Washington NFL Franchise Retires Name and Logo

[SFGiants58]

5 minutes ago, heavybass said:

The Washington Redskins are going to be just like the Houston Oilers in 20 years.... fondly remembered by all and missed daily.

 

 

I highly doubt anybody will fondly remember the controversy, the realization that the team name was a slur that survived forty years of controversy, and I'm pretty sure only a certain set of fans will miss it.

 

At the very least, many of the people agree it was about damn time the team changed the name. Not many here will miss the name.

 

I am also fully aware that I'm using a .gif of an unintended racial stereotype (Watto, who is coded semitic/Jewish) for this. I apologize, but it fit too well.

[IceCap]

2 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

 

I am also fully aware that I'm using a .gif of an unintended racial stereotype (Watto, who is coded semitic/Jewish) for this. I apologize, but it fit too well.

At least you didn't use a gif of him from Ep. II where they gave him a Space Orthodox Jew hat 

 

2 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

Not to pile on, but no, not really. I think we'll look back and be shocked the name lasted as long as did.

If anything I can see kids in twenty years or so assuming "Redskins" was a name that got phased out in the 70s or 80s, only to be shocked that it lasted all the way to 2020. 

 

Either that or they'll just assume that 2020 had the same racial sensibilities as the 1960s and go "well Redskins was a product of the time" and have to be told that it was wildly unacceptable in 2020 too 

[Chawls]

How do we feel about the spear logo?

[JayMac]

9 minutes ago, Chawls said:

How do we feel about the spear logo?

I personally love it just in an aesthetic manner, but I also understand that they cannot use it.

[IceCap]

19 minutes ago, Chawls said:

How do we feel about the spear logo?

So had they changed to the name "Warriors" and gone with the spear in the 90s you could make the argument that it would still be acceptable today. 

 

They decided to ride "Redskins" out all the way to 2020 though and at this point it's just best if they leave all Native imagery behind them. 

 

That's why I'm not too terribly sympathetic to people who want some form of Native name to "keep the continuity." 

First, the continuity is still there. 

Second, the team had literal decades to rebrand to a less problematic Native name that would have made their identity far easier to defend. Instead they doubled down on a name the dictionary itself defines as a racist slur to the point where the whole thing was unsalvageable.  

[sportsfan7]

https://richmond.com/sports/professional/hes-filed-44-trademark-claims-on-potential-new-names-for-the-redskins-will-he-cash/article_1d3ba804-37f2-5457-a49c-c31460e1da4b.html

 

The owner of 44 trademarks says he offered them to the NFL for free to speed up the process, but never heard back and has pulled his offer. He claims that he is going to start a flag football league next year with the trademarks.

[The_Admiral]

34 minutes ago, Chawls said:

How do we feel about the spear logo?

 

Only good logo the team ever had

[nash61]

So, then the Washington Oilers?

[DCarp1231]

Just now, nash61 said:

So, then the Washington Oilers?

Now that would be a fitting name for a team in the nation’s capital 

[beachperroAZ]

I don't think code talkers is a good idea either as years from now it will become a problem again with people that don't read up on things before getting outraged.  I think it is best to just move completely away from native imagery or any ethnicity to avoid problems later.  Redtails was cool but I could also see that becoming a problem with people that don't educate themselves about the meaning of a name. Redwolves or something of that nature might be the safest way to go. 

[shaydre1019]

3 hours ago, JayMac said:

Agreed. The Oilers isn't really a great name and Washington, at least, is not losing its football team.

I actually think Oilers was a perfect name for Houston.

[ghost316]

First of all, I agree with the decision to deep-six the logo & name. There was absolutely no justification for it.

Having said that, I'm having trouble warming up to any of the replacement names. They all seem like- just replacement names.

Maybe, if there was ever a case to be made for a nameless franchise,(as in Washington F.C.): this is it?

[Digby]

9 hours ago, heavybass said:

And now I'll say something that may get me some heat...

 

"ahem"

The Washington Redskins are going to be just like the Houston Oilers in 20 years.... fondly remembered by all and missed daily.

Except that some decent number of people spent decades trying to get rid of the Redskins, whereas the only person who wanted to get rid of the Oilers was Bud Adams. Maybe think through your scorching take for ten seconds.

[spartacat_12]

6 hours ago, ghost316 said:

Maybe, if there was ever a case to be made for a nameless franchise,(as in Washington F.C.): this is it?

 

If they choose to play without a nickname it just means more people will continue to call them by their former name. Whatever they come up with will definitely sound strange at first, but after enough time people will get used to it. The city has already been through this once with their NBA team.

[GhostOfNormMacdonald]

9 hours ago, heavybass said:

And now I'll say something that may get me some heat...

 

"ahem"

The Washington Redskins are going to be just like the Houston Oilers in 20 years.... fondly remembered by all and missed daily.

Idk, no one ever called my friend a filthy Oiler

[CaliforniaGlowin]

The Netflix show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt had an episode about changing the Redskins name in 2017. 

[The_Admiral]

I believe it was a season-long arc! David Cross played the owner's son. (They took a lot of liberties.)

[disman00911]

21 hours ago, heavybass said:

And now I'll say something that may get me some heat...

 

"ahem"

The Washington Redskins are going to be just like the Houston Oilers in 20 years.... fondly remembered by all and missed daily.

I agree.  Don't let some of the other replies suggest otherwise.  Maybe not the name but the Indian head logo may return someday (or the Florida St-esqe Spear look).  Whatever side you're on this often heated issue, can we all at least agree that fans will not miss Daniel Snyder's tenure as the team's owner.  Whatever they call themselves in the near-future, I'll still refer to them as the "Ex-Redskins" (or "Ex-Skins" or "FedEx-Skins")  I still miss the Houston Oilers (the Tennessee Titans' new look is beyond dreadful though their original look was acceptable).  That said, the Texans brand is fine as it is and we don't need a Cleveland Browns-like scenario.

 

Despite the controversies surrounding the Washington franchise with this sexual harassment bombshell not helping any matters, Redskins-related memorabilia seem to be in high demand.  I searched "NFL Pennants", "NFL Shirts", "NFL Hoodies", "NFL Posters", "NFL Helmets", etc on eBay just for the fun of it and in most cases the top result is a Redskins item or as I scroll down the page, I noticed a high amount of Redskns gear.  On "NFL Shirts" alone, 14 of the top 15 items as I scrolled on page 1 are Washington Redskins shirts and a few more show up as I scrolled down the page.

[SFGiants58]

Just now, disman00911 said:

I agree.  Don't let some of the other replies suggest otherwise.  Maybe not the name but the Indian head logo may return someday (or the Florida St-esqe Spear look). 

 

No chance. Once you get rid of a Native American mascot, it’s gone forever. If you try to bring it back, controversy follows. 
 

People won’t miss the name, and if they do, they’ll be called racists (rightfully so).

 

Just now, disman00911 said:

 

Despite the controversies surrounding the Washington franchise with this sexual harassment bombshell not helping any matters, Redskins-related memorabilia seem to be in high demand.  I searched "NFL Pennants", "NFL Shirts", "NFL Hoodies", "NFL Posters", "NFL Helmets", etc on eBay just for the fun of it and in most cases the top result is a Redskins item or as I scroll down the page, I noticed a high amount of Redskns gear.  On "NFL Shirts" alone, 14 of the top 15 items as I scrolled on page 1 are Washington Redskins shirts.

That’s just reactionaries who wanted to keep the name. These are people who are somewhere in the stages of grief, not realizing that they’re supporting a name that’s been mired in controversy for a little over forty years.

 

Give it a minute and few will miss it, remember it fondly, etc. It’s not desirable, it’s embarrassing that the name lasted this long.

[OnWis97]

I don't think there's going to be a large affinity for the Redskins outside of the team's fans old enough to remember and that will be diminished some based on 1) the team is not relocating and 2) even some of its own fanbase was kinda waiting for this.  Yeah, there are people that miss the Oilers, North Stars, Whalers, etc.  But for most part, fans live in the present.  Throwback gear has some appeal and I'm guessing it'll be more difficult to come across Redskins stuff than, say, Oilers (i.e., I doubt Mitchel & Ness will be doing Redskins stuff). And stuff like that's going to be responsible for people trying to buy up Redskins gear right now.  I still wish I'd purchased a lot of old N-Star North Stars stuff the moment I learned they were changing to the future Dallas look (would have been much cheaper than the Vintage stuff of today). And the only team for which you cannot buy current gear, if I'm not mistaken, is Washington.  The very week they announce a name change and retailers start pulling their merch?  Yeah, people are going to scramble to try to get something.  And people with the gear are going to try to cash in. The Eagles aren't taking up 14 of the top 15 ebay searches because you can still buy their stuff from the manufacturers or at Target.

 

Yeah, there are still people in Milwaukee who say that Marquette will always be the Warriors.  But you notice them...what you don't notice is the majority wearing their Golden Eagles t-shirts and not lamenting the change.

 

Regarding bringing back the spear or the helmet logo, obviously the likelihood could be impacted on what name they choose; i.e., if they choose Warriors vs. if they choose Red Wolves.  That said, I still don't think it's coming back either way. Just like I don't think there's any way Wahoo is coming back even if the Indians keep their name forever. Getting rid of names and negative imagery (and that's what weapon imagery is to me) is a move forward.  I don't think we'll see too many moves backwards.

 

20 years from now, the US fan base will break down something like this:

• 80%: Know the team by it's official name; accept that and don't think about the former name
• 10%: Can't believe the old name lasted until 2020
• 10%: Still bitter about the change

Maybe in Ol' DC, it'll be like 70, 10, 20...

 

And that's probably roughly how fans feel about the Oilers. A lot us logo weirdos miss those uniforms but fans in general mostly live in the present.  Houston fans?  Well, they lost their history and had to start over, which stings (but is not a parallel to the Washington situation).