Washington is still in the process of settling on a permanent new nickname after abandoning the extremely problematic “Redskins” nickname this summer and according to Washington team president Jason Wright, Football Team is “definitely in the running.”
“I don’t think anything is off the table. … With this one, people are excited about the idea of a club has an identity rooted solely in the area it represents,” Wright told ESPN’s John Keim. “Maybe it’s Football Team or it’s Football Club. We need to get underneath the why, so no matter what direction we go, we can pull on the heartstrings of folks.”
Washington settled on the Football Team moniker as a temporary nickname when the team was unable to settle on a long-term option before the start of the season. The organization has made it clear they plan to pick a permanent name after the season, but with Football Team having a generally positive response from fans, Washington seems to be giving the literal name a fighting shot at going from interim nickname to a more permanent fixture.
And while the initial reaction by many has been to laugh at Washington’s seemingly lack of imagination in choosing their temporary name, honestly, is it really that much sillier than there being two baseball teams named after misspelled socks of specific colors? Names are only good or bad based on how fans respond to them, and if Football Team is the straightforward, unbigoted name that Washington D.C. can get behind, why overthink it?
