Narrowing the list to three
Recently, the Washington franchise announced that they have narrowed the list of potential names from eight to three. I will be ranking the remaining potential names for the WFT and then I will speculate what the three remaining options are for the franchise.
8. Presidents
I really don’t think this is a good idea, especially given the timing. Let’s just say that US Presidents have been polarizing and after the polarization of the previous name and the franchise needs a name people can rally around. What would the logo look like? Would it be just the letters or would the image of a US President be used? I just don’t like this idea at all.
7. Defenders
There’s are a couple reasons I don’t like this name. The biggest one is that the XFL had a team named the Defenders and they were in DC. It would be pathetic to take the name of the XFL team that was in the same city. Defenders can be too generic as well. Defenders as in defenders of the country or as in defenders on a football field. I’m guessing the former which isn’t horrible but it’s pretty vanilla.
6. Commanders
This isn’t a terrible name. You can make the connection to George Washington and possibly even use his image in a logo. I do get some vibes though of the old USFL team the Washington Generals and we know that team was not good. The name itself isn’t bad but I’m superstitious and going to avoid anything like the Washington Generals.
5. Brigade
I like this name, it’s just fine. They could certainly do a lot worse. It somewhat goes along with Commanders, in that it’s a military type name. It was the name of an Arena Football League team in Baltimore just down the road (ouch) which hurts it in these rankings. I’m not a huge fan of names that the plural form of the word is the same as the singular form.
4. Armada
This is a good name. I like that it shouts out to the Navy, especially with the Naval Academy being nearby. Like the Naval Academy, there’s a lot of options when it comes to logos and designs. Just take a look at Navy’s uniform’s and helmets for the Army game. The only real negative is again is the plural and singular forms of the word are the same. Fourth on this list doesn’t seem to do this name justice.
3. Washington Football Team (WFT)
I’ll admit that when I first heard this name I thought it was a joke or a giant middle finger from owner Dan Snyder to the people for pressuring him into changing the name in the first place. I thought maybe Snyder’s plan was to make the temporary name so bad that people would actually accept the Redskins name back in a couple of years. As time went on though, the name grew on me. I actually really like it now and if they were to leave it permanently would be just fine with it.
1b. RedHogs
I love this name. Just “Hogs” would be acceptable here as well. It draws a connection to the old offensive line in the 80s and early 90s known as the hogs. There are still many fans who dress up as hogs that you can see at the stadium for games. I think this is a name that would be universally loved by the fanbase, especially those who are longtime fans. The “hogs” won the franchise three Super Bowls when they played so there’s some good luck to go along with the name as well. It would be a great name!
1a. RedWolves
I love this name as well and couldn’t choose between the two. I love that the name RedWolves (Red Wolves) is a link to the indigenous American population without using a term considered offensive or using imagery of them. They can keep a lot of the same logos with slight tweaks for wolves. I’ve seen some uniform concepts on social media that I would be excited about if that was indeed the name going forward. The red wolf animal is an endangered species and it would be nice to bring some positive publicity to the name and hopefully save the species.
Speculation of Finalists
After giving this a great amount of thought. I believe my ranking of the remaining potential names for the WFT will correlate with the finalists. I believe it’s between RedWolves (Red Wolves, Redwolves) and RedHogs (Red Hogs, Redhogs) along with Washington Football Team as the finalists that the team is keeping close to the vest. In June, the franchise’s application for the trademark for Washington Football Team was rejected which could change and complicate the entire process. There’s still a chance they get the trademark for that name and is the reason I still think it’s one of the finalists. Either way, I’m looking forward to the day they make an announcement for the permanent name.
Don’t agree with my rankings? What do you think the best three names potential names for WFT are? Comment on our social media pages to interact and let me know if I’m crazy or spot on!
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