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

[Conn]

Funny people are now saying the logo was never a problem. I agree of course that the name (and Snyder’s other scandals) exacerbated the negative attention the entire brand was getting, but the logo was for sure a focus of many groups and people. I can’t be the only one who remembers the think pieces and angry commotion around the stereotypical “noble warrior savage” imagery of the logo (regardless of who designed it decades ago, standards and thinking on things change). That was the same issue with the spear (in a NA context), that many tribes didn’t appreciate the stereotypical “warrior” imagery representing their cultures. “My culture is not your mascot”, nobody remembers that? It wasn’t just the name.

I realize this was a very loud minority of people protesting this stuff back then. But I’m not going to pretend the logo was never controversial during those years of endless scandal and name change controversy. The Wetzel logo absolutely was wrapped up in all of it, it doesn’t matter that he was Native American. Many modern Native groups didn’t want to be associated with the logo, enough to make a lot of noise about it no matter how many signatures you could get arguing otherwise.

Edit: some excellent posts on the previous page about this, I have to say I agree with you Boone + PK. It’s over. Inviting that off-field distraction back into the fold isn’t worth any level of happiness for the fans who care, I hate to say. Chalk it up as the price to lose Snyder, whatever you have to do to mentally move past it. But backtracking now even if we COULD technically do it would just ruin everything all over again. It’s never going to be the same, so it may as well never be the same while moving in a positive direction.

 

[Commander PK]

Conn that is an absolutely correct statement. I think a lot of people are being deliberately forgetful about it all or honestly didn’t know.

 

[skinsmarydu]

Some of the groups applying pressure for the name change didn’t want ANY use of NA imagery - I believe this was one of the reasons why Jason Wright didn’t pursue Warriors or even Wolves as those were specifically (and imho ridiculously) criticized as having Native American connotations.

I don’t know if the anti-woke wave has washed away those concerns enough to allow NA imagery now or not.

But there were plenty of objections to the logo and NA iconography at the time of the change. And yes - I know about the Chiefs.

And the Blackhawks, the Seminoles, and the Braves. And I'm in Braves country.

ALL means ALL. It ended up being exclusive to just our team and the Cleveland baseball team (ain't typin' that stupid name either).

 

[Riggo44]

Regardless of what you feel about Commanders name; we have enjoyed more on-the-field success and memories last year alone under that name than 23 previous seasons of misery, scandals, embarrassment, and breaking Sunday news of what that fucking organization did THIS time.

"Commanders" is our hope.
"Commanders" is our future.
Let it fucking rip.

 

[skinsmarydu]

Agree Riggo44 , I'm just still a bit miffed about it all.

 

[Conn]

And the Blackhawks, the Seminoles, and the Braves. And I'm in Braves country.

ALL means ALL. It ended up being exclusive to just our team and the Cleveland baseball team (ain't typin' that stupid name either).

People need to be angry at Snyder for this, not the general uncaring and unfair nature of the universe. His grip on the franchise and its fate weakened through his own incompetence, poor business acumen, and scummy scandalous nature. That’s why the brand’s armor was cracked and a vulnerability was found, which mixed up with a bunch of other factors, led to the controversial name change in a really turbulent moment in our nation’s modern history. It was a perfect disaster cocktail, but one that required Snyder to really, really suck to ever actually touch us.

It’s fair to be sad that we happened to be fans of one of the few franchises owned by billionaires dumb enough to allow this to happen on their watch, but that’s what happened. And wanting other fanbases rooting for teams with similar names punished out of a sense of “fairness” or bitterness just doesn’t help anybody (not saying this applies to you, but some people do feel this way out of a sense of vengeance and trolling). If this blunder under Snyder really hurt our fans that badly, why would we want other innocent fans to suffer the same fate? We took our L, the brand burnt to the ground and now we’re finally rising from the ashes. I don’t think pointing to other franchises that weren’t held to the same standard is particularly helpful or cool. And it ignores a lot of the interior incompetence from Snyder that allowed the exterior pressure to pierce the armor of our brand in the first place.

Let other fanbases be who have squeaked through the controversy without suffering our fate, imo. The world isn’t fair but we don’t need to tear down everyone else along with us in order for what happened to us to be justified. Sometimes we lose and others don’t, and it’s not fair.

We have plenty to be thankful for alongside the negatives, anyways.

If Satan himself had appeared before me in 2020 and offered to replace Snyder with a competent, well-meaning owner in exchange for a poorly executed name and branding change…well, I would’ve asked where the scrapers were and offered to obliterate every piece of Redskins imagery in the facility myself. Every helmet, every bumper sticker. That’s the truth as I experience it. It’s helped me cope.

And I do think the poorly executed rebranding prevented Snyder from having enough cash flow to support the enormous debt the league allowed (baited, imo) him to take on. I do think the name change and how incompetently it was done was the final nail in Snyder’s coffin, and I think we should all feel some sense of peace knowing that, even though it sucked. Because no matter what the name actually was, the Redskins we loved were dead under Snyder. Gone, buried, and turned to dust. And that wasn’t changing.

 

[Boone]

You’re right Conn. of any fanbase we understand what spending a lifetime rooting for a team and having it ripped out from under you feels like. Wouldn’t wish it on any die hard fan and I’m sure we all agree with you.

 

[bifflog]

I just wish football would start.

Allegedly, it will at some point.

 

[Single-Bar Facemask]

Some of the groups applying pressure for the name change didn’t want ANY use of NA imagery - I believe this was one of the reasons why Jason Wright didn’t pursue Warriors or even Wolves as those were specifically (and imho ridiculously) criticized as having Native American connotations.

Agreed. Native American culture doesn't have the market cornered on the usage of feathers or the words Warriors or Wolves...

 

[HTTR]

I’m sorry if the delusional comment struck a nerve - and trust me if I’m wrong about them never again using Native American imagery I will not only apologize, I will be happy about it.

As far as Josh Harris goes, I called him out repeatedly for being non-commital on a rebranding but refusing to put the question to bed. And he continues to let fans twist over the other remaining questions.

Sorry again for the ‘delusional’ comment. It is possible to be thrilled about all of the good stuff the new ownership has done and the direction of the org and team and still take issue with how the ‘rebranding’ (or more accurately, the lack of it) has been handled.

I’m not going to apologize for annoying people with my take on this stuff - because Ive earned the ****ing right to whatever my opinion is. And so have you and every other Washington fan.

Thanks Boone. Yeah, I guess it did although I didn’t mean to imply that you were being disrespectful, so sorry if it came across that way. Just don’t really agree that we need let it go when ownership has been strangely silent on the matter. It’s been well over a year since they said Redskins was dead, and I let that part of it go at that point. Like you, I moved on to wanting a new name such as Redwolves that was not given to us by Snyder. Totally understand that many fans think it’s the same thing with the name and the logo, but obviously the owners do not because they are treating it differently.

 

[Single-Bar Facemask]

And the Blackhawks, the Seminoles, and the Braves. And I'm in Braves country.

ALL means ALL. It ended up being exclusive to just our team and the Cleveland baseball team (ain't typin' that stupid name either).

Chief Wahoo was the best logo in MLB. It's too bad.

 

[Riggo44]

If Satan himself had appeared before me in 2020 and offered to replace Snyder with a competent, well-meaning owner in exchange for a poorly executed name and branding change…

 

[Riggo44]

Agree Riggo44 , I'm just still a bit miffed about it all.

I don't think any of us are happy about it.

 

[HTTR]

You’re right Conn. of any fanbase we understand what spending a lifetime rooting for a team and having it ripped out from under you feels like. Wouldn’t wish it on any die hard fan and I’m sure we all agree with you.

indeed. That was a great post by Conn. You’ve stated in the past, and I agree completely, that each fan should be allowed to grieve at his/her own pace. Those who moved on to acceptance I think should let the others get there when they get there. We all will at some point, we have no choice. It would probably help if Josh Harris would put the logo thing to bed once and for all. I don’t even really mind the W.

 

[HOF44]

I just can’t believe they put a spear in a commercial and didn’t think that would at least start speculation. If they did they are pretty tone deaf.

 

[Faithful Fan]

I don’t think the complaint about other Native American mascots being allowed is about unfairness as much as hypocrisy. Most of the forces that conspired to kill the Redskins name and logo did not do so out of any sincere moral conviction.

Another thing is that stupid rules can only persist if people bend them, so vindictive compliance can often be an effective means of changing bad ideas. Maybe if we completely scrub Native American references from our culture the people who want such erasure can see it for the loss it is. Does anybody really believe the world would be a better place without the Chiefs, Braves, Seminoles, Apache helicopters, Tomahawk missles, Peter Pan’s Indians, etc.?

I know that’s beating a dead horse, but I think it’s an important counterpoint to the above posts. Anyway, none of it changes my own appreciation for the effort the HOG is making to embrace our history.

 

[Chris]

Allegedly, it will at some point.

This is closer to the image in my mind and….I can’t wait to get off of it.

 

[HTTR]

I just can’t believe they put a spear in a commercial and didn’t think that would at least start speculation. If they did they are pretty tone deaf.

Apparently it was leaked out by accident or something and wasn’t official. Although it looked to me like the tweet came from the commanders, so clearly, they were at least toying with the idea.

 

[Riggo44]

This is closer to the image in my mind and….I can’t wait to get off of it.

View attachment 11703

Better than being a part of this one:

 

[HTTR]

Better than being a part of this one:

Lol. It’s July so yes, we’re all a little bored with no news to chew on. No worries though training camp will be here before we know it!