The Washington Football Team has narrowed its decision to three names from a public short list of eight as we approach the end of the “Redskins” renaming saga.
Several of the names are lackluster (Armada, Brigade, and Commanders). Others are fairly unoriginal, such as the current Washington Football Team moniker and “Defenders,” a name recently used by Washington, D.C.’s now-defunct XFL team.
Then there is the name “Presidents,” a team name honoring the top office of the executive branch. It’s an idea so awful that only a franchise run by Dan Snyder could be considering it.
That leaves only two names that should really be under consideration. The Red Hogs is an obvious choice, given the team’s history. The Washington Redskins offensive line of the 1980s and early 1990s was known as “The Hogs,” and the unit helped lead the team to four Super Bowl appearances and three titles.
Then there is the Red Wolves, a name that has been floated since early on in the renaming process. Like Red Hogs, it would allow that franchise to keep “R” logos and designs, as well as the HTTR acronym that once stood for “Hail to the Redskins.”
Two good names out of eight isn’t bad, I guess.
Washington never should have been pressured into renaming the team in the first place. It was never about the Redskins name, as we can tell from ensuing pressure campaigns launched against other teams with Native American imagery. The name was dumped only because corporate sponsors folded to activists in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd. The best way to achieve police reform, of course, was to rename the Washington Redskins.
But a decent name could ease the ridiculousness of this whole ordeal, from the circumstances of the renaming to the generic placeholder that is now somehow still in contention for the team’s permanent name. Perhaps we will have all forgotten just how dumb this whole controversy was when the Washington Red Wolves take the field in 2022.
