Renaming a historic sports franchise is a daunting and rather dangerous task. This was the job asked of the Washington Football Team. Co-owners Dan and Tanya Synder finally revealed the new name after 18 months – the Commanders – and people immediately hated it. The backlash began on Twitter. One tweet stated, “Hell nah,” and one simply said ‘Ewww.’ Bleacher Report’s Tyler Conway pointed out that it’s a name that can be shortened to Commies.
It’s just a name after all, so why does it take so long? There’s a laundry list of to-dos. Narrowing it down to a manageable few names, grading the names, designing the logo, wordmarks, uniforms, field designs, merchandise concepts, how the logo looks on TV, and much more. Then, there’s trademarking. Lawyers conduct a thorough search on the name. Nearly every word in the English language has been trademarked, like “Washington Redhawks.” That name couldn’t even be considered.
We name dogs and kids. “This should be fun” – it’s not. It’s a grueling exercise, and whatever you choose, you’re going to rally haters. Everybody has an opinion. Some franchises come up with a name that will instill fear, and others try to pay homage to the team’s hometown. It doesn’t always go well and some teams end with regrettable names – The New Orleans Pelicans, Anaheim Ducks, Washington Wizards, Scottsdale Community College Fighting Artichokes, Long Beach State Dirt Bags (Why?), University of Santa Cruz Banana Slugs (What?), University of California-Irvine Anteaters, Utah Jazz, TCU Horned Frogs – to name a few. It took Washington 18 months, because a new name for a sports team, with a few exceptions, is eternal.
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