The Merged x115 Adventures Of The Fashion Police Weekly aka THE Uniform Thread

[woodpecker]

Just now, Spearfeather said:

 

From the article:

 

 

I'd like to think they've already started. 

I’d like to as well. Perhaps it’s going on behind the scenes. If so, I’d prefer transparency this time, but I’ll take whatever I can get.  I’d like to think the DQ feather shirt thing was a test, and perhaps her trying to put a positive light on commanders there is also a test. 

[BringMetheHeadofBruceAllen]

13 hours ago, BringMetheHeadofBruceAllen said:

The W logo by itself doesn't look terrible...if it had been introduced in 1961 or 1962, which is when lettered helmet logos appeared for the Packers, Giants, and Bears.

 

After I posted that, I figured I would look into when teams actually added logos to their helmets, just because I'm bored:

 

Rams - 1948

Eagles - 1954

Colts - 1954

Redskins - 1958

Cardinals - 1960

Packers - 1961

Giants - 1961

Lions - 1961

Bears - 1962

Steelers - 1962

49ers - 1962

Bills - 1962

Broncos - 1962

Raiders - 1963

Jets - 1963

Browns - 😐

 

[profusion]

3 hours ago, BringMetheHeadofBruceAllen said:

Browns - 😐

 

 

I suppose the outer stripes on their helmet are descriptive enough.

Edited May 30 by profusion

[FootballZombie]

4 hours ago, woodpecker said:

I’d like to as well. Perhaps it’s going on behind the scenes. If so, I’d prefer transparency this time, but I’ll take whatever I can get.

 

 

I think they have been working on it for a while too, but transparency costs money.

 

We knew change was coming for years beforehand last time, and that was part of the soup as to why WFT merch had the worst sales in the entirety of the NFL.

Heck, its even part of the soup as to why Commanders sales are so bad, b/c they are giving people like me avenues to sit on their wallets.

 

If they come out at any point and say "change is coming, name and/or design" the line to buy soon to be obsolete gear gets dramatically small.

The second they put that out there, they depth charge current sales. You'd want that known transition time period to be a small as possible.

 

 

I don't like it, but vagueness makes business sense here.

[N0430BM]

I was rethinking the business sense thing...

 

Maybe I am not understanding correctly, but doesn't the NFL revenue share?

 

Does Washington directly get money from their merchandise sales?

 

The vagueness with answering questions doesn't make sense.  Creating goodwill with the fan base makes more business sense in the short and long term.  They want to bring in fans, new and old.  The new ownership should have come in like a wrecking ball.  State right off that they hear the fans, the name and uniforms will change.  People would have been dancing in the streets.  I think a lot are still just sitting on the sidelines, waiting for what will happen.

 

 

[FootballZombie]

26 minutes ago, N0430BM said:

Maybe I am not understanding correctly, but doesn't the NFL revenue share?

 

Yes w/ the exception of on-site sales, like the team store.

 

Hard to explain in short form but Its not just a matter of making money or not, they will get bread regardless. Its a matter of making more money and building a community that has vested personal financial commitment to your team. If people are buying merch, they have a monetary commitment to continue to support your franchise. You don't want to see that shrink.

 

You could eliminate 100% of Washington sales and this team is still making millions due to revenue sharing from every other teams merch (sans Dallas), but there would be repercussions on both your bottom line (your not making as much money) and in fan retention, engagement, acquisition.

 

26 minutes ago, N0430BM said:

The vagueness with answering questions doesn't make sense.  Creating goodwill with the fan base makes more business sense in the short and long term.

 

Peace of mind gathered through clarity would be nice for the observer, but it does not help the bottom line. Its still a business, and the best move for a business is usually to make money.

 

If you were told everything will change in two years and every piece of merch you own or buy in the meantime will soon be obsolete how would that effect your spending?

Edited May 30 by FootballZombie

[Conn]

32 minutes ago, N0430BM said:

I was rethinking the business sense thing...

 

Maybe I am not understanding correctly, but doesn't the NFL revenue share?

 

Does Washington directly get money from their merchandise sales?

 

The vagueness with answering questions doesn't make sense.  Creating goodwill with the fan base makes more business sense in the short and long term.  They want to bring in fans, new and old.  The new ownership should have come in like a wrecking ball.  State right off that they hear the fans, the name and uniforms will change.  People would have been dancing in the streets.  I think a lot are still just sitting on the sidelines, waiting for what will happen.

 

 

Yes, so they’d be hurting the entire league’s revenue by torpedoing Commanders gear sales even further with an early announcement. 
 

What you’re asking for is basically catharsis. It would feel good, but carries no monetary value until the change is real so being conservative with public commentary is logical. 

Nobody is going to care, long term, once things are done. Harris has said since day 1 this wasn’t a short term project. I don’t really see the value in blowing your load early in regards to the branding intentions and having the questions and yearning for updates be the major story for likely multiple years, overshadowing everything else. Better to just work on it in the background, while fixing the organization and team in the foreground. You seem to think the opposite is true, that it’s the elephant in the room that’s drawing too much attention because they won’t directly address it—but that’s because of the fan circles you participate in. The vast majority of people are focused on the football-related changes and not feeling negative towards ownership over the branding right now at all. Which to me says they are playing it correctly. 

[woodpecker]

11 minutes ago, FootballZombie said:

 

 

I think they have been working on it for a while too, but transparency costs money.

 

We knew change was coming for years beforehand last time, and that was part of the soup as to why WFT merch had the worst sales in the entirety of the NFL.

Heck, its even part of the soup as to why Commanders sales are so bad, b/c they are giving people like me avenues to sit on their wallets.

 

If they come out at any point and say "change is coming, name and/or design" the line to buy soon to be obsolete gear gets dramatically small.

The second they put that out there, they depth charge current sales. You'd want that known transition time period to be a small as possible.

 

 

I don't like it, but vagueness makes business sense here.

I guess so, and I don’t like it either. I won’t call it Snyder-like, however it seems petty to keep things quiet just so they can sell a few more Mander jerseys that they know will be obsolete (They can wait as long as they want, I will never buy one!). So I don’t think that’s the true reason for the silence. Another possibility that’s been brought up is that they are keeping it quiet until the politics play out on getting the new stadium location in place, and I’m hoping that’s the case.

Anyway, after listening to Yesterdays Kevin Sheehan podcast with Tom Friend just now I’m feeling better about things. Friend says he has spoken to a couple people he knows close to ownership (he doesn’t give names) and he’s pretty convinced the name change is going to happen, it’s just a matter of when. They both think that we should go back to WFT at least for now, noting that it’s a change that could be made rather quickly as we’ve already seen. 

[BringMetheHeadofBruceAllen]

26 minutes ago, FootballZombie said:

You could eliminate 100% of Washington sales and this team is still making millions due to revenue sharing from every other teams merch (sans Dallas), but there would be repercussions on both your bottom line (your not making as much money) and in fan retention, engagement, acquisition.

 

You could actually not even sell tickets to the games at all, and the NFL would still be making millions hand over fist even if playing in empty stadiums (like the USFL 😄), thanks to the TV and streaming deals.

Edited May 30 by BringMetheHeadofBruceAllen

[woodpecker]

9 minutes ago, Conn said:

Yes, so they’d be hurting the entire league’s revenue by torpedoing Commanders gear sales even further with an early announcement. 
 

What you’re asking for is basically catharsis. It would feel good, but carries no monetary value until the change is real so being conservative with public commentary is logical. 

Nobody is going to care, long term, once things are done. Harris has said since day 1 this wasn’t a short term project. I don’t really see the value in blowing your load early in regards to the branding intentions and having the questions and yearning for updates be the major story for likely multiple years, overshadowing everything else. Better to just work on it in the background, while fixing the organization and team in the foreground. You seem to think the opposite is true, that it’s the elephant in the room that’s drawing too much attention because they won’t directly address it—but that’s because of the fan circles you participate in. The vast majority of people are focused on the football-related changes and not feeling negative towards ownership over the branding right now at all. Which to me says they are playing it correctly. 

Thanks Conn, this all makes sense, although I can’t agree with the very last part. I would say the majority of fans are absolutely feeling negative toward the branding right now. Check the WAPO poll from yesterday posted above, or any social media that doesn’t discourage conversation on the topic.

[FootballZombie]

6 minutes ago, woodpecker said:

Anyway, after listening to Yesterdays Kevin Sheehan podcast with Tom Friend just now I’m feeling better about things. Friend says he has spoken to a couple people he knows close to ownership (he doesn’t give names) and he’s pretty convinced the name change is going to happen, it’s just a matter of when. They both think that we should go back to WFT at least for now, noting that it’s a change that could be made rather quickly as we’ve already seen. 

 

1.) You got a link? I'd listen to that one.

 

2.) We had to do a double rebrand last time just b/c of timing, but the idea of doing it again when not forced to is silly.

 

The team itself would have to buy all unsold commanders stuff (Jerseys, beer mugs, jewelry, calendars) refit the stadium, websites and offices. Millions of dollars... and then do it all over again when its time to move to the real branding. It would be like lighting money on fire. You'd probably have to catch Harris on the booze n drug bender of a lifetime to get it approved.

 

I work in branding, and if I was in the Washington meeting room of the branding board and the idea of a 2nd double rebrand is floated I'd start going after people.

 

Then again there is probably a reason I have been relegated to plastic utensils only...

 

[BringMetheHeadofBruceAllen]

7 minutes ago, FootballZombie said:

 

1.) You got a link? I'd listen to that one.

 

2.) We had to do a double rebrand last time just b/c of timing, but the idea of doing it again when not forced to is silly.

 

The team itself would have to buy all unsold commanders stuff (Jerseys, beer mugs, jewelry, calendars) refit the stadium, websites and offices. Millions of dollars... and then do it all over again when its time to move to the real branding. It would be like lighting money on fire. You'd probably have to catch Harris on the booze n drug bender of a lifetime to get it approved.

 

I work in branding, and if I was in the Washington meeting room of the branding board and the idea of a 2nd double rebrand is floated I'd start going after people.

 

Then again there is probably a reason I have been relegated to plastic utensils only...

 

 

 

Trust me, they can afford it! 😁

[woodpecker]

1 hour ago, FootballZombie said:

 

1.) You got a link? I'd listen to that one.

 

2.) We had to do a double rebrand last time just b/c of timing, but the idea of doing it again when not forced to is silly.

 

The team itself would have to buy all unsold commanders stuff (Jerseys, beer mugs, jewelry, calendars) refit the stadium, websites and offices. Millions of dollars... and then do it all over again when its time to move to the real branding. It would be like lighting money on fire. You'd probably have to catch Harris on the booze n drug bender of a lifetime to get it approved.

 

I work in branding, and if I was in the Washington meeting room of the branding board and the idea of a 2nd double rebrand is floated I'd start going after people.

 

Then again there is probably a reason I have been relegated to plastic utensils only...

 

😂😂 yeah I don’t see a double rebrand happening either. That was kind of a throwaway line though, they were both more into just going to WFT permanently and being done with it.

also, they both feel that the name issue is more important than the new stadium location, which I agree with.

 

i’ll try to post the link below, but if not, it’s the Kevin Sheehan podcast from yesterday. Enjoy!

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-kevin-sheehan-show/id1435515037?i=1000657228562

[Conn]

1 hour ago, woodpecker said:

Thanks Conn, this all makes sense, although I can’t agree with the very last part. I would say the majority of fans are absolutely feeling negative toward the branding right now. Check the WAPO poll from yesterday posted above, or any social media that doesn’t discourage conversation on the topic.

Agreed, but I said the fans on the whole aren’t feeling negative towards current ownership yet about the rebrand. It’s still mainly seen as a legacy of Snyder. The new group is getting their grace period with fans (mostly bc the organizational and roster changes being made are well-liked) and using it wisely imo. 

[Warhead36]

I think the ownership group is going to wait a few years. Lets see how the team does on the field. If we start winning and Daniels looks like he's the guy, the fans might start buying up merchandise and embracing the name. Everyone loves a winner after all. And if that's the case, rebranding might end up being silly.

[SoCalSkins]

34 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

I think the ownership group is going to wait a few years. Lets see how the team does on the field. If we start winning and Daniels looks like he's the guy, the fans might start buying up merchandise and embracing the name. Everyone loves a winner after all. And if that's the case, rebranding might end up being silly.

You rebrand right after that. Everyone who bought the gear will buy it again with the rebrand. If they are winning no one will complain. That’s the best way to maximize value. 

[Est.1974]

Rebranding will never be silly. Uniforms suck, name sucks. A rebrand with a team who turns a corner this year with a stud QB would be massive.

[Koolblue13]

When the team is good. When the new stadium deal is done. When every ball is ready to drop at the same time, you drop the bomb and rebrand. 

 

I'd bet that next offseason when they can really redo the current stadium, that's when you do it.

[woodpecker]

2 hours ago, Warhead36 said:

I think the ownership group is going to wait a few years. Lets see how the team does on the field. If we start winning and Daniels looks like he's the guy, the fans might start buying up merchandise and embracing the name. Everyone loves a winner after all. And if that's the case, rebranding might end up being silly.

Partially true, but there is a decent chunk of fans (myself included) that will never embrace the name. Yeah sure if they win big they will sell a lot of jerseys… But it will never be as many as they could’ve sold with better branding. And don’t forget the new owners are longtime fans of the team just like we are. Odds are they don’t like the name either, so it may not be all about money or taking the path of least resistance for them. The more I think about it, I really think they are just waiting until the new stadium location is finalized before they risk ruffling any feathers. 

[BringMetheHeadofBruceAllen]

2 hours ago, Warhead36 said:

I think the ownership group is going to wait a few years. Lets see how the team does on the field. If we start winning and Daniels looks like he's the guy, the fans might start buying up merchandise and embracing the name. Everyone loves a winner after all. And if that's the case, rebranding might end up being silly.

 

IF...

 

I don't think rebranding after winning would be silly...the Rams did it right after winning the Superb Owl in 1999, and the Houston Rockets changed in 1995, and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992.

[mudhog]

On 5/29/2024 at 11:46 AM, BringMetheHeadofBruceAllen said:

 

It's usually five years, but the NFL allows an exception in cases where the ownership changes. I think HOG wants to get it right and maybe they'll focus on that more now that the draft's over. Harris is not stupid and he must have seen that report showing the 'Manders ranked #31 in merchandise sales out of 32 teams.

 

It's possible that Quinn's t-shirt FUBAR from a couple weeks ago was no accident, either. HOG may be testing the waters for bringing back the old uniforms and logo, if not the name itself.

Got my DQ W-feather shirt Tuesday. Doesn't say commanders on it anywhere. It's my first gear since the name change and I love it. I will never, ever buy a piece of merchandise with the name commanders on it. Hell, I really don't even like to type the name for this post. I'm sure there's many like me that feel the same way, and I'm sure that Harris is keenly aware of it. He's never let us down since the jump, and I'm sure that he will fix this too. I have all the faith in the world in this ownership group to get it right.

[woodpecker]

On 5/31/2024 at 4:07 PM, mudhog said:

Got my DQ W-feather shirt Tuesday. Doesn't say commanders on it anywhere. It's my first gear since the name change and I love it. I will never, ever buy a piece of merchandise with the name commanders on it. Hell, I really don't even like to type the name for this post. I'm sure there's many like me that feel the same way, and I'm sure that Harris is keenly aware of it. He's never let us down since the jump, and I'm sure that he will fix this too. I have all the faith in the world in this ownership group to get it right.

Oh, awesome I thought that shirt said commanders. Is it just the taco W and the feathers?? if so, I want one too… Where can I get it?

[skinfan2k]

On 5/31/2024 at 2:17 PM, woodpecker said:

Partially true, but there is a decent chunk of fans (myself included) that will never embrace the name. Yeah sure if they win big they will sell a lot of jerseys… But it will never be as many as they could’ve sold with better branding. And don’t forget the new owners are longtime fans of the team just like we are. Odds are they don’t like the name either, so it may not be all about money or taking the path of least resistance for them. The more I think about it, I really think they are just waiting until the new stadium location is finalized before they risk ruffling any feathers. 

 

TBH, Harris and company doesnt care about the older fans who are stuck with the old name.  They will market to hte younger fan who will come to games and buy merch

[woodpecker]

9 minutes ago, skinfan2k said:

 

TBH, Harris and company doesnt care about the older fans who are stuck with the old name.  They will market to hte younger fan who will come to games and buy merch

Younger fans hate the C-name too

[mudhog]

1 minute ago, woodpecker said:

Oh, awesome I thought that shirt said commanders. Is it just the taco W and the feathers?? if so, I want one too… Where can I get it?

My sister bought it for me online. It's definitely an unsanctioned, bootleg-tee. You have to remember, DQ's shirt was an unsanctioned tee as well. Therefore, every tee vendor that had a whiff of DQ's shirt went and silk-screened their own version that day, and put it online to capitalize on the fever. I'm not sure if DQ's shirt had the name commanders on it, but, mine sure doesn't.