Marshall’s closest professional football team finally has a new name, to the joy of some fans and disappointment of others.
The Washington Commanders unveiled their new name Wednesday morning after two years as the Washington Football Team.
“The new name isn’t anything special.” sophomore Ogulcan Gazioglu said. “The new jerseys are really bad. They don’t have a good design , and the number font is ugly.”
Sophomore Salvador Salazar also took issue with the rebrand.
“In my opinion, they shouldn’t have changed the name Redskins, but I also wish they gave the team something that [flows] with Washington,” Salazar said.
Salazar said he would have liked to see a more concrete change, giving the team a clean slate.
“I just think the name Commanders is a half hearted change,” he said. “They barely changed their uniforms.”
Fellow sophomore Victor Vergara disagreed, saying he does not mind the new name.
“It really isn’t that bad,” Vergara said. “I actually liked the new uniforms, the updated look is clean.”
Although Vergara is not bothered by the new name, he said he agrees somewhat with Salazar.
“They should have gone with a vote from fans,” Vergara said.
According to league partner Fanatics, the Commanders have been their top selling team across all sports since the name change. The team plans to hold a fan event Friday night at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland to celebrate the reveal.