WFT president says team name won't be 'random-[expletive] bird' originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Washington Football Team is still sorting through thousands of submissions from fans around the world to determine what its next name and logo will be.
While the team has yet to start narrowing down the field, team president Jason Wright joined 106.7 The Fan’s Grant & Danny show on Thursday afternoon and discussed how Washington plans to keep its colors — while ruling out one specific category of team name.
“A few things are starting to become clear,” Wright said. “No. 1: Burgundy and gold should never change, period. That is a core aspect of the identity of this team and we know it is important from all this research as well to make sure we don’t feel like an expansion club and we’re tied to the history. We have to keep the burgundy and gold as a centerpiece to all of this.
“The other thing that we heard clearly is that something random would land poorly. We need something that’s connected to the history of the club or to the area or to something else that is meaningful to the fanbase already, meaningful to the area, etc. So picking some random-[expletive] bird mascot doesn’t feel like the right approach, at least from what we’ve seen so far.”
The NFL already has five teams around the league named after birds: Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens. However, Wright stressed the importance of the franchise’s brand representing the D.C. fanbase and evidently, that doesn’t involve any winged creatures.
Wright added that the team’s research has shown that fans want the organization to convey “a sense of aggression, of boldness, of edginess” both on and off the field. He said there has been a large influx of calls for the team to build a reputation that demands respect, both through off-the-field practices such as community engagement and effective business operations as well as building a brand that makes fans proud to associate themselves with the organization.
Washington has yet to announce a timeline for when a new name and logo will be put in place.
For more interviews, tune into the Sports Junkies on NBC Sports Washington, weekdays from 6-10 a.m.
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