July marks one year since the suits running the Burgundy and Gold adopted the decidedly bland moniker of Washington Football Team 鈥� shortly after they dropped the name Redskins.
While it鈥檚 spot-on in terms of accuracy, 鈥淲ashington Football Team鈥� doesn鈥檛 necessarily roll off the tongue 鈥� making things awkward for fans at the bar, announcers in the booth and backslappers in the studio.
But ever since the name was adopted, it was with the understanding that someday in the near future, a new team name would be announced.
This is no small deal. Think about it: If the name, logos and such are, well, cool, then they鈥檙e better assured healthy sales of jerseys, hats, hoodies and other overpriced merchandise. (Don鈥檛 @ me, NFL.)
And a cool branding identity encourages deep-pocketed corporations to want their brand displayed inside the stadium, on programs, around town etc.聽There鈥檚 a lot of money on the line here. And more money means, in part, keeping talent and, ideally, winning playoff games. And that, of course, is what fans really care about in the long run.
So where are fans when it comes to a name? Let鈥檚 just say there鈥檚 a diversity of thought.
Many in the , for instance, want the name reverted to the original. Others suggested sticking with 鈥淲ashington Football Team.鈥� One person thought 鈥渢he Philadelphia Eagles鈥� would work well. And a few offered the unusual suggestion of 鈥淲ho Cares.鈥�
So there鈥檚 that. Take from it what you will.
A few other fans stated their cases via email.
Curt, for instance, likes 鈥淲ashington Phoenix.鈥� As he explains it: “Color scheme works. We blend the colors like the [Los Angeles] Rams and you definitely get fire. 鈥� And the history of this team is pretty well [you] know. So 鈥榬ise from the ashes鈥� seems apropos.鈥�
Joshua Smith loves “Washington Redwolves,” in part because it recognizes .
Daniel Hopkins wants to see the somewhat-similar 鈥淲ashington Wolves.鈥� He鈥檚 so passionate about it, in fact, that he鈥檚 written . He told 草莓传媒 the wolf鈥檚 place in Native American mythology, in part, makes it a good choice.
鈥淸The team] could use that as a way to say, 鈥極ur name didn’t die. It evolved,鈥欌�� said Hopkins, who added he doesn鈥檛 want 鈥渁ny variation of 鈥榃ashington Football Team.鈥欌��
But 草莓传媒 evening anchor Dimitri Sotis 鈥� a WFT superfan 鈥� would love to see just that. “‘Washington Football Club’ or ‘Team’ stands out from the rest of the NFL,” he said. “To my taste anyway, it’s classy. It’s sophisticated.”
And while he’d rather see a name without “red” in it, one exception is the “Redtails,” which of course was a nickname for the .
“I could never turn away from that,” Sotis said. “In fact, I would say what a great educational opportunity, to be able to explain to young people who the Redtails were and what they did.”
And then there is Martin McCaulay, who holds the trademark for 鈥淲olves,鈥� as well as such names as 鈥淲arriors,鈥� 鈥淔ederals鈥� and 鈥淢onuments,鈥� among others. He tells 草莓传媒 he likes 鈥溾�檛he Washington Pandas鈥� or some panda variant.鈥� (And yes, 鈥淲ashington Pandas鈥� is one of the names he has trademarked.)
The team itself says it has been working on a name with .
鈥淲e are now down to a shortlist of final names based on our strategic approach, research process, and insight phase,鈥� team president Jason Wright , adding that 鈥淲arriors鈥� is now off the table. The Washington Post 聽that the new name and logo will be unveiled early next year.
And if it seems like the team is dragging its feet on this, please note that the team involved fans on the renaming early on, and has been sorting through thousands of ideas.
鈥淭he team received over 5,000 submissions within the first week and continues to receive thousands of submissions a month!鈥� it states on its special renaming section, where some choice names 鈥� 鈥� are showcased.
The team tipped its hand, somewhat, back in April, when season ticket holders were surveyed on such names as 鈥淩edwolves鈥� and 鈥淩edhogs鈥� 鈥� as well as 鈥淲ashington DC Football Club鈥� (a.k.a. 鈥淒CFC鈥�), 鈥淧ilots鈥� and (me-OW) 鈥淒emon Cats.鈥�
Days later, Wright assured fans that 鈥渢he survey is not meant to be a vote 鈥� or a meaningless exercise.鈥� Rather, 鈥渋t鈥檚 an important step in our efforts to collect feedback on the types of names put forward by our fans and those we hope to bring into the family.鈥�
One thing that won鈥檛 change, the team said, is the burgundy-and-gold color scheme 鈥� something most fans will no doubt welcome.
