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The Washington Commanders will officially have a new owner soon. Daniel Snyder finalized a deal with Josh Harris to become Washington’s next owner last week. While a few hurdles remain, namely the NFL Finance Committee vetting all of Harris’ minority partners, other NFL owners will eventually vote to officially welcome Harris into the league’s ownership circle.
It will happen. And when it does, many questions face Harris and his group, but he will do so with an entire community and fan base willing to embrace him.
ESPN obtained a copy of Harris’ prospectus recently, and it contained lots of information. One of the things not mentioned was another potential name change.
Washington first changed its name from the “Redskins” to the temporary moniker “Football Team” for two seasons until arriving at the new name, “Commanders,” in Feb. 2022.
Some fans have been upset about Washington’s name. Many believed you had over 18 months to arrive at a better name and that the 2022 version of the Washington NFL franchise felt like an expansion team with new uniforms and a new name but retaining the franchise’s rich history.
Other fans were more welcoming to the new name. Some have embraced the new name; as most pointed out, winning will eventually cure everything.
Maybe it will; maybe it won’t. The one thing Snyder had on his side, the last bit of goodwill he had remaining with some fans, was the old name. Once he changed it, due to public pressure, that was it. For many — right or wrong — the name change, not the multiple investigations into Snyder or the franchise, was the final straw for the embattled owner.
Since it became known that Snyder was selling the team, one of the main topics on social media is, “Could the new owner change the name to something better?”
As many have noted, including those covering the team closely, a name change isn’t near the top of Harris’ list of priorities. However, that hasn’t stopped some fans, and some on the radio passionately wanting Harris to potentially change the name from the Commanders.
This is a divisive topic. What Snyder has done to the once-proud franchise’s fan base is remarkable — in a bad way. The constant losing, the way he treated people, the investigations, and much, much more, have made Snyder public enemy No. 1 amongst Washington fans — those that remain.
It’s difficult to tell if another name change would bring some fans back, but it’s not happening. This week, two of the area’s more popular personalities took different sides of the name debate.
Kevin Sheehan of The Team 980, a longtime fan of Washington said the owners should absolutely consider a possible name change and that others have no right to tell those who feel strongly about the team name how they should feel.
He is right.
Here are Sheehan’s thoughts from earlier this week via his show, “The Kevin Sheehan Show,” courtesy of Ben Krimmel of Audacy.
“If they come to that decision that they are gonna stick with the status quo, I do think it would serve them to explain why and how they came to that decision,” Sheehan said of the new ownership group. “You do have a majority of fans, both past and present, that don’t want this current name and are in favor of a re-brand and in favor of a conversation of a re-brand.”
Sheehan then responded to a listener’s email regarding the new name.
“Yes, it is true, I’m not a fan of the re-brand, the name, the uniforms the whole thing,” Sheehan said. “Thank god I got them at least to change the crest with the accurate dates, you’re welcome. Yes, I’m not a fan of what was done. Hate it might be a little strong… but I know the old name’s not coming back.”
Everyone remembers the crest debate when they rolled out the new name, right? That was another embarrassing blunder that the team fixed but shouldn’t have gotten wrong in the first place.
One day later, Sheehan was asked about his level of enthusiasm for the franchise.
“I don’t view her as my ex; she’s still my current; I don’t have another, but I’m not an NFL bachelor,” Sheehan said. “They’re still my team, I’m just more apathetic in recent years than I would have ever guessed. But Dan is right – I find the lecturing, specifically on social media, from the people who say a rebrand being anywhere near a priority for you means you’re not a real fan…….that’s just dumb. This is a 100 percent subjective thing, and anyone who thinks that, to me, is very limited from an emotional quotient. This is emotion when it comes to a brand.”
Bingo.
Chris Russell also hosts a show on The Team 980 after Sheehan and thinks another name change is “way too much.”
“It wasn’t a favorite of mine, but where I draw the line and divorce myself from many, including my friend Kevin Sheehan, is a fourth name, and identity and brand change in less than four years is way too much,” Russell said. That’s the problem I have. It’s not that I love the name Commanders, I have no feeling for it, and it means nothing to me because I don’t associate my fandom based on a name. It was a poorly and hastily executed decision and wasn’t great, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to change again to another new name that will be divisive to some. I’m not even willing to consider it.”
Before Russell said this, he sided with Sheehan with the following comments:
“I totally understand those fans of this franchise who did not want to change the name from Redskins when Dan Snyder was forced to cave in,” Russell said. “I blame him for not having a better plan, but I do not blame him, like many of you, because he didn’t do it voluntarily. My argument, and where I think Kevin and I are on the same page I think, is that I would’ve never changed the name. In a perfect world, even though some were offended by it and it is a dictionary-defined slur, I’d have never changed the name, because it meant something completely different than what people were trying to twist it as.”
That’s a lot to unpack, but let’s circle back to Sheehan’s original thoughts. No one, especially if you’re not a fan of the franchise, has the right to criticize longtime fans for not liking the new name. It is 100% subjective. What’s important to one isn’t important to all.
How much damage did the name change do to Washington’s fan base? At this point, it is hard to tell. Once Snyder is officially removed and Harris takes over, we’ll have a better grasp of that answer. However, it will take years, likely sustained success — something that has avoided this franchise since before Snyder bought the team in 1999 — to determine how much of the franchise’s fan base returns. We do know, and so do the Commanders and Harris, that a new owner will be good for business.
So while some fans will continue to criticize another segment of fans for not liking the name, remember, it is their right. This franchise hasn’t given fans a lot to cheer for over the years, but those remaining are a passionate bunch. If you don’t like the name “Commanders” but are still watching the games, commenting on Twitter, etc., you are likely still a fan. The team still creates an emotional response, win or lose.
In closing, should Josh Harris and his group consider another re-branding? The truth is, everything should be on the table. And while you will never make the entire fan base happy [remember the RedWolves], you at least owe it to the fans to listen. Many fans feel like a bunch of outsiders arrived at the current moniker with no real attachment to the city, the region, the franchise’s history, etc. The franchise’s history is important to fans — young and old. And no one is wrong either way.
But Sheehan is right, one side doesn’t have a right to tell the other side how to feel. Regardless of where you stand on this topic, it isn’t likely to go away anytime soon, and fans will eagerly await the new ownership’s comments on the topic once the sale is official.
