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

[HurQlez]

You’re heard, many people will just think your idea is terrible anyways. I count myself among them, it’s not personal. But enough with the pathetic military pandering. That’s the sort of lame shit Rivera would have cooked up

It’s also just pretty weird to work something so specific into the branding. Plenty of people out there have nothing to remember their lost loved ones by but the returned dog tags they were identified by. Monetizing that and incorporating it into a sports brand is absolutely silly, some would argue bordering on insulting. And I’ll avoid making it political but I’m the furthest thing from fetishizing the military like Rivera, so for me to be saying that, you know it’s borderline.

If we are going to be Commanders, there has to be an identity with the military no matter what. If they want to focus more on the GrecoRoman theme, then that is a direction to take to identify us as Commanders. But if Native Americans can complain about the Redskins imagery as offensive and pandering but fans will still wear it declaring it as honoring them, then the military branding is no different. If Washington goes that route, then those who find it offensive have to agree that their Redskins branding is offensive as well. So your move: either you embrace the military imagery and Redskins tribute or you don’t have any imagery of either.

 

[Boone]

Former military guy here. I actually think they could have gone full-on military theme if they'd used 'Warriors' as the replacement name. You could have had camo uniforms, celebrated a different military unit each week, etc... But I get that some folks are staunchly anti-military (or at best grudgingly tolerant of it as an evil necessity). So I am actually fine that they have moved away from the military worship mindset Rivera seemed obsessed with.

Commanders is a dumb name. When you pick a dumb name for a team, one where no one definitively knows what it means or represents, it makes 'branding' and finding great iconography and images to go with it very difficult. I think the team marketing folks and ownership has come to realize, having made the decision to stick with 'Commanders' that more vague is better and I actually agree. In the modern sense, 'Commanders' is awkward. Commander can generically mean a leader (platoon commander, company commander, squadron commander, fleet commander, etc...) or it can be seen very specifically as an actual rank (such as a 'Commander' in the US Navy). It doesn't work well in any context. For one thing, while I have been a Platoon Commander and a Company Commander and don't want to devalue what those roles do, if you are going to go with a vaguely military theme, most of us would say lets celebrate/honor the folks who are really doing the fighting, not officers. That's why 'Warriors' would've been so much better.

The whole branding situation has been and remains somewhat unfixable. I think they are essentially trying to shift more towards a generic 'Warrior' theme and away from any modern military connotation and that's probably the best way to make it palateable. The incorporation of the spear IS creating a military identity. You don't need dog tags to make it clear the name is about fighting, and battling.

HurQlez - you said it yourself - they aren't going to reverse course on the name. I think the NFL brass long ago laid down a barrier to another name change and that option is off the table. They have their own branding and design folks and they have clearly decided that a vague 'warrior spirit' theme is the best they can do, and they are probably right. I can't speak for most of the fanbase, but I believe many fans (maybe most at this point) are just tired of the debate and want to coalesce and move forward around something generic they can live with, that is somehow tied to our previous brand as much as that is possible. I think that's exactly what the team is doing.

 

[HTTR]

I never would tell Washington to not bring back the past since there are way too many fans of that branding. What I want to know is when will they actually stop. Every piece that has been slapped onto the Commanders brand has literally NOTHING to do with the name itself. The helmet on Major Tuddy is the only branding that is Commanders-centric. And no, the Greco-Roman spear doesn’t count because it is a loophole to bring back the Redskins spear. The crest is just words.

Anyone who is happy with what we have and want nothing more added, clearly hate the Commanders name and wants every opportunity to bring back the Redskins name, which will never happen. I don’t love the name but I believe in working with what we were given.

If our identity will never be focused on a specific Commander or a specific theme, that doesn’t mean we should only have the W as our Commanders-centric brand. Chargers can have a lightning bolt that deviates from their rally-cry origins, Browns have the bull mastiff to deviate from the owner origin, so why not have an image to be our identity that is Commanders focused and not reliant on the past ?

I will never stop promoting the German Shepard but also the dog tag shape as that identity. But that doesn’t mean it can’t blend with our recent brand additions. Using the dog tag wrapped on the spear as a substitute for the feather is a good transition idea. Using DC flag in the dog tag is a nice wink.

I know I will never be heard. But if we are the Commanders, then we need to sometimes actually be them and not just wishing to be the Redskins.

View attachment 15176

That taco holder has room for like a dozen tacos! Count me in.

 

[RFK Lives]

Just hold the shredded lettuce for now.

 

[AngryChuckT]

They have their own branding and design folks and they have clearly decided that a vague 'warrior spirit' theme is the best they can do, and they are probably right. I can't speak for most of the fanbase, but I believe many fans (maybe most at this point) are just tired of the debate and want to coalesce and move forward around something generic they can live with, that is somehow tied to our previous brand as much as that is possible. I think that's exactly what the team is doing.

100%

I get the feeling politically Conn and I are probably pretty close to opposites - at least regarding the military. Yet we land in the same place on the branding and getting rid of the extremely disjointed RR-era modern military theme. It doesn't work so the Team is doing the best they can with the very poor hand they were dealt, including going a more generic route.

 

[Conn]

If we are going to be Commanders, there has to be an identity with the military no matter what. If they want to focus more on the GrecoRoman theme, then that is a direction to take to identify us as Commanders. But if Native Americans can complain about the Redskins imagery as offensive and pandering but fans will still wear it declaring it as honoring them, then the military branding is no different. If Washington goes that route, then those who find it offensive have to agree that their Redskins branding is offensive as well. So your move: either you embrace the military imagery and Redskins tribute or you don’t have any imagery of either.

It’s clear they’ve decided to go more historical and less modern, which is the right choice. There’s nothing objectionable about leaning into the more ancient warrior theme as they’re doing, given the obvious Greco-Roman influence of the architecture of the stadium to match what we’ve got going on in DC as well. Leaning into the modern day colosseum idea for the stadium and the branding is obviously the way to go. No need to bring modern military stuff into it (which is inherently political and can’t avoid being controversial, and undeniably lame the way that most people pitch it)

 

[Commander PK]

I think it makes all the sense in the world to fully embrace the Greco-Roman theme for a Washington D.C. based NFL team called the Commanders. While it’s far from a perfect fit.. it works better than anything else I personally can think of. Maybe this eventually opens us up to being able to pick a more fitting name…like Sentinels or Centurions. Something that at the moment they have closed the door on. I’m not sure it’s locked though. Not forever anyway. They may be playing the long game here.

For me, as I stated with my answer to the poll I’m good if this is the brand moving forward. Thematically, just continue down this path, incorporate that Greco-Roman look and aesthetic into the new Stadium interior as much as possible.

 

[Maglite to the Face]

I'll bet my left testicle that the alt logo with the spear through it becomes the primary logo by 2027.

Commanders is a dumb name. If they're gonna lean on the spears and shields themes (which they clearly are), then Centurions would be a more appropriate (and way cooler) name. An added bonus is that it would be yet another name that this team stole from a defunct team (in Snyder's case it was the San Antonio Commanders, in this case the Cologne Centurions).

There's a LOT you can do with a name like Centurions. I'm sure some interest group will complain that the name brings back memories of Roman oppression, though. You can't please everyone.

The fight song will be weird though..."hail to the Cen-CHUR-yuns."

 

[HTTR]

I'll bet my left testicle that the alt logo with the spear through it becomes the primary logo by 2027.

Commanders is a dumb name. If they're gonna lean on the spears and shields themes (which they clearly are), then Centurions would be a more appropriate (and way cooler) name. An added bonus is that it would be yet another name that this team stole from a defunct team (in Snyder's case it was the San Antonio Commanders, in this case the Cologne Centurions).

There's a LOT you can do with a name like Centurions. I'm sure some interest group will complain that the name brings back memories of Roman oppression, though. You can't please everyone.

The fight song will be weird though..."hail to the Cen-CHUR-yuns."

The fight song is already ruined it can’t get worse than the current version. I’d be ok with Centurions. “Go Cens!” lol. I mean, It’s waaay better than the current abomination (even if that’s the lowest of low bars to clear).

 

[Canuck]

The new logo is an improvement, would be much better if the name was warriors or something of that ilk, I don't like commanders, but IMO logo matter more than name.

 

[HurQlez]

I think it makes all the sense in the world to fully embrace the Greco-Roman theme for a Washington D.C. based NFL team called the Commanders. While it’s far from a perfect fit.. it works better than anything else I personally can think of. Maybe this eventually opens us up to being able to pick a more fitting name…like Sentinels or Centurions. Something that at the moment they have closed the door on. I’m not sure it’s locked though. Not forever anyway. They may be playing the long game here.

For me, as I stated with my answer to the poll I’m good if this is the brand moving forward. Thematically, just continue down this path, incorporate that Greco-Roman look and aesthetic into the new Stadium interior as much as possible.

Greco-Roman theme is a direction I see developing. But I would say they need to dig deeper with it by making Commanders its own “warrior”. Unlike Spartans, Centurions look hard to take seriously; especially with those helmets. So I would not bet they change the name again to Centurions.

If Warriors is never going to be our name, because Washington doesn’t want to share trademark profit, then there are other words that can associate the current branding better. But I think one direction to take the Greco-Roman theme is the best direction to go: the Gladiator.

It is a Greco-Roman combat warrior, they use weapons like the spear, they are violent but primarily used for entertainment, and the best gladiators would sell their image on products like the players do today. Heck their helmets are very football-familiar.

Check out the past sports logos with Gladiators.
Add these types of images as well as the Gladius sword to our spear and “crest” shield, and we got a brand!

 

[Ashburn Dave]

I'm all for a name change since commanders sucks but you all are pissing into the wind if you think the team is going to change it again.

I wish they would change it but I'd bet the house that they don't.

 

[NickyJ]

I am okay with Washington being represented by a W logo. So far, I haven't heard any of Green Bay's fans asking for a badass picture of a Amazon warehouse employee with a tape dispenser in hand. Their brand seems to be making do without it, so I'll let it go in Washington's case too.

 

[Boone]

If Josh Harris has opted not to change the name again, it is never changing again - because I don't think he likes 'Commanders' any more than the average fan. If he COULD change it, he would have.

 

[AngryChuckT]

If Josh Harris has opted not to change the name again, it is never changing again - because I don't think he likes 'Commanders' any more than the average fan. If he COULD change it, he would have.

Yep. I think the league has a lot more input/influence in this than we will ever know.

 

[Spearfeather]

You would think Harris & Co. would have been told before the purchase of the team, whether a name change was possible.
After they bought the team, Harris and Rales both talked about doing some " testing " on the name.
I think, for whatever the reason, this has been an ownership decision.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I'll bet my left testicle that the alt logo with the spear through it becomes the primary logo by 2027.

The question is, do you value your left testicle more than the right?

If you’re offering up the lesser of your testicles then is it really that much of a bet?

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Former military guy here. I actually think they could have gone full-on military theme if they'd used 'Warriors' as the replacement name. You could have had camo uniforms, celebrated a different military unit each week, etc... But I get that some folks are staunchly anti-military (or at best grudgingly tolerant of it as an evil necessity). So I am actually fine that they have moved away from the military worship mindset Rivera seemed obsessed with.

Commanders is a dumb name. When you pick a dumb name for a team, one where no one definitively knows what it means or represents, it makes 'branding' and finding great iconography and images to go with it very difficult. I think the team marketing folks and ownership has come to realize, having made the decision to stick with 'Commanders' that more vague is better and I actually agree. In the modern sense, 'Commanders' is awkward. Commander can generically mean a leader (platoon commander, company commander, squadron commander, fleet commander, etc...) or it can be seen very specifically as an actual rank (such as a 'Commander' in the US Navy). It doesn't work well in any context. For one thing, while I have been a Platoon Commander and a Company Commander and don't want to devalue what those roles do, if you are going to go with a vaguely military theme, most of us would say lets celebrate/honor the folks who are really doing the fighting, not officers. That's why 'Warriors' would've been so much better.

The whole branding situation has been and remains somewhat unfixable. I think they are essentially trying to shift more towards a generic 'Warrior' theme and away from any modern military connotation and that's probably the best way to make it palateable. The incorporation of the spear IS creating a military identity. You don't need dog tags to make it clear the name is about fighting, and battling.

HurQlez - you said it yourself - they aren't going to reverse course on the name. I think the NFL brass long ago laid down a barrier to another name change and that option is off the table. They have their own branding and design folks and they have clearly decided that a vague 'warrior spirit' theme is the best they can do, and they are probably right. I can't speak for most of the fanbase, but I believe many fans (maybe most at this point) are just tired of the debate and want to coalesce and move forward around something generic they can live with, that is somehow tied to our previous brand as much as that is possible. I think that's exactly what the team is doing.

This might be the best post about the name/branding in months if not years.

 

[Commander PK]

In hindsight, part of me regrets bringing the name up again because I didn’t wanna rev everybody up on it again. I think the name is absolutely Commanders for the foreseeable future. I’m only speculating that if they establish this Greco-Roman identity, it may open up the door later to something else, probably to coincide with the new stadium.

I have nothing to base that on at all other than intuition. While Josh has absolutely stated, they are rolling with Commanders or sticking with Commanders, or establishing a Commanders identity etc. etc….he has not stated at any point that I can recall that they are NEVER going to change it. He has had no “we are never changing Commanders, and you can use all caps” moment.

I believe what he has stated very clearly is that we are going to be the Commanders. I don’t think he’s ever stated forever until the end of time. Again, just my two cents on the matter.