As anticipated, the NFL's Washington Football Team unveiled their new mascot and logo on February 2. After 18 months of contemplation, a year and a half of brainstorming and vetting ideas, the big brains within the Washington Football Club committed to....
The Commanders
At this point, everyone on Twitter has made the same jokes. But I'm going to put them here too, because they're funny, and this mascot is lame. For starters, team names often have shortened nicknames. The Patriots are known as the Pats, the Packers are called the Pack, the Cavaliers are known as the Cavs, etc, etc. The Commanders... wearing maroon... The Commies is just too easy!
Also, a name like Commanders is going to invoke allusions to other things.... like commanding organizational skills....
 |
| I guess it is an Organized Sport... |
Even better than a cheap hook joke, most Gen Xers, and elder Millennials will more than likely make the GI Joe comparison...
Anyway... I obviously think this choice is a joke. But apparently, I'm not alone. The Washington Post conducted a survey between February 2 and the 14th. As you can see below, fans who like or love the new name account for only 41%. Negative Opinions add up to 49%, and if you include "no opinion" as being apathetic and therefore also negative, that equals 60% of all polled. In addition, it appears most fans would have preferred remaining the Washington Football Team, which was the placeholder name until they came up with a new one.
| Interest level | Percentage points |
|---|---|
Love | 5% |
Like | 36% |
Dislike | 32% |
Hate | 17% |
No Opinion | 11% |
| Team name | Percentage points |
|---|---|
Washington Football Team | 43% |
Commanders | 26% |
Redskins | 22% |
Other | 5% |
No opinion | 5% |
