No longer will we have to worry about the days of the Washington Football Team. The organization just announced that they have picked the Washington Commanders as their new team’s name moving forward. The franchise was forced to change their original name due to pressure from the sponsors. People were starting to feel like their old name offended Native Americans. They certainly didn’t want to lose investors and other companies because of it.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have a new name in mind at the time. So, they stripped themselves of the old name and branded as the Washington Football Team for 18 months. Now, the wait for new uniforms and a new brand name is over. The Commanders weren’t a name that many were expecting to hear, but their owner is apparently very pleased over the change.
Dan Snyder said that this particular rebrand pays “homage to our local roots and what it means to represent the nation’s capital.” He followed that up by saying, “As we kick off our 90th season, it is important for our organization and fans to pay tribute to our past traditions, history, legacy and the greats that came before us. We continue to honor and represent the Burgundy and Gold while forging a pathway to a new era in Washington.”
Washington Name Change Getting Mixed Reviews
As it stands, one of the biggest worries from fans is what their rival teams will call them. Heated division rivalries always call for insults, such as the Cowgirls for the Dallas Cowboys. In a survey that included over 40,000 fan opinions, Washington fans believe that other teams will begin to call them the “Commies.” You could probably tell why the fan opinion has been mixed so far.
Washington isn’t the only franchise to change their team’s name for this specific reason either. The MLB’s Cleveland Indians will be changing their name to the Guardians at the start of their next season. Already there has been a lot of praise directed towards them for making this rebrand. Other teams like the Chicago Blackhawks and the Atlanta Braves have been called to rebrand as well, though both have remained adamant that they won’t.
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