NFL
Washington Commanders 'leaked' ahead of official announcement
We were told by the team that the second day of February - 02/02/2022 - would be the grand unveiling of the new name for the Washington Football Team.
It's a tidy date to choose to announce your new name. The second day of the second month of the year 2022. Well done Washington Football Team for choosing that. We were able to remember it clearly.
What's not so great, is if the name finds its way into the public domain (ahem) ahead of that date. Sort of spoils it a little. Anyway, we are where we are.
Also making NFL news:
Washington Commanders debate begins early
The name Washington Football Team -- often referred to as simply 'WFT' -- was always accepted as just being a temporary one. And when the news came that the February date had been picked for the new unveiling, it brought with it some excitement for supporters who weren't particularly enjoying what they were seeing on the field of play.
Of course, the historic name of the 'Redskins' was the one actually being completely replaced (see below for more on that) and despite not knowing what was coming, team president Jason Wright had already ruled out ‘Wolves’ or ‘Redwolves’ but had stated that it would be one that many people would love.
'So how did the new name - still not official - get out into the public sphere?' you ask. Well, it was an eagle-eyed member of the Twitterati who spotted it, rather than it being leaked by the franchise. And it all came down to the domain name commanders.com being snaffled by the company that the NFL uses for most of its teams, MarkMonitor.
We'll be tuning in on the 2nd Feb just for confirmation, hopefully via an entertaining montage, and will continue to gauge fan reaction. Ironically, some of those less pleased with this news are already asking, "WTF?"
Washington Football Team name changes
In July 2020, Washington changed its name to the 'Washington Football Team' following the increasing pressure to change its previous name, the Redskins, due to its racist connotations.
Wright said that they were “confident that this identity is one that our team and our fans across D.C., Maryland, Virginia and beyond can rally behind for another 90 years and more as we continue to cheer on Burgundy and Gold in this next chapter."
Washington finished behind both the Cowboys and the Eagles in NFC East, meaning no postseason fun this season. Maybe next year, with a new name, they can take more command.