Washington Commanders Name Change: A Legacy of Discontent

It’s been a minute since the Washington Football Team decided to ditch their old, kinda offensive name and become the Commanders. You’d think by now, folks in the D.C. area would’ve warmed up to it, right? Well, not so much. Turns out, a whole lotta fans are still holding a grudge (maybe they should’ve gone with the Redwolves?).

Two Years Later, Still No Love for the Commanders

Yeah, you read that right. Two whole years have passed, and the D.C. faithful are about as excited about the Commanders name as a vegetarian at a BBQ. A recent Washington Post-Schar School poll from April revealed some pretty brutal numbers:

• Over half of local sports fans straight up dislike or HATE the name.
• Even more Commanders fans – like, a lot more – dislike or hate the name. Ouch.
• And get this – barely a handful of Commanders fans actually want to keep the name. Yikes.

Clearly, this whole name change thing hasn’t exactly been a touchdown. More like a fumble, amirite?

A History of Name Changes and Fan Frustration

Let’s rewind a sec. Back in the summer of , after years of, shall we say, “spirited” debate, the team finally caved to pressure from sponsors and, well, anyone with a lick of sense, and retired the Redskins name. They spent about a year and a half as the “Washington Football Team,” which, let’s be honest, was about as exciting as watching paint dry.

Then, in early they unveiled the Commanders. And the internet collectively went, “That’s it?” Fans were NOT feelin’ it, and the name was immediately roasted harder than a Thanksgiving turkey.

A poll back then found almost half of D.C. residents disliked the name. And guess what? Another poll this year showed pretty much the same thing. Some things never change, huh?

The thing is, a lot of fans still have this weird attachment to the Redskins name, even though it’s, you know, pretty darn offensive. It’s like that one friend who refuses to get rid of their ancient flip phone – they’re stuck in the past, man.

The Challenges of Rebranding and Trademark Conflicts

Look, changing a team name is hard, okay? It’s not like picking a new Netflix show to binge. And nobody, and I mean NOBODY, has tried to change their name three times in a decade without, like, moving cities. That’s just asking for trouble.

Plus, the NFL has all these rules about name changes – they’re stricter than your grandma at a buffet. Basically, you can only do it once every five years, unless something big happens, like an ownership change (more on that later).

Of course, fans have been throwing out alternative names left and right, but there are always roadblocks:

• Redwolves/Wolves: This one was a fan favorite, but guess what? Trademark issues! It’s like trying to sneak your own snacks into a movie theater – not gonna fly.
• Warriors: Sure, it sounds cool, but it still has that whole Native American theme thing going on, and the team’s trying to steer clear of that, understandably.

The Commanders have made it pretty clear they’re done with Native American imagery, which is probably for the best. But that doesn’t make finding a new name any easier.