When the Washington Commanders announced their new name, uniforms and logo earlier this month, it was met with criticism. Washington expected the criticism as you can’t make everyone happy.
However, one aspect the majority of fans liked was the logo with the crest displaying the years the franchise won an NFL championship and Super Bowl. There was also an issue with the crest, as it displayed the years Washington had won the Super Bowl on the crest — not the season in which the franchise won the Super Bowl.
The 1991 Washington Redskins won the Super Bowl, which means Washington was NFL champions in 1991 — not 1992 — even though the Super Bowl was played in Jan. 1992. It was an error that Washington should correct.
After the rebranding, Washington president Jason Wright spoke on the topic explaining why the team went with the year the Super Bowl was played. Wright said that’s how it’s listed in the “NFL annals.” Wright said he would listen to fan feedback on the topic and it was something the team could change.
Wright was a man of his word, as he went to the NFL to change the years on the crest to the Roman numerals of the Super Bowls Washington won, per Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. However, the NFL denied the Commanders’ request.
The league didn’t mind Washington changing the crest to the correct years (1983, 1987 & 1991); however, the team could not use the Roman numerals as the NFL owns copyrights on the Super Bowl games, including the Roman numerals for each game.
Per Phillips, the Commanders will continue to work on tweaking the crest.
The criticism for Washington is warranted, but it’s only fair to credit the team for listening to the fans, something that’s not usually the case.
