Washington Football Team: a pause for thought

And so, it has been announced that, for the 2020 season at least, the name would be Washington Football Team and work will begin in earnest with the removal of all Redskins iconography from the team website and stadium.

For those who read these blogs, you will be aware that I am pro name change (or perhaps more accurately I am very much not anti-name change).

It had become a burden that felt too heavy to carry and even more so in this year of tremendous upheaval and social issue focus. It was, and it is, the right thing to do.

But, as with any break-up, the right thing to do does not then equate immediately to a feeling of joy, in fact often the opposite. The decision to pause rather than rush into a new nickname is a wise one and the hire of Julie Donaldson into the Front Office as a Vice-President of Media is also to be applauded.

If ever there was a team that needed to hit the slow button, it was Washington. The fan mock-up uniforms and logos were examples of genuine creativity, but this is multi-billion-dollar franchise and it needs a deep dive into researching a name for the next 87 years.

Is it possible to just go with Washington Football Team but still have a new logo from 2021 but without a nickname?

Washington Football Team has an element of class and the team could still go with a logo to represent D.C. but without a nickname.

Perhaps that would lean to much towards soccer (i.e. Sheffield United might be The Blades and have that badge, but their name is simply Sheffield United Football Club). It might be worthy of consideration, but overall, I would prefer Washington to keep in step with the rest of the NFL and launch a new name in readiness for the 2021 season.

Galvanising the Washington FT media

The recent interview between Coach Ron Rivera and Julie was everything that this franchise can be going forward. It was professional, optimistic, clearly fan-orientated, and refreshingly cringe-free from the soon to be forgotten days of Larry Michael.

If there is to be a culture shift in D.C, you would want class people like Rivera and Donaldson to be around for a long time in order project Washington from this pretty much calamity franchise to a team that can legitimately recapture the glorious late 1980s and early 1990s.

It was reported that the team will actively engage with the fan base regarding the name change and this will include a dedicated website where fans can “follow the journey”.

This in itself is a welcome departure from the numerous Snyder emotionally led decisions that have led to mediocre performance on-field and a desperately poor culture in Ashburn.

For a team with a strong Alabama presence, the player numbers on the helmets might not yet result in Crimson Tide results on the field, but the jerseys look clean and NFL worthy for 2020.

Not sure I shall rush to purchase on-line though- in fact, I envisage an increased number of Washington Nationals caps in my shipping cart for the next 12-18 months.

Maybe we might all be howling rather than hailing in the future but let us take time and use ingenuity before becoming a wolf, tail, or warrior.