Washington NFL Franchise Retires Name and Logo

[DCarp1231]

22 minutes ago, QCS said:

You're right, there's no reason for Pittsburgh to do that and they should add the logo to the other side of the helmet. Alternating logo and numbers on a helmet isn't "neotraditonal", it's stupid. A safe risk would be something like a new striping pattern or perhaps a new color helmet. Doing something so amateur would reflect very poorly on a franchise that likes to remind people that they're old, given the year in the primary logo.

I agree with you. I’d love for Washington to take on a new striping pattern. My personal favorite is the Northwestern stripe. Honestly, I’d like to see it used vertically up on the shoulders. As for the helmet color, I’ve always loved their gold helmet and wouldn’t mind that change, but I think I’d rather keep the burgundy primary helmet and roll out a gold helmet as the secondary if/when the two helmet rule is enacted. Now that I’m thinking about it, my favorite would actually be the faux leather from 2012.

[ManillaToad]

I think any change at all to their uniforms besides putting the helmet stripes back and slapping the new logo on the sides would be a gigantic mistake. Their A+ uniforms took a big hit when they lost the old logo and stripes, they need to mitigate the losses

[PlayGloria]

27 minutes ago, DNAsports said:

I agree with you. I’d love for Washington to take on a new striping pattern. My personal favorite is the Northwestern stripe. Honestly, I’d like to see it used vertically up on the shoulders. As for the helmet color, I’ve always loved their gold helmet and wouldn’t mind that change, but I think I’d rather keep the burgundy primary helmet and roll out a gold helmet as the secondary if/when the two helmet rule is enacted. Now that I’m thinking about it, my favorite would actually be the faux leather from 2012.

 

I love that faux leather helmet. I was actually hoping they would go with those when the got stripped of the (staff member, front office personnel, player, coach, or possibly cheerleader of the Washington Football Team that plays in Maryland and is headquartered in the Commonwealth of Virginia) name.

 

[Bill0813]

ESPN interviewed team president,  Jason Wright.  https://www.espn.com/blog/washington/post/_/id/40669/washington-president-jason-wright-on-new-name-culture-nfl-investigation

Quote

Could Football Team be the permanent name?

Maybe. The name can be, in a word, awkward.  Some in the Native American community did not like this as a placeholder, believing it kept Washington from fully moving on from its previous name. Regardless, it's a possible long-term answer. Wright said he has heard from fans who hope this is the winner.

"It's definitely in the running," Wright said. "I don't think anything is off the table. ... With this one, people are excited about the idea of a club has an identity rooted solely in the area it represents. Maybe it's Football Team or it's Football Club. We need to get underneath the why, so no matter what direction we go, we can pull on the heartstrings of folks."

What's the next step in the name process?

Wright said there are "three lanes" that get them to a new name. The first consists of market analysis, algorithms and market testing. For example, there will be a statistical analysis centered around the fan base, testing merchandise possibilities.

 

After that comes focus groups.

Wright said recently they were in the discovery phase of ingesting fan input. He said it's important to not only understand what name fans want, but why.

The final step, he said, will be engaging community leaders, including Native Americans.

"They're a big part of our fan base," Wright said, adding it's not a monolithic community.

He said they have received more than 9,000 emails about a new name, some giving long answers as to why they want a certain one.

No, he joked, Snyder won't be pulling the winner out of a hat.

When might a name be announced?

It could be another year, though the name might be known internally by early spring. But then they have to go through the trademark process; people have already filed for trademarks on more than 30 potential names for the franchise. That doesn't mean Washington wouldn't be able to get the one they want, but it takes time. He wants to announce the name when they not only have one they like, but also when the logo and design is done.

Wright said he doesn't want a hundred bootleg versions of a logo or design being sold because they announced the name alone.

"The last thing our fan base wants is something messy and embarrassing," he said.

He said the NHL expansion franchise in Seattle has a "dope name": the Kraken. But finalizing the name, schemes and logos took about four years. The Los Angeles Rams' new logo was a two-year process.

"We'll move a lot faster than that," Wright said.

Have there been any hints?

Not really, but Wright did explain the approach. He used the name Red Wolves as an example; that became popular among the fan base this summer.  "We could do something around conservation and animal rights," he said. "That's a compelling idea; an idea around the fan experience of a howl that would fill the stadium. Underneath for us is to understand why. Are we an environmentally savvy fan base across fan groups?"

But later in the interview he pointed to the organization's ties to the military. Late last month, in anticipation of the NFL's Salute to Service month, Wright and senior vice president of player development Doug Williams met with 100-year-old Tuskegee Airman Brigade General Charles McGee. The Red Tails, in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen, has been mentioned as a possibility as well.

"If you're repping this area, you have to go big on vets," Wright said, not just in terms of a name but in the overall actions of the franchise, so a military tie-in wouldn't be surprising.

Snyder previously applied for trademarks for the name Warriors -- it would have been used for an expansion Arena League franchise. That trademarks lapsed, and some Native American leaders said the name would be too closely tied to the former name and, in their eyes, unacceptable.

 

[ptay]

Surprisingly informative interview. Good to hear they might have a name by spring (even if we the public won't hear about it until later in the year)

 

As a 'fan' of this team, calling them the 'Football Team' would be absolutely ridiculous and annoying. It was funny for this year but no way should that name be permanent. I'm confident that will not happen. 

 

Also, I hate to break it to Native American groups but they do not hold some special claim to the name Warriors.....every single culture and group of human beings that have walked this earth can make a connection to that name. Not that I prefer they go that route........

[DC in Da House w/o a Doubt]

I'd just stick with Washington Football Team, I'm already used to it.  All of the other suggestions seem pretty underwhelming.  Don't think I need 3 different names in the span of 3-4 years.  Just stick with WFT.  Would it be the best name in sports?  far from it.  But would it be the worst? I don't think so

[Ridleylash]

6 minutes ago, DC in Da House w/o a Doubt said:

I'd just stick with Washington Football Team, I'm already used to it.  All of the other suggestions seem pretty underwhelming.  Don't think I need 3 different names in the span of 3-4 years.  Just stick with WFT.  Would it be the best name in sports?  far from it.  But would it be the worst? I don't think so

At the same time, I doubt "Washington Football Team" would be a huge merch-pushing name. And that's definitely a consideration they're thinking of.

[The_Admiral]

10 minutes ago, DC in Da House w/o a Doubt said:

Would it be the best name in sports?  far from it.  But would it be the worst? I don't think so

 

There but by the grace of the Minnesota Wild

[DC in Da House w/o a Doubt]

33 minutes ago, Ridleylash said:

At the same time, I doubt "Washington Football Team" would be a huge merch-pushing name. And that's definitely a consideration they're thinking of.

 

That's a good point. I can't imagine their merch is selling that well.  I saw a WFT shirt for sale yesterday and I loled. But that could also be partially cause the team stinks. 

[DC in Da House w/o a Doubt]

Although I do think a better WFT logo would solve some of that....

[The_Admiral]

Something with the DC flag has promise, but they don't play in the District and probably never will again, and it would require either recoloring the flag, always a big no-no, or having red and burgundy together and clashing. God, I don't know, this is getting very tedious and stupid, just call them the Red Wolves, put a cursive W on the helmets, and get this dumb crap over with already. This has gone on too long as it is.

[burgundy]

34 minutes ago, DC in Da House w/o a Doubt said:

 

That's a good point. I can't imagine their merch is selling that well.  I saw a WFT shirt for sale yesterday and I loled. But that could also be partially cause the team stinks. 

 

I bought a shirt and a hat just to have something to wear, after years of not being comfortable wearing the stuff with the old name. Sure the logo sucks, but it's nice to actually support my team again, no matter how bad they are on the field. I also have a mini helmet ordered for collection purposes. That said, I have no desire to purchase any further WFT merch if they were to keep that as their name, especially with their current dud of a logo. I assume it's a similar situation for most people buying WFT stuff so far. It's nice to have something to fill the gap, but there's no real excitement for it long term.

 

[BBTV]

2 hours ago, ptaylor said:

Also, I hate to break it to Native American groups but they do not hold some special claim to the name Warriors.....every single culture and group of human beings that have walked this earth can make a connection to that name

 

But if they're going from a Native American related name/slur to Warriors, which more often than not has been directly tied to Native Americans, that tie would exist even if they claimed that they're referencing fictitious robot fighters.  In this case, I think the request to avoid "Warriors" is a reasonable one.

[DCarp1231]

If they do keep WFT they should at least change “Team” to “Club”.

 

If they go with “Warriors”, they could go the Golden State direction and shift from Native American to Greek warriors. Or really any warrior that isn’t of Native American context.

[gosioux76]

51 minutes ago, the admiral said:

Something with the DC flag has promise, but they don't play in the District and probably never will again, and it would require either recoloring the flag, always a big no-no, or having red and burgundy together and clashing. God, I don't know, this is getting very tedious and stupid, just call them the Red Wolves, put a cursive W on the helmets, and get this dumb crap over with already. This has gone on too long as it is.

 

I get that the issue has grown tiresome, and I don't disagree with the sentiment. But the last thing this team needs to do is accept something mediocre just to get it done. And just calling it Washington Football Team in perpetuity doesn't solve anything. 

 

I bring this up a lot, because I'm an alum, but this reminds me a lot of what happened with the University of North Dakota. After dropping Fighting Sioux, the university went a few years just as "North Dakota," and there were a lot of calls for that placeholder to be made permanent. It was a pretty clear subversive attempt by people who recognized that, without a viable permanent replacement, they could just keep calling them the Sioux. I see no difference between that scenario and the WFT situation.

 

Take your time to pick a lasting brand. Expediency just leads to mediocrity. 

[SFGiants58]

This is why Cleveland AL will wait to change, having a name ready to go and no “Cleveland Baseball Club.”

[DustDevil61]

A few random thoughts on the Washington Football Team:
 

I’m probably not the first one to say or think this, but my mind reads “WTF” far too often when I see “WFT.”

It’s too close to the old name especially in this day and age, (and admittedly I’m not sure exactly where on the scale of offensiveness it falls, though not as bad as the old name), but I’ve long thought that, maybe 10-20-30 years ago, a switch to the franchise’s original name of “Braves” could’ve (should’ve?) happened.

 

One name that I like more right now is “Wolves.” Not “Red Wolves,” just Wolves. There’s a certain timeless quality to the name and you can keep the colors.

 

[The_Admiral]

14 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

I get that the issue has grown tiresome, and I don't disagree with the sentiment. But the last thing this team needs to do is accept something mediocre just to get it done. And just calling it Washington Football Team in perpetuity doesn't solve anything. 

 

But like I said before, the brainstorming session should be over and done with by now. As rapidly as they were made to get rid of their name, it's not like it really came as a shock; the cultural machine had been working in overdrive on this for years before the race riots this summer. What name is going to reveal itself that hasn't revealed itself by now? This is an extremely syntactically rickety clause, I am aware that I sound like a kodrinsky thread poster, but: what has not been come up with?

[Ridleylash]

5 minutes ago, the admiral said:

This is an extremely syntactically rickety clause, I am aware that I sound like a kodrinsky thread poster, but: what has not been come up with?

A good office culture?

[The_Admiral]

Washington HRdskins