Watching the Washington Football Team play on Thursday Night Football on September 16, I was interested to see if anyone slipped up and called them “Redskins” by mistake. If it happened, I didn’t hear it.
Prior to the season it was announced that fans will no longer be allowed to wear Native American inspired ceremonial headdresses or face paint at home games. I guess shirts and hats with the old logo were still permitted, and I really don’t see how you could stop it. Once it gets cold are you going to tell people they can’t wear their coats and jackets with the name Redskins or the logo associated with the team for so many years? I think there must be some kind of constitutional right that covers that. Is there a “freedom of apparel” amendment?
I was watching closely to see how many old logos I could see in the crowd. At one point Terry McLaurin scored a touchdown and jumped into the crowd behind the end zone. I freeze-framed the TV to see how many Redskins logos I could see and you know how many I found? None, to my surprise. Oh well, it’s still not cold.
Within the past couple weeks the final choices for the new Washington team came to light. Apparently the final eight are, in alphabetical order, Armada, Brigade, Commanders, Defenders, Presidents, Redhogs, Redwolves and, alas, the current name Washington Football Team.
I’m not sure which one I’d prefer if I were a fan of the team. “Washington Football Team” is gaining some momentum, but the word is that won’t be the choice. To me it sounds like a soccer kind of name, where many of the teams don’t have nicknames. Did anyone suggest “Washington United?”
My favorite, which didn’t even make the top eight, was “Red Tails.” It was the name given to the all-black Tuskegee Airmen from World War II. It kept the “Red” in there and honored a group of heroic pilots. I thought it was a good name, but apparently it didn’t draw a lot of favor with the people who get to decide.
It’s important to get a name that will make for cool uniforms. I expect they’ll keep the burgundy and gold color scheme, and why wouldn’t you? Even the current Washington uniforms, without a nickname, are pretty classy, even though they look like Brookville. When I see Logan Thomas out there he doesn’t look much different than when he was a Bee.
It will be interesting to see which name the team picks, but they better be careful. You can find something wrong with just about anything these days.
Cheer team wins at Northside
The Lord Botetourt competitive cheer team took first place in a competition at Northside High School last weekend. The team will compete in the annual “Battle at Byrd” at William Byrd High School in Vinton this Saturday.
