Give the People What They Want

Since Dan Snyder's ignominious and widely-welcomed departure from the Washington Commanders owner's suite (and from the entire U.S. of A., if rumors are true), the broader DMV sporting community has breathed deeply of the fresh air that comes with a deep cleaning of decades of accumulated scum. There's almost a whiff of...hard to place really...maybe...hope?

The new ownership group led by Josh Harris has been present, active, and available. Harris himself sat in the stands at the Commanders' first home preseason game. Sure, the seats were primo, but there's no chance in hell the last guy would've been seen amongst the rabble. Probably because they would've thrown garbage at him, but still.

We're clearly still in the honeymoon phase of the Harris era, and Ron Rivera's team is going to have to perform on the field to help the cautious green shoots of renewal find purchase. But for the first time in over two decades, folks are letting themselves believe.

They're also seizing the momentum to offer ideas for the future. Harris and company have been circumspect about the prospects of changing the team's name for the third time since the franchise retired its long-standing and racist moniker. Harris partner and long-time fan of the team Mitchell Rales said this week that "That ship has sailed" when asked about a possible return to the old name. He added (and this is the kind of thing that's getting fans in the area hopeful), "We’re going to look at everything come the end of the year and think about a lot of different things and do a lot of testing and see what people think. And we’ll learn. The beauty is we have the time to look at all of this stuff intelligently and make fan-based decisions.”

Somewhere, Little Danny Starfucker is asking, "What's a fan, and why should I care about them?"

Colin Fowler is a fan. And based on what he's put together, I'd love to see the Commanders ownership look intelligently at his stuff. Fowler is a graphic artist and designer who group up in Maryland rooting for the local team. Upon Snyder's ouster, he set out to develop a new brand concept for the the franchise. Friends, it's awesome. I give you the District Hogs:

Fowler's work goes far deeper than a name and a singular logo. His concept includes a bespoke font honoring Chuck Brown, a color palette based on local geology and history, and a story that connects the past to the future. As he explains in the mission portion of the website he's developed to display his concept, "In order to...respect the past, repair the present, & redefine the future... we will...Honor, Heal, & Hone."

Dig these other images, and check out the whole thing. I'm of the belief that folks in this area would go hog wild for that rebranding. I said what I said.