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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Bryan Manning

Commanders named as the top team that should ‘update their uniforms’

The Washington Commanders unveiled their new brand on Feb. 2, 2022, to much fanfare. While the organization has claimed it was one of the more successful rebrands in sports, fans and analysts would strongly disagree.

Unfortunately for Washington, there is negativity that surrounds everything the organization does. That’s because of owner Daniel Snyder. With Snyder expected to sell the team soon, there’s hope that fans return to supporting the team.

However, for many fans, supporting the current version of the Washington NFL franchise is difficult because they do not like the name. Others do not like the uniforms. A large portion of the fan base hopes the next owner changes the name again. While that seems unlikely, you never know until that owner — presumed to be Josh Harris — speaks on the topic.

When the team rebranded last year, it adopted a third alternate jersey. They were the first all-black uniforms in the franchise’s storied history. While there were some aspects that were nice, others not so much. The same goes for Washington’s home and away uniforms.

The Arizona Cardinals unveiled new uniforms last week to mixed reviews. That led to Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports coming up with a list of five teams who should consider updating their uniforms. And despite having the newest uniforms in the NFL, the Commanders were No. 1 on Benjamin’s list.

Notice a trend here? Like the Falcons, the Commanders are just getting used to their updated uniforms, revealing their current look in 2022 while transitioning from the Washington Football Team label. And like the Falcons, their issue isn’t the colors — burgundy and gold have been well-regarded staples of the franchise — but the presentation of them. Substituting the Falcons’ oversized “ATL” chest label for a wordier “Commanders” ID on the home jerseys, their away uniforms also ditch shoulder numbers for a busy color pattern, making for an outfit lineup that looks precisely like one you’d find on a last-minute expansion team.

This is not the first time we’ve heard the term “expansion team” in relation to the Commanders. One issue with the rebrand was last year’s team felt like an expansion team with no history. Some fans felt no connection to the team’s storied past other than some of their favorite current players. Some of the franchise’s legends have distanced themselves from the Commanders due to the name — and Snyder.
The thing fans want most is a winner. If Washington can become a consistent winner again, things such as the name and uniforms will not matter too much. However, the franchise probably shouldn’t expect some portion of the fan base to ever like the name or uniforms.
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