Earlier this week, it was leaked by former Washington Football Team quarterback and NFL broadcaster Joe Theismann that the team would be changing their name to the Washington Commanders. That speculation became even more clarified when a local news helicopter spied the name “Commanders” inside the stadium on Tuesday night.
Wednesday morning, the team made it official as they unveiled their new team name, logo, and uniforms.
The future of Washington football is here #TakeCommand pic.twitter.com/MwkCLTkVAA
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) February 2, 2022
One legacy. One unified future.
We are the Washington Commanders #TakeCommand pic.twitter.com/Eav9NOV5Mm
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) February 2, 2022
The name change has been met with some less than stellar reviews from the sports world on social media.
this is a better team name than the Washington Commanders pic.twitter.com/tadcaKdE6m
— Siraj Hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) February 2, 2022
Washington Commanders is like when the movie can’t get the rights to use an actual team so they throw something quick out there and hope it just doesn’t cause too much confusion
— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) February 2, 2022
The Washington Commanders have a “new” logo. pic.twitter.com/EWfQnsxoCm
— Randy Scott (@RandyScottESPN) February 2, 2022
I don’t know how to feel about the Washington Commanders.
— Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) February 2, 2022
Ah yeah, Washington Commanders, the opponent in every fictional football movie
— Matthew Coller (@MatthewColler) February 2, 2022
Washington Commanders sounds like a worse version of the United States Space Force
— Charlotte Wilder (@TheWilderThings) February 2, 2022
Owner Dan Snyder addressed the leak of the team name when addressing the public to announce the Commanders’ name, saying “welcome to not the best-kept secret in Washington…We are the Washington Commanders”
Washington Commanders defensive lineman Jonathan Allen said this morning that the new name was met with mixed reviews in the locker room when they first heard the news as well.
“It was kinda like the internet, it was about 50/50 for us,” said Allen. “Half the players loved it and half didn’t. It’s hard to love something when you only hear the name. You have to hear the name, see the uniforms, see the environment and culture. It’s more than just a name, it’s an entire rebrand for the entire organization.”
“It was 50/50. Half loved it, half didn’t.”@jonallen93_ tells @craigmelvin the Commanders name initially received mixed reviews from Washington players. pic.twitter.com/p65sPuRwqc
— NBC Sports Washington (@NBCSWashington) February 2, 2022
The name will surely catch on as we move forward, but it honestly felt like the name Washington Football Team was starting to stick for many. Hopefully, Allen’s comments are true and this is a real culture change for the team going forward because the city of Washington certainly needs one given their troubling past under Snyder.
