What Would You Like For The New Name Of This Team?

[Commander PK]

As Wolves logo designs go…I always thought this one was the most NFL ready. Has just the right amount of menace.

 

[RedWolf]

Too many great options with the wolf idea and tying it into our history and Native American culture.

 

[Spearfeather]

Really have to recommend the Grant & Danny podcast from today. They do an excellent job breaking down and summarizing the different factions of the fanbase, and how those groups feel about the name and uniforms.
They said this change has been in the works for a while. They said there are fans that are excited about the team winning, but still feel a disconnect from the the team they always rooted for. He said this is the group Harris & Co. are relating too, and they believe the uniforms will basically be the " Gibbs era " uniforms, with a W on the helmets.

 

[SkinsFTW]

Fix the helmets too. The W on the helmet looks retarded.

 

[scruffylookin]

I know this isn't a popular opinion (it wasn't where I brought it up the last time either) BUT... I have to say the name and brand first and foremost needs to speak to the local fanbase. D.C, Maryland, and Virginia.

I love and appreciate the fact that as the Washington Redskins we had a national fanbase largely due to our Native American branding. I would say it's highly unlikely any new name or brand has a direct link to any Native American imagery. There are subtle ways to connect to that past though, (your top 3 choices) and I hope that they do find a way that works for all our fans. With that said, the season ticket holders are in the DMV. The people who spend the most on merchandise are in the DMV. Getting the DMV fans on board must be the focal point of any name or brand. If the national fans choose to stay with us...awesome, but what the fan who lives in Oklahoma or Georgia thinks must be secondary to what will connect with most to the money spenders here at home.

Commanders is not a good name, but it is a name that does make some sense for where the team plays. I think it is fair to surmise the Washington Commanders name, and brand is liked more here locally in the DMV than it is nationally...even if marginally. I do think that matters. Part of our problem as well is that this team plays in the Nation's Capital. We are expected to set the tone politically and socially...and if the tone is currently moving society away from people as mascots...we are not going to go "backwards."

Overall I agree.

But I would argue that the name Federals better captures the DMV than Commanders does. This is a Federal government area, not military one.

I also admit my support for Redwolves is more keeping the name close to Redskins than it is that I like the name itself.

Another name I once thought was decent and based on the local area was Washington Metros. Not sure it’s still viewed this way or not but the subway system in the area was once the model for the country. But I figure Metros would butt right against the NY Mets (Metropolitans) so it’s a non-starter even if it was seriously looked at.

 

[Busch1724]

Tangent, but I miss the Redskins font on everything too.

 

[Mark The Homer]

Overall I agree.

...

I also admit my support for Redwolves is more keeping the name close to Redskins than it is that I like the name itself.

...

I just did a bit of research on Redwolves, and turns out that, as an added bonus, besides starting with "red" and besides having two syllabes to fit our fight song nicely, the Red Wolf holds significant cultural importance for the Cherokee Nation and other indigenous tribes. Red Wolf, known as "Waya" in Cherokee, is revered as a protector and teacher. The Red Wolf is also the most endangered wolf in the world. Honoring and drawing attention to the Red Wolf would be a good thing.

Red Wolf, the Protector — Reflection Riding | Chattanooga nature center, native plant nursery & historic open space

The American Red Wolf (Canis rufus) is the most endangered canid in the world. Years of mismatched worldviews between Western and Indigenous ideologies have put this animal at odds with habitat encroachment and the U.S. government, but a recent decision to capitalize “Red Wolf” has been made to ho

reflectionriding.org

A Small Change With a Big Reason | Endangered Wolf Center

www.endangeredwolfcenter.org

Waya - Saving Our Red Grandfather | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Editor’s Note: The capitalization of Red Wolf acknowledges the importance of the species to the Cherokee Nation as a gesture of respect for the cultural importance the Red Wolf holds within the Cherokee Nation Tribe and other Tribes. Significant and sacred. That is the Red Wolf – the Red...

www.fws.gov

So, there seems to be quite a few really good reasons to embrace Red Wolves as a potential new name for our team.

 

[burgold]

Is it funny or telling that when I see each of the graphics of a wolf's head recently posted I think "that could be a werewolf?" I do think there' something slightly anthropomorphic in the expression on the wolf's faces. Laughing at myself.

 

[JoeyG]

Here are some thoughts from an old fan. The name question has a few categories of answers which have been listed already:

Wolves, Red Wolves etc.
Hogs, Warthogs, Red Hogs
Native American themes such as Warriors, specific tribe partnership etc.
DC themed
Alternative-Burgundy and Gold, WFT
Red Hawks, Red Tails

I would be excited about any Wolf or Hog themed choice. Wolves are connected to NA culture and would be a logical next step
Hogs are already embedded in our history and would be an excellent way to honor the past
I would be fine with Red Hawks or Red Tails and Burgundy and Gold (which we would probably call the Skins)

A couple of names to consider could be Tomahawks which would keep the NA imagery but not be a person which may eliminate any sensitivity around it. You could consider Pigskins and use Hog imagery and call them the skins. Neither of these is my first choice but I could see the argument.

To the people who say just win and people will get used to the name-I completely disagree. I don't say the team name and will never own anything with that branding. As well as the season went it was not the same for me. For the new ownership group outside of winning the Super Bowl, they will never have more leeway from the fans than right now. What if the team is better next year but a couple of things go the other way and they are 10-7 and lose in the Wild Card round? Then they will have a disappointed fan base and still have a crappy name.

Josh Harris and his group have done everything right so far. They have taken a lousy franchise and turned it around. Outside of the name and branding they are making this a first class organization. This is Josh Harris' team now but it is definitely Dan Snyder's name and branding. Harris said he is not a F- guy so let's dump our F- name and brand. There is no reason to keep it when there are many significantly better options

 

[Boone]

There is a significant % of the fanbase that thinks 'WFT' is patently stupid. Whether that was originally an 'eff you' to NFL brass or the most unimaginative alternative in renaming history, other NFL fans openly mocked it - and it deserved mocking. It appeals to some because it isn't 'Commanders'. I mean, why not rename them 'Not the Commanders'?

If you are the Harris group, and decide to rebrand, your most basic hope is that you pick a name the vast majority of fans will support and can live with. I don't think 'WFT' meets that basic requirement, but that's just my opinion. I would actually vote to stay with 'Commanders' if that was the alternative.

 

[Commander PK]

But I would argue that the name Federals better captures the DMV than Commanders does. This is a Federal government area, not military one.

I don’t fully agree here I would say it’s both. We have numerous military installations in and around the DMV area. Joint Base Andrews in P.G. County and Patuxent Naval Air Station in St. Mary’s are two of the largest in the Country. Southern Maryland in particular has become a bedroom community for the Federal and Military work force.

I say that just to say that a military styled name makes as much sense to me as a Federal one.

 

[Boone]

Here's my problem with them coming out and saying, "Hey, the rebrand isn't done yet, but at some point, we'll be moving on from the Commanders name"...to me, at that point, they cease to sell any more merch. No one is going to buy Commanders stuff if they KNOW that 1-2 years from now it will be replaced.

It could have the opposite effect actually. It doesn't matter - if they pick a great name, the swag sales are going to be off the charts and would eclipse any short term losses imho. I agree that they need to make their intentions known. They have to know, at this point, what their general plans are and it's time to let the fanbase know. As my dearly departed mother would say in her weaker moments 'Shit or get off the pot'.

 

[burgold]

There is a significant % of the fanbase that thinks 'WFT' is patently stupid. Whether that was originally an 'eff you' to NFL brass or the most unimaginative alternative in renaming history, other NFL fans openly mocked it - and it deserved mocking. It appeals to some because it isn't 'Commanders'. I mean, why not rename them 'Not the Commanders'?

If you are the Harris group, and decide to rebrand, your most basic hope is that you pick a name the vast majority of fans will support and can live with. I don't think 'WFT' meets that basic requirement, but that's just my opinion. I would actually vote to stay with 'Commanders' if that was the alternative.

Yep. The goal in choosing a name is as much finding one that most will like as it is finding one few will hate. With Commanders, Snyder managed the opposite. He found a name that most hated and few liked.

 

[Boone]

Yeah, I'm not even sure the bar is that high burgold. Find a name that the majority of the fanbase can live with is how I'd put it. There are a number of those actually, if you set aside all of the made up reasons why those aren't possibilities.

 

[burgold]

I was thinking of that language, too Boone.

If 60% are neutral, 25% like it, and 15% hate it, you probably have a big time winning name.

 

[burgold]

Mind you, I don't want to go through this exercise for blah. If we go through a name change again I want one I can get hyped up about. I can live with Commanders. In fact, Boone has made me use the word so often it's lost some of its poisonous edge.

 

[Commander PK]

I think “Washington Football Team” was simply the result of Dan having no back up plan in case his hand was forced. In his defense, if he had tried to work a backup plan the media at the time would have been all over it.

I think the fans liked it as a fuck you to society and the league for forcing it changed to start with and that’s why it remains popular. If we can’t have Redskins we will have no name at all and just be a thing. I truly believe that is the only reason people like “Washington Football Team”

Had Dan had any foresight he would have held on to his Washington Warriors trademark. We could have become Washington Warriors with the Redskins logo and we are all largely over this by now.

 

[burgold]

I'm not dyslexic, but every time I saw WFT I thought WTF.

 

[Boone]

My general view:

Josh Harris: "I'd like to return the name"
Roger Goodell: "Certainly sir. May I ask why you're returning the name?"
Josh Harris: "Yes. Because of spite. I'm returning it out of spite"
Roger Goodell: "Sir... I'm sorry, but we don't accept returns based on spite"
Josh Harris: "Well then, I just don't like the name"
Roger Goodell: "I'm sorry sir, but you already said spite"

 

[HTTR]

I’m not so worried about being city themed. In todays world an NFL fan base is global, so identifying too much with the city seems limiting. That said, I’ll take any of them over the current name of course. I think the best of them is Federals. Vast majority of fans probably have no idea that we once had a USFL team by that name.