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C’mon. The Commanders? After an 18-month search for a new name, the best The Washington Football Club could do is to rename the team after Joe Biden’s new dog.
Biden introduced "Commander," a four-month old German Shepherd, to the DC press corps on Dec. 20.
He must have made a big impression on Washington Football Club co-owners Dan and Tanya Snyder, who unveiled their new team name Feb. 2 on NBC’s Today show.
They could have done much better.
The new moniker pays tribute to the heavy military presence around the nation’s capital.
But football is already awash with military connections (e.g, jet flyovers, “Salute to Service” festivities, camouflage gear for coaching staffs and pre-game honor guard presentation of the colors).
One of comedian George Carlin’s most famous skits of the 1970s compared the pastoral nature of baseball vs. the militaristic field of combat gridiron, where quarterbacks heave bombs, march into enemy territory and are assaulted by blitzing defenses.
The Snyders had an opportunity to put the NFL on a different path.
They could have energized their sorry franchise, which has not won a Super Bowl since 1991, by recasting it as “Champs” in honor of Biden’s 13-year-old German Shepherd who passed away last June.
Or even better, the Synders could have named their team after a symbol of DC.
Commanders is a way too generic name. The Washington Cherry Blossoms name has a nice ring to it. And just think of the marketing tie-ins. It's not too late, Dan and Tanya.
Famous last words? “We don’t change our policies based on one creator, nor do we change based on any media cycle or calls from anyone else,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek told analysts during a Feb. 2 earnings call.
He might be singing a different song real soon
Ek was referring to demands by a handful of artists to kick Spotify’s No. 1 podcaster Joe Rogan off the platform for spreading misinformation about COVID-19.
Neil Young launched the crusade and has been joined by former bandmates David Crosby, Graham Nash and Stephen Stills, as well as Joni Mitchell.
India.Arie is pulling her songs to protest Rogan’s language about race. Psychologist Mary Trump also wants her podcast off Spotify because she views Rogan as a racist.
Young and the rest have merely set the stage for a high-stakes showdown with Ek over the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
He will be changing his tune in the event that Spotify’s top artists join the anti-Rogan bandwagon.
Spotify’s Top Ten artists in 2021 by monthly listeners, according to Chart Data, are Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa, Adele, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Elton John and Dojo Cat.
Who will get the ball rolling? Why don’t you join your contemporaries, Sir Elton, and put some heat on Spotify.
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