After 18 months of anticipation, the artist formerly known as the Washington Football Team officially announced its new name: the Commanders. Woooo? Many fans were underwhelmed at best, and no one—not even the President of the United States—felt shy about sharing their opinions with the world.
A lot of the criticism focused on the name being a total snooze.
Commanders fits right in with Nationals and Capitals in being generic and boring. pic.twitter.com/ZvTejYbFyq
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) February 2, 2022
Though after decades of turmoil, lawsuits, and accusations of racism under the Redskins moniker, maybe a boring name is what Washington football needs? Or maybe not.
"Commanders Displace Redskins" also a headline in 1890
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) February 2, 2022
There was, of course, lots of Commies chatter.
Rebranding is always gonna be tough and I think “The Washington Commanders” is a good name..
Now of course.. They’re gonna be called The Commies.. they’re red.. in the Nation’s capital but nonetheless.. Commanders is a good name
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 2, 2022
And talking of going commando (the answer is always no, please don’t).
Washington has made a lot of dumb decisions over the years, but I don't think the new name is one of them. I give Commanders a solid 'B.'
The biggest question now is whether "Going Commando to a Commanders game" will become a thing. https://t.co/khOWNK6PXz
— John Breech (@johnbreech) February 2, 2022
Yeah. It’s pretty dumb.
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
And maybe a cheap ripoff of other, more worthy commanders. Though, come to think of it, Cap’n Crunch is an EXCELLENT nickname for Dan Snyder.
I feel like I’ve seen The Commanders’ new mascot before. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/3GlpG5miLH
— White Sheep of the Fam (@YourProcessGuy) February 2, 2022
Although many fans have a bone to pick with the new branding, some are pleased with the new name—auto-generation aside.
https://twitter.com/VinceIngrilli/status/1488893775195910146?s=20&t=zHwxbSH7c49GXUvcPAKULA
Maybe it’ll grow on all of us?
*whispers* I like Washington Commanders
— Tari | Official Lax Girl™️ (@officiallaxgirl) February 2, 2022
Here to give the benefit of the doubt and reach across that bipartisan naming aisle: President Biden, owner of the OG Commander.
I suppose there’s room for two Commanders in this town. pic.twitter.com/xqlHzp6rq0
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 2, 2022
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
