VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Change is hard.
New things take getting used to.
You simply cannot please everyone.
Concrete lessons re-learned by the Washington Commanders today. The unveiling of their new name went smoothly. Mannequins were decked out in fresh apparel. Players new and old gave stirring speeches. Two nameless years suddenly in the rear view mirror.
Despite the successful launch, fans are hard to please.
Shannon Womble was hoping for more connection to the past. "Disappointed," Womble says, "I was hoping for something else, red-something, but I'll grow into it."
Womble joined a chorus of fans that say they wished the organization had stuck with Washington Football Team. Then again, that name received its fair share of criticism when first unveiled.
Chuck Worley is a Cowboys fan, he wanted "The Hogs", an homage to the Washington teams that took it to his Cowboys in the 80's and 90's. "Could you imagine the fans they would bring back if they brought out the Hogs?"
Jason Dowdy was hoping for more. "To me it's kind of cheesy," Dowdy says, wanting more from the new name.
Donald Campbell doesn't watch football. With no connection to previous team names, he judges the proceedings from an unbiased perspective. "It's not bad, sounds strong. I don't think it's bad, it's not any worse than New England Patriots. It does flow well I think."
Campbell's comments leave one to wonder; did people think the name "Patriots" was strange when first unveiled? One thing is for certain.....6 Super Bowls certainly helped if it did.