The Washington Football Team is a terrible decision
It has been an interesting week for franchise naming and branding. The NHL has a new addition to its brood after introducing another expansion franchise: The Seattle Kraken. The Kraken are being introduced in the same week as “The Washington Football Team” and are the clear winners of how to name and brand your franchise.
Now, I am not a hockey fan per se’ but I don’t need to be in order to recognize a home run when I see it and the Kraken have done just that with the way they rolled this thing out. The uniforms are a fantastic combination of the new age as well as having a pretty classic look. It’s not quite the Hartford Whalers but they are living in the same zip code. Hell, even the introductory video was pretty awesome:
A legend from the deep awakens.
— Seattle Kraken (@NHLSeattle_) July 23, 2020
Meet the Seattle Kraken → https://t.co/to5BtVVPh1 pic.twitter.com/FQfOdaiGQQ
Skip the Bad Right to the Ugly
Now that we have seen the good let’s take a look at the ugly. It’s been quite a month for Dan Snyder and his Washington… errr… you know. A leaked letter on July 6th from Native American Leaders to the NFL demanding that the… franchise… in D.C. change its name post haste. Snyder immediately rebuffed those advances like a sober guy turning down a sloppy drunk chick at the bar. No gracias.
In the second week of July, Snyder found himself embroiled in a scandal surrounding 15 women. They claim to have been sexually harassed by a former franchise official. The mob descended upon the owner once again, this time demanding that he be forced to sell his franchise and be removed from the National Football League. A known feminist, civil rights leader, and part-time NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ultimately decided against that course of action and is instead considering a hefty fine for Snyder, whose net worth is just north of $2.6 billion.
The R-Words
A week later in a panicked move, the Washington… ya know what? Let’s just called them the R-words. It just fits better than almost anything. Yesterday, Adam Schefter reported the Washington R-words’ solution to the insensitive franchise moniker:
More on Washington calling itself the “Washington Football Team” pending the adoption of a new name for the 2020 season:https://t.co/klMVSEKP38
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 23, 2020
Again, R-words. Snyder and his new marketing office Terry Bateman just wanted it to go away and now, instead of being insensitive, they just look foolish. I guess that is an improvement. “The Washington Football Team” is about as benign and 1920’s as it gets. Where are they going to play? The Olympic Grounds?
The thing that is truly mind-blowing about this is that Snyder didn’t already have a shortlist? Hell, we did here at Belly Up. Ryan published it a few weeks ago. Not to mention Parker, Chaka, and Kevin’s list.
How hard is it to call yourselves the Washington Hog-Mollies? The Washington Football Team? You didn’t have to hire a Chief Marketing Officer for that, one of the 15 women accusing your organization of sexual harassment could have come up with it sarcastically. Granted, they are probably going to end up costing you more than Terry Bateman ever thought of asking for.
