WP: The Washington G-Men?

[bubba9497]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/20/AR2007042001702.html

click link for full article

The Washington G-Men?

That Nickname Certainly Would Be Less Offensive Than 'Redskins' Is

I know that football is not in the air. I should be following the Nationals or the Wizards. But NFL mini-camps are just around the corner, and something has been bothering me:

The name Redskins must go.

I am a lifelong fan. I know that many fans say: If you change the name, you'll cut a link to our city's storied football history. More to the point, they argue, "Redskins" was originally chosen as a celebration of Native American strength.

But words such as "redskin" are defined not by individual speakers -- not by you or me or Daniel Snyder -- but by a society of speakers. And whatever its connotation in the past, in 2007, "redskin" is a slur. Check a dictionary. Here is the Webster's definition, for example:

Redskin: n. Offensive. American Indian.

Our football history might be proud, but the dictionary says -- our society says -- that our team name is shameful. We should stop being stubborn. If we change the name now, with Joe Gibbs coaching, we'll have continuity to our football history built in.

Besides, changing a team's name does not mean the end of a franchise, as Abe Pollin proved when he renamed the Bullets. That doesn't mean that we have to adopt a mascot out of Middle Earth. As much as I respect Pollin for dropping "Bullets," he could have done better than "Wizards."

So, here are seven possibilities for Washington's football team, my favorite last.

7. The Washington G-Men. Some people think this town has no strong industry that could inspire a name like the Packers or Steelers, so they propose the Washington Red Tape and such. But FBI agent Melvin Purvis and crew were sufficiently tough. As the G-Men, we'd be the only team with a fedora on our helmet.

6. The Washington Tigers. Lions and tigers and bears, as Dorothy knew, are much scarier than wizards. The Lions and the Bears are taken, but what about the Tigers? (There's Detroit, but that's baseball.) As a team name, Tigers would offer both a retro appeal and a clean break from the past. In terms of the sound of the words, the hard "t" in Washington is echoed by the hard "t" in "Tigers." Washington Tigers. It flows.

5. The Washington Hogs. We'd honor the Skins by renaming the franchise after Joe Gibbs's first-term offensive line. Unfortunately, as with wizards (but for other reasons), hogs do not instantly convey athletic prowess. Also problematic: This name would encourage overweight, unfashionably cross-dressed men to don pig snouts in public.

4. The Washington Red Storm. St. John's University once was the Redmen but became the Red Storm. We, too, can evolve. If we don't want to steal the St. John's name, then we could be the Washington Red Swarm or the Washington Red Menace. Sure, the Red Menace sounds communist, but a robust capitalist such as Dan Snyder could easily turn a profit off the name.

3. The Washington Rockfish. Lacking intimidating local fauna (the Washington Black Squirrels?), we could follow the lead of teams in Florida, not to mention in Japan, and name our franchise after a form of sea life found locally. Not threatening, but tasty.

2 . The Washington Rattlers. We'd have a snake of the revolutionary, don't-tread-on-me variety on our helmets. Rattlers are a natural foe to Cowboys, and, like Rockfish, the name would retain the Redskins' "R."

1. The Washington Bison. To my ear, the Washington Bison has a most solid ring to it. "B" is a forceful consonant, and the words' endings echo each other. Plus, it would honor the District's Howard University. And a herd of large animals aiming to run you down -- that's a great football mascot.

[MRMADD]

Well, wouldn't it be just as easy to change the dictionary?

Such a tiresome, lame annual exercise.

[RedskinzOwnU]

Get this crap outta here.

[JaimeDeCurry]

So it really is the offseason, huh?

[Stew]

Bunch of garbage regurgitated year after year.

[thelarkascend1ng]

7. The Washington G-Men. Some people think this town has no strong industry that could inspire a name like the Packers or Steelers, so they propose the Washington Red Tape and such. But FBI agent Melvin Purvis and crew were sufficiently tough. As the G-Men, we'd be the only team with a fedora on our helmet.

lame / chris berman would be pissed.

6. The Washington Tigers. Lions and tigers and bears, as Dorothy knew, are much scarier than wizards. The Lions and the Bears are taken, but what about the Tigers? (There's Detroit, but that's baseball.) As a team name, Tigers would offer both a retro appeal and a clean break from the past. In terms of the sound of the words, the hard "t" in Washington is echoed by the hard "t" in "Tigers." Washington Tigers. It flows.

never heard of the bengals, i guess?

4. The Washington Red Storm. St. John's University once was the Redmen but became the Red Storm. We, too, can evolve. If we don't want to steal the St. John's name, then we could be the Washington Red Swarm or the Washington Red Menace. Sure, the Red Menace sounds communist, but a robust capitalist such as Dan Snyder could easily turn a profit off the name.

uhhhhh

1. The Washington Bison. To my ear, the Washington Bison has a most solid ring to it. "B" is a forceful consonant, and the words' endings echo each other. Plus, it would honor the District's Howard University. And a herd of large animals aiming to run you down -- that's a great football mascot.

never heard of the bills either i guess.

some of those make me really wonder if he's serious?

[PleaseBlitz]

Gmen is already taken.

mtlane84@gmail.com

Anyone up for a little Email mayhem? :laugh:

[dreamingwolf]

I despise all these women who demand our team name be changed, especially the ones who are so decietfull to pretend like they are life long fans of our team.

7. The Washington G-Men. Some people think this town has no strong industry that could inspire a name like the Packers or Steelers, so they propose the Washington Red Tape and such. But FBI agent Melvin Purvis and crew were sufficiently tough. As the G-Men, we'd be the only team with a fedora on our helmet.

could there be a clearer example of how out of touch this woman is with not only the NFL, the NFC East, and our football team then to suggest that we change our team name to the nick-name of one of our division rivals.

[SkinsGuy]

The article seemed like more guilty white liberal seriousness until she got to the names she was pushing.

So, was this article supposed to be a joke or what?

The Washington Rockfish?????? :doh:

[onedrop]

the washington ROCKFISH? how does this fool even have a job?

[SkinsGuy]

could there be a clearer example of how out of touch this woman is with not only the NFL, the NFC East, and our football team then to suggest that we change our team name to the nick-name of one of our division rivals.

I agree.

She gave names like the Tigers, the G-Men, and Bison.

Uh... HELLO.. the NFL already have the Bengals, Giants (known as G-Men), and the Buffalo Bills.

And she says she is a "...life long fan...". :laugh:

[ntotoro]

the washington ROCKFISH? how does this fool even have a job?

It was an letter-to-the-editor kind of thing, not an actual reporter.

[onedrop]

It was an letter-to-the-editor kind of thing, not an actual reporter.

be that as it may ANYONE that suggests we rename our beloved Redskins the "rockfish" because theyre tasty needs to be fired from whatever employment they DO have.

[skinsn24]

Possibly the worst piece of writing i have ever heard.

Yea the Washington G-men in the Same division as the New York Gmen....brilliant.

[skinsfan07]

Get this crap outta here.

:applause::applause::applause:

I know. We are not changing our damn name.

Although the Washington Hogs would be kinda cool.

[Passizle]

Worst read so far this offseason.

[BURGUNDYnGOLD123]

uhhhhh wow

This is possibly the worst thread i have ever seen. This cant be serious can it? Come on, the rockfish.

[LoudMouth12thMan]

Why don't we worry about crazy people that want to harm, injure, or kill others or themselves and worry less about what "offends" people. I'm offended by many people and things, but that doesn't mean I'm going to "get my way" just b/c of the way I feel. This person is more than likely an overly sensitive liberal (not that I'm a conservative ), but no matter what her political affiliation is this is nothing short of ****ing for ****ing sake. Lighten up Mary baby! If the name was changed, we'd all buy up all the gear we could and sing Hail to the Redskins anyway. You're waisting your time Ms. Lane :logo:

By the way,

HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!

[dreamingwolf]

So, was this article supposed to be a joke or what?

The Washington Rockfish?????? :doh:

has to be, or she is the worst writer in journalism history.

It was an letter-to-the-editor kind of thing, not an actual reporter.

ah ok then, fire the editor for putting it through.

[nace14]

was this article put out on April 1st?

what a bunch of horrible suggestions.

the sad thing is that even though "redskins" may be considered a slur, whenever the word is mentioned, the public thinks of a football team, not native americans.

i don't think i've ever even heard a bad racial joke that uses the word "redskin" in it. i would love it if a poll was taken and to see what the response would be to people asked "what's the first word that comes to your mind when i say 'redskins?'"

i'd be willing to bet the vast majority says something about football instead of something about native americans.

[scruffylookin]

It was an letter-to-the-editor kind of thing, not an actual reporter.

Excellent catch there.

This is meaningless.

It's just somebody who really isn't a fan of the Redskins but is pretending to be and has written in to the Post and spouting off on a tired issue.

Memo to anyone out there, the name Washington Redskins WILL NEVER BE CHANGED.

Get over it already.

[PCS]

The annual somebody suddenly remembers they're offended change the name story, (or in this case letter to the editor).

[Warhead36]

If you want to change the name then fine. But at least come up with some better nicknames. G-Men? I think we'd be better off changing it to G-Strings.

[TheDoyler23]

You cannot quote the Websters dictionary if you consider yourself a writer. That is just terrible.

OED or nothing.

[MattGeorge85]

The Redskins should never have their name changed.

If it did happen though everyone would be wearing an instant throwback. I couldn't imagine ANYONE buying the merchandise of the new team name. And you know that Snyder isn't going to tolerate revenue loss of that magnitude. There will never be a name change unless the league and Roger Goodell absolutely force it.

Hail to the REDSKINS :logo: :helmet: :notworthy