is eh, then again I generally don't like white shirts, just too hard to keep clean.

 

[SkinsGuru]

Sticking with the Greco Roman theme do we change this guy:
View attachment 14098

Into more of this theme:
View attachment 14099

Making the major a Trojan war pig

keep em a hog, just dress him in roman gear and give him a spear!!

 

[GhostofWoodson]

Then you can set Tuddy on fire and send him amidst the enemy to terrify and demoralize them. Go full on Roman.

 

[HTTR]

As for the second statement in that tweet ...

Good !

But wait a minute… Josh Harris told us that “commanders” has been embraced by everybody inside the building? Surely they wouldn’t leave the name they are so proud of off of the merchandise….

 

[Conn]

But wait a minute… Josh Harris told us that “commanders” has been embraced by everybody inside the building? Surely they wouldn’t leave the name they are so proud of off of the merchandise….

They’ve been de-emphasizing the actual Commanders name on merch for years at this point, despite not wanting to actually go through another name change process. Clearly they know it’s not popular (with the older fans especially) but their greed calculus still told them that not changing it was the easiest path to making more money with some branding tweaks. I’m sure they also assumed we’d continue playing good football to help buy-in, but the idea that they’d keep the name but de-emphasize it is not new, as silly as it seems.

 

[HTTR]

“Greed calculus” indeed. Guess I was a fool to think Harris’s fandom might sway him away from that. I still think they would’ve recouped that money and then some by changing to a more easily marketable brand like Redwolves which would’ve been embraced even more so by the young crowd, and been less detested by the older crowd. Plus people like me who just want to see all things Snyder wiped clean.

 

[Bulldog]

I read where Red Wolves was already a logo for another football team (college?) and the last thing the team wanted was yet another lawsuit or negotiation over naming rights issue.

At some point we all have to move forward and concentrate on winning and losing and stop worrying about what logo people are wearing or how bright the gold is on the pants.

 

[Commander PK]

I think to expect the brand not to evolve is unrealistic. They are going to continue to try to find the optimal combination of old and new that appeals to the most people. May cost them some lifers in the process, but they can’t exist in a perpetual apologetic state for what has happened here in Washington.

Combining workable elements of the Redskins brand like the spear into Commanders can make sense if people are willing to give it a chance.

I like Commanders ok, not the name I would have chosen, but what I like most about it is zero controversy other than people not liking it. I like what it can become more than what it currently is…which is why I’m still so engaged on the topic. The story isn’t over yet.

 

[Conn]

I read where Red Wolves was already a logo for another football team (college?) and the last thing the team wanted was yet another lawsuit or negotiation over naming rights issue.

At some point we all have to move forward and concentrate on winning and losing and stop worrying about what logo people are wearing or how bright the gold is on the pants.

It’s the organization’s job to win and give fans a reason to ignore the dumb stuff. More seasons like this year, and there’s no reason to buy in and not focus on dumb off-field stuff. You want fans to case less about the branding, uniforms, etc? Be better on the field. Give something relevant to talk about.

The fans have zero impact on the winning and losing. They react to the product provided. Maybe stadium crowd noise. Another area where the franchise building a sustainable program that people want to support can help them help themselves, because the right people will be at the games.

 

[JoeyG]

It’s the organization’s job to win and give fans a reason to ignore the dumb stuff. More seasons like this year, and there’s no reason to buy in and not focus on dumb off-field stuff. You want fans to case less about the branding, uniforms, etc? Be better on the field. Give something relevant to talk about.

The fans have zero impact on the winning and losing. They react to the product provided. Maybe stadium crowd noise. Another area where the franchise building a sustainable program that people want to support can help them help themselves, because the right people will be at the games.

While I think going back to the old uniform look is a step in the right direction I am surprised how lackluster their graphics have been. I think a cool spear logo would be fun for fans and connect with our history but why not just roll that out if that's the plan? The W feels like Snyder in it's obvious "What's the cheapest thing we can do"?

I like the concept of "greed calculus". That is accurate and they are leaving a lot of revenue on the table over the long run in my opinion. Running away from Commanders is understandable but if you know it's unpopular change it! Trying to hide it will not work.

 

[Commander PK]

I really just don’t think people understand how hard it is to change a name. I do understand the frustration on that front though. You ask everyone for their opinion, they give it to you…and then you pick a name that is not one of any the fans told you they liked.

The truth is the team could never have had any name they wanted, and where they screwed up was not telling that to people up front. They let it get out of control with RedWolves, Warriors, etc. and then could not understand why people were upset….when the truth is those names were never truly on the table. Even today I’m genuinely surprised by the number of people who still don’t understand that process. They either haven’t done any kind of research to see how it works or are willfully ignorant.

 

[Conn]

While I think going back to the old uniform look is a step in the right direction I am surprised how lackluster their graphics have been. I think a cool spear logo would be fun for fans and connect with our history but why not just roll that out if that's the plan? The W feels like Snyder in it's obvious "What's the cheapest thing we can do"?

I like the concept of "greed calculus". That is accurate and they are leaving a lot of revenue on the table over the long run in my opinion. Running away from Commanders is understandable but if you know it's unpopular change it! Trying to hide it will not work.

These successful business guys aren’t always that smart when it comes to things outside their area of expertise. But it isn’t even about smarts, it’s risk tolerance and it’s the voices you listen to, and most importantly it’s the interests you are beholden to. And, to be real about it, once you reach a certain level of wealth you kind of become too big to fail and your money (and the connections it brings) does most of the work for you. That’s what made Snyder such an incredibly damning (and hilarious) failure. So Harris may be lots of things as an individual, including a well-meaning, even smart and caring, owner and steward of this franchise. But he is still a cog in a machine that grinds away common sense to create value at all costs.

These guys, they pay an exploitative consultant team to come in, assess things, do half-ass research and incomplete polling, and then they compile a 200-page report that a marketing exec skims and pulls the most pertinent stuff from. I’m exaggerating for humor, but it’s not always that far off. And when those people say that the monetary and reputational cost of changing the team’s name for a third time in 5-6 years may not guarantee higher profits than just upgrading the current branding (not that it won’t, just that it’s not guaranteed based on the info they’ve gathered for review)…that’s how you get this situation. And all industries have this sort of thing once you get to the point where multi-billion dollar behemoth brands have their decision-making consolidated into a few peoples’ hands who also have other concerns.

It’s impersonal, it’s cold, and it isn’t even necessarily correct. But that’s what happens when big finance or big tech takes over your brand. And that’s essentially what has happened here, even though Private Equity firms themselves can’t technically buy franchises (yet) that’s Harris in a nutshell.

Harris may be a smart guy who turns out to be a good owner, and he’s certainly better than Snyder. But he’s still a billionaire finance guy who had to aggregate the money to buy the team from a million other minority share owners. And they all want the easiest path to the best chance to make the most money. Which isn’t to say they always find it, but it means they’re going to reduce risk and bank on the valuation of their NFL investment increasing over time as long as they don’t shit their own pants. And as soon as the Seahawks sell at a ridiculous valuation, they’ll get a passive boost to their own franchise and already be winning, even with all the money being spent on the stadium and such. Any of those minority share owners would be able to sell their stake at a large gain whenever they feel they want to, which is what most of them will care about, realistically. Harris can be a good owner but he’s still a greedy billionaire trying to satisfy other greedy billionaires. I believe he grew up a fan and that he cares…but he’s not like you and I any more. What he cares about encompasses more than just being proud of his brand, and it barely factors in what you and I care about as fans.

 

[Single-Bar Facemask]

I've been convinced for months that the Super Bowl-era look would become the permanent look starting with the 2026-27 season, and I think the above post shows that.

If I had to guess? An alternate uniform with a spear will replace the black uniforms.

 

[Primus Porcus]

The name isnt going anywhere any time soon.

The new group has changed just about everything about the brand outside of the logo thats on the helmet, and the name. If the name is the deal breaker, and no changes will ever be good enough because the name is what it is... then i'm thinking nothing will ever be good enough.

The team is going to look as close to the Redskins as it has since this whole thing started originally.

 

[Commander PK]

The team is going to look as close to the Redskins as it has since this whole thing started originally.

And I can’t see why this is a bad thing even if the name is Commanders.

 

[Riggo44]

I do finding it interesting that anytime a new change is introduced, even ones that people claim they want to see (like the Spear) the anger about the whole situation seems to boil up again. The team is met with hostility no matter what they do.

People don’t like it the way it is…but they don’t want it changed either…unless it’s changed to the way they want it changed…but nobody knows exactly what that is.

Oh well…

Precisely why another rebrand would be pointless

 

[Commander PK]

Precisely why another rebrand would be pointless

Yup, like we’ve discussed here before there are names that would be worse than Commanders. Yes, it is absolutely possible to pick a worse name….and the names we all said we liked the best can’t be had.

So it is what it is

 

[AngryChuckT]

I think they are dropping little nuggets testing the waters on a logo change. Last week it was the W with two spears through it. This week it is the crest with two spears through it.

The SB Era Uniforms are obvious and they aren't being cagey with their intentions to make them the permanent unis. I do think they are playing with iterations of a ,logo tweak/change and seeing if anything really catches fire among fans.

 

[Spearfeather]

And I can’t see why this is a bad thing even if the name is Commanders.

It's not a bad thing, it's just that the name brings it down.

 

[Commander PK]

It's not a bad thing, it's just that the name brings it down.

I understand. My frustration comes from hoping that they give us something that gets everybody revved up again and feeling good about things.

The psychology of it for me is simple. They took something from me that I loved… and what I hope is that eventually the fan base gets to a genuine place where it’s a non-factor any more. At that point…we win. We win because we refused to let them destroy the thing we loved we just adapted and overcame.

Like I’ve said before, I’m going to like it to spite them. We live on in a new iteration…and at the end of the day all of it basically served no real purpose than to piss everybody off for a few years.

The story didn’t change…it turned a page. The machine kept moving.