Josh Harris Speaks... Commanders is permanent name.

[Boone]

Btw - I posed the question on whether to close the name change threads down to staff and what little feedback I got was that we should let members vent and say what they needed to. I think that’s the right call, so let’s let people do that until it’s out of everyone’s system.

 

[burgold]

We don’t have comprehensive polling to know definitively where the fanbase stood on name change and/or how they’ve interpreted Harris’ previous comments. But at least online it is clear there is a significant portion of fans who were not happy this week with his clumsily verbalized decision.

For folks who never cared much about the issue - I would say that’s great. Then this week is no big deal for you. But for those it was a big deal to, they deserve the opportunity to reflect on the news and express their disappointment without being marginalized as unrealistic, delusional, or over-emotional.

That’s not directed at you - I’m just saying to folks, if you don’t care, good for you, move on. But get off the backs of fellow fans that are upset by it.

Oh, I think the fanbase if given the keys would have changed the name. I would have. Almost everyone here would have. That's a different argument as to what magement was likely to do.

I always thought it was a longshot that they would do it. I think you did, too.

 

[Boone]

i was completely unsure. I have been skeptical but I also put stock into Mitchell Rales comments that he thought the name sucked. I figured if it wasn’t at least a possibility. Harris would’ve been wise to shut it down early like he did with questions about going back to Redskins. He never did.

I was unsure if it was a long shot or an inevitability and that’s a position Harris encouraged with non-committal statements for the past 2 years.

 

[Mark The Homer]

We need a "delusional" mood

 

[burgold]

Which opens up another possibility. Because of the podcast or for other reasons, you may have been following everything much closer than me which led to a different impression. These days, I lead with cynicism.

 

[Spearfeather]

Ehhh...the whole "We're gonna get back to our brand" statement is BS too. I mean how do they get back to their brand without the logo or name...or a name that gets them close(Warriors)?

Just a constant run around.

Yeah, the whole exchange was a little chaotic. The reporter asked about the name, and Harris responds with the cop out " time to move on ". It sounds like a phrase that would be directed towards the " Redskins or nothing " crowd, and I think these people are a small minority, which would make you wonder if he really understood there was a much larger group that just really didn't like "Commanders " and even if their personal choice wasn't picked as the new name, there was still a good chance ( and faith ) the name would be better than " Commanders ". You would have to think he would know about that larger group. So just a few days after telling that significant portion of the fanbase " Yeah, not happening. " He comes back with " time to move on ".
( We were trying to get you to " move on ", Josh ... Move on from " Commanders "

" Move on " Josh.


Just " move on ".



Anyway, the reporter then tries to clarify that he's referring to the uniform colors. . So it's hard to know whether in his response he is responding to uniform " colors " or a completely new ( maybe old ) design. Harris says " were getting back to our " brand ".
Well, wait a minute, our brand was " Redskins " and the logo, or any logo with a simular theme.

So, like I said a few days ago.
What does that mean ?

After his comments, the only thing I'm convinced of, is that our uniforms will be different.

 

[Mark The Homer]

Hmm. I will have to study the video further. I am still confused why he said "Right now..." on his first answer. It bugs me. That's where my 1% - 2% theory comes from.

Edit: Okay I checked it again for the 5th or 6th time... I don't see anything promising in his second response - sorry

 

[NickyJ]

Magic Johnson in 2023 said "I think everything's on the table, especially after this year. We'll see where we are with the name, but I can't say right now." Harris said it's not a priority. I think it's perfectly reasonable that they said they'll think about it, they thought about it, and then they decided. If people are still upset about the name not being cool, fine. But what doesn't make sense to me is the implication that Harris didn't give a proper amount of thought to his decision. I don't see any reason to think that the easy answer was the wrong answer for the profitability of the team, which is the only reason for a team to exist.

 

[DieselPwr44]

Still can't stop laughing at Harris basically saying "Everybody on my payroll likes the name".... I mean that statement makes Mel Brooks jealous on a comedic level.

 

[Canadian Hog]

I am speaking on behalf of Little Piggy here, but I know he has no issue with the name right now because: a) he is too young to be connected to Redskins, b) they are winning with a potential superstar at QB. That's ultimately what young kids are drawn to. Believe it or not, he also likes those abominations they call uniforms...kids these days

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

The only thing I would say about the “lack of polling” is I think the volume of merch purchased this year with a winning team and the money the team made off of it was probably the deciding factor. It’s very possible the polling and the sales were at odds with each other also. But in the end, what this year proves is from a sales perspective, the brand sells if the team is good.

Some might not like the name. I don’t love the name. I hate the logo. But I have some commanders merch. And it didn’t stop a whole lot of people from buying a whole lot of merch.

My guess is that’s really the information they needed to make a final decision.

The brand sells if the team is good. So from a strictly business perspective there isn’t a real good reason to spend $50m to change it.

I get the grieving period and for those who are extremely hurt by the decision, I feel you. I get it.

 

[Mark The Homer]

Hmm. I will have to study the video further. I am still confused why he said "Right now..." on his first answer. It bugs me. That's where my 1% - 2% theory comes from.

Edit: Okay I checked it again for the 5th or 6th time... I don't see anything promising in his second response - sorry

yeah so just
2:54
to hit the name first like we're focused
2:56
on uh we're back to saying you know what
2:59
we said all last year which was focused
3:01
on winning football games and getting
3:02
prepared for next year on fixing up um
3:05
Ashburn and um the stadium we could talk
3:08
about that and then on uh engaging uh
3:12
with the community of Washington and so
3:14
uh right now um and and now in this
3:17
building the name commanders mean
3:19
something ...

<end>

He's STUMBLING on this... it sounds like he almost blew it, but he caught himself. He was vague, and he was vague deliberately. And that's why Kiem had to ask the same question a second time.

He wants to keep the idea of a change of the name open down the road. But he doesn't want to be hounded about it. So he caught himself mid-sentence and corrected himself.

One to two percent chance. Possibly three.

Color me delusional.

If you have any questions, call me.

 

[Spearfeather]

He wants to keep the idea of a change of the name open down the road ...

Just wanted to clarify that we are talking about two different videos.

 

[Riggo44]

Unrelated to the Skinmanders, but does the whining about being "sick of the Chiefs" seem exponentially worse than "we're sick of the Pats" was? And the Brady run was two decades.

I dunno, I think I am way sicker of the Eagles. They need to lose this one so they can be ridiculed as 4-time losers.

 

[Boone]

Amen brother

 

[CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome]

I ask this question honestly, to the folks here who are very upset that Harris isn’t going to change the name again.

What is so upsetting about it?

A little background on me, I once thought the only good thing Dan ever did was his never changing the name and you can put that in CAPS moment. I am coming from a place that strongly preferred the name never change.

But somewhere during rock bottom of my fandom, think - “the culture is damn good” era - it was incredibly hard to care an iota about the Redskins. What was once a sense of pride, became misery. We were really looking at having a dAmN GuuD kUltURe for the rest of our lives. I had no desire to spend any money on or time wearing Redskins apparel. He Johnny Rocketed our beloved Redskins.

Even with all that, I didn’t want the name to change out of spite, really.

But we got bailed out and bailed out huge by him being forced to sell. At no time ever, in all of my glee that led up to the sale of the team, did changing the name again register in the reasons I was so damn happy.

I guess that’s why it’s a big meh burger to me right now. I don’t begrudge you guys for feeling differently, it’s just hard for me to relate- even though I was once a raging Redskins or nothing guy myself.

 

[Boone]

There are literally 25 pages of 'what is so upsetting about it'

I can understand why some are fatigued with the issue and discussion and not particularly unhappy the franchise is moving on from it. Anyone struggling to understand why some are upset isn't trying very hard. It's not that complicated. Not understanding and not agreeing are two different things. You're 'Cured'. That's awesome. Some aren't yet.

 

[CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome]

There are literally 25 pages of 'what is so upsetting about it'

I can understand why some are fatigued with the issue and discussion and not particularly unhappy the franchise is moving on from it. Anyone struggling to understand why some are upset isn't trying very hard. It's not that complicated. Not understanding and not agreeing are two different things. You're 'Cured'. That's awesome. Some aren't yet.

I see plenty of reminds me of Dan, the name stinks, etc.

I get those things not being ideal.

I don’t get being so upset over it, that it’s eliciting such strong negative feelings about our new owner, on the heels of a NFCC run in the first year of a rebuild.

 

[Letthepointssoar]

I ask this question honestly, to the folks here who are very upset that Harris isn’t going to change the name again.

What is so upsetting about it?

I'll share my thoughts. For me it's two things-

1. While I am a fan BECAUSE I'm a Native American and the term "Redskins" originated in a sense of pride for my people, even I knew the name finally had to go because for as many in the NA community who are endeared to the name, that doesn't change the fact that some DID still find it to be offensive. So in this day and age, that meant Redskins had to go and was never coming back. However, there were so many options that could have been a win-win to still appease to the Native American fanbase - RedWolves, Warriors, Wolves, Brave. But by completely disassociating altogether, you in turn potentially lose a significant portion of the fanbase.

2. Even if the ownership didn't agree with #1, you have to at least handle it properly if you actually care about the history of the franchise and the entire fanbase. But the current handling of the rebranding conversation has been abysmal. They've tried to avoid it saying "other things are more important". But that merely proves the disconnect to what the fanbase cares about, because there are a whole lot of us that would give back this 12 win season in a hurry if it was in exchange for the next multiple decades we could cheer for a better mascot than the "Commanders" to represent our history.

Hail.

 

[Chris]

Hell, this past season ended my refusal to publicly say I was a Washington fan. So for me, there is that.