- 4 hours ago
The Washington Commanders released the new jerseys and they are absolutely incredible. The front office gave Washington a modern look while holding onto the history of the burgundy and gold.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00We're going back to basics, and the basics are beautiful, baby.
00:05Listen, man, I think everybody knew what was coming
00:09after they rolled out the Super Bowl era last year.
00:12I don't think everybody knew, though, Jay.
00:14Well, I think the big surprise are the black uniforms.
00:17A lot of people want to just make their own mindsets
00:19instead of paying attention to what's going on.
00:20I think there's a number of things, right?
00:22I think the black uniforms with the spear on the helmet are the headliner.
00:28I think they've completely changed the black uniforms
00:33from looking like the Steelers.
00:34Now they're black, burgundy, and gold.
00:37It all makes sense.
00:38Yes.
00:39And I think the return to the classic burgundy, the classic white,
00:45I also love the attention to detail, Brian.
00:48I love getting the stripes back on the pants.
00:51How about on the helmet?
00:52The stripes back on the helmet.
00:53How about the face mask?
00:55The gold face mask back on the helmet.
00:57And the return to the glossy helmet away from that weird glittery mat.
01:03I think the matted thing was there.
01:04You know what?
01:05To try and hide that it wasn't the color it was supposed to be.
01:08That's what I think it was.
01:10There was, listen, man.
01:12I think the new organization runs things well, runs things airtight.
01:17There maybe was a t-shirt leak last night.
01:19All the stuff you see last night going around social media.
01:23I said this on television yesterday.
01:26Right at, like, my last hit on NBC is right before 7 o'clock.
01:30So it's like 6.58 p.m.
01:32I said, for everybody that sees uniform leaks on the internet tonight,
01:37reminder, they're probably fake.
01:39And by and large, they were.
01:41They were.
01:41I saw some stuff, and I was dying laughing.
01:46And a distinct, and a kind of mysterious little view.
01:50And I'm like, these people just, like, the stuff with Bill at the signing.
01:58Have you asses not seen those white uniforms for the last three, four years
02:02when guys go to signings?
02:04Right.
02:04That's what the promoter of the signing does.
02:08They get those things made, and they do it.
02:11That had nothing to do with what the team does.
02:14I think, all right, so let's start from the beginning.
02:17The commanders told us on April 15th at 10 a.m.
02:20they would unveil new uniforms, behold the burgundy and gold.
02:24They did just that.
02:25They were able to keep this from leaking.
02:27It all has been released now.
02:29You can see it on all the commanders' social media outlets.
02:31That's the Super Bowl-era uniforms that they returned last year.
02:35I believe they wore them for three games.
02:37Those will now be the full-time home uniforms.
02:40That's the primary uniform.
02:42They will wear the burgundy and gold, the white.
02:45It is, I think what they have achieved, it is the uniform you wore.
02:50The uniform I grew up watching.
02:51Yep.
02:52And they've modernized it, but they've also developed consistency
02:56across all of the uniforms.
02:58They've gone back to the classic burgundies with the white pants
03:01on the road.
03:02The pants all have the stripe down the side.
03:04I remember, I want to say it was Doc Walker,
03:07but I don't want to be incorrect in case I heard this from somebody else.
03:09But I remember somebody saying, without the stripe,
03:14they just look like pajamas.
03:16Yeah.
03:16I'm really happy to see the stripe on there.
03:19I love now, one of the absolute worst parts of the previous uniforms.
03:25There was zero consistency.
03:26It was like a grab bag of what things looked like.
03:31Multiple colors.
03:32Multiple colors.
03:33Yeah.
03:33Multiple fonts.
03:34The numbers were all different.
03:36Just be consistent.
03:37Have a consistent, iconic look like the franchise had for so many years.
03:42And now you've got that.
03:43You've got the block lettering, the block numbers.
03:46The numbers are now on the shoulders.
03:48And then the blacks are where you've had the big step, right?
03:52And by adding the spear to the helmet, adding the stripes to the helmet,
03:57I think the black uniforms have gone from what are the,
04:02like I didn't not like the blacks before, but they didn't feel at all.
04:06It felt like I was in Pennsylvania.
04:09Right.
04:09It looked like Steelers.
04:10But when my eyes hit these, I was like, those are fire right there.
04:17Totally.
04:17Because, yes, it has black, but you know what?
04:20It makes the Burgundy and Gold stand out even more.
04:23And I think when you start thinking about this team,
04:26one Doc Walker's been saying Burgundy and Gold since about 1999.
04:29And I think that right there hits and sticks.
04:32Because when you think about the team of the past,
04:36people always were discussing the Burgundy and Gold.
04:38Right.
04:38We went to red and maroon and every other color,
04:41but we didn't go Burgundy and Gold.
04:42Now it's back to Burgundy and Gold.
04:43Totally, man.
04:44And I think, will people complain?
04:49Sure.
04:49Do people still not love the W?
04:51Sure.
04:52When you look at the Burgundy uniform,
04:55and the commanders have done a hell of a job of releasing all sorts of,
05:01you can see this on a lot of their social media, right?
05:06Like, whatever it is you're trying to look for, it's out there.
05:11If you look at the uniforms from the front,
05:14it looks like the old uniforms.
05:17And it also looks like the way they got everything set up, it's a focus.
05:21Totally.
05:22More in-tune focus.
05:25I think they nailed it.
05:27With the home and the road uniform, the classic white, the classic Burgundy,
05:32they had the template.
05:34Just go back to what worked.
05:36You know what I mean?
05:37They threw, what is that phrase?
05:38They threw the baby out with the bathwater when they did this rebrand.
05:42Now they're just going back to the classics,
05:43and I think by introducing the spear to the helmet on the black uniform,
05:48that's supposed to be an alternate.
05:50It's supposed to look a little different.
05:52Down the road, could the spear become more prominent, more involved?
05:55Sure, maybe.
05:56But I think if you're a commanders fan,
05:58if you're a fan of the Burgundy and gold,
06:00if you're a fan of this organization and this operation,
06:05just be happy they got it right.
06:08Keep the focus on that.
06:09Let's say, listen, instead of worrying about what could be,
06:12hey, let's worry about what it is right now
06:14and have that focus on how things have transpired,
06:17what transpired, what they've done,
06:18and give that some thought.
06:20Because I think we got into a point where every time something happens,
06:23we think about what's coming next.
06:25Hell, I don't care about next.
06:27I care about next season.
06:29I care about the draft coming up next week.
06:32Right.
06:32Because I want to see the people that are going to be in the uniforms now.
06:36When you look at those uniforms, you remember the pride.
06:39You remember the winning.
06:39You remember the things they've done.
06:41Now I want the people inside the uniform to have the same type of drive inside of them.
06:45That makes a difference.
06:46Totally, dude.
06:47I think, listen, at 1030, Mark Klaus,
06:50Commander's Team President, is going to join us in studio.
06:52I'm really excited to talk to Mark about the journey to get where they are now.
06:57Because as soon as Josh Harris bought the team,
07:00they talked about wanting to return to what was.
07:04Right.
07:06And I do believe it's a minority of people.
07:09I think it's a very vocal minority.
07:11But the name is not coming back, period.
07:14The logo is not coming back to the helmet.
07:15Maybe over time there's some way, especially at a new stadium,
07:19you can have like a, I don't know what you would call,
07:22like a, what do you call it?
07:23A statue on a wall.
07:24A statue, an honor wall, something like that.
07:26I think there's a way to incorporate it, right?
07:28And to do it tastefully, to honor the family and the tribes that it came from,
07:33but to also not offend others.
07:35Like there's a proper way to do that.
07:37And frankly, I trust this group to figure that out.
07:41If you are one of the, whatever that is, 5%, 10%, 15%,
07:46that is like just going to be mad no matter what,
07:49because they're not the Redskins anymore, today's not your day.
07:52You know what, though?
07:53Today's just not your day.
07:54Eventually, he who is spending the money on the team makes the decisions.
07:58And you get to a point where, in life,
08:02if you want to please everybody, you're pleasing nobody.
08:06Right.
08:07You got to get to the point where, what your vision is,
08:10that is what you put out there.
08:11What you have set out, your focus groups and whatever,
08:15to see what's the best overall.
08:18Somebody's going to be pissed off all the time.
08:20And you can't worry about pleasing every little Tom,
08:23thick and hairy in the damn world.
08:25I think that gets to a point, and people want to look at that as,
08:28no, those who try to please everybody, that's weakness.
08:31Those who say, this is how I'm going to do it.
08:33I looked at it, and this is the way that it goes.
08:36And more people are going to like this than anything,
08:37and you move forward.
08:39Because that vocal minority,
08:42sometimes you got to just bulldoze them and keep moving.
08:45And I think if you're a fan of this team,
08:48this organization over the years,
08:50and you look at them, it looks right.
08:53Like, it feels right.
08:55And I think one further step is the blacks.
09:01They're calling them the hail razor now.
09:03And I don't always love that we have to have a corporate tie-in,
09:07whatever.
09:07I kind of think the hail razor is a cool last name.
09:10And I think the black uniform won by getting burgundy and gold back on there.
09:16It ties it to the team.
09:19The previous three uniforms were such an odd amalgamation of different colors
09:23and different fonts.
09:25And the black had the W on the front of it.
09:28Like, you know what the key phrase in the word uniformity is?
09:35Uniform.
09:36Like, make it look the same.
09:38It's a uniform, right?
09:39Yep.
09:40And I think they nailed it.
09:41I really think there's a cool look.
09:43I love adding the spear.
09:45I think you'll continue to see the spear roll out.
09:49I also think the team has done a hell of a job.
09:53They posted a really cool video.
09:58All the imagery's out.
10:00And Jeff tells me you can already buy everything.
10:02Dude, one thing I like a lot,
10:04season ticket members.
10:06The store is open at Northwest Stadium in Landover.
10:10Probably going to be a line around the corner.
10:12But the first hour is only season ticket holders.
10:14So they get an opportunity first,
10:16which I really think is the right way to value the people you care about,
10:21so to speak.
10:23And going one step further,
10:26all that stuff's going to sell out before, I don't know, 6 o'clock.
10:30What do you think, Jay?
10:31Kind of looks like something about it.
10:33Like, how do you feel as a dude that wore that uniform that now sees these uniforms?
10:38I remember when they came out with the first uniform.
10:42Well, they went with the new, and then they came out with the white ones.
10:44And you were like, man, that looks like Louisville.
10:46Louisville, Cincinnati, one of the three, you said.
10:50And I was like trying to feel it because I always say you got to have some level of black
10:55into it.
10:56But then when I look at these and I look at the ones now that they're doing,
10:59I go, oh, okay, then.
11:02Because sometimes, like, you know, if you look at certain cars and certain things
11:08where they have that, when you look at the style of something or that the model,
11:12you know distinctly what it's going to show you.
11:14You look for one thing.
11:16And I look at these uniforms now, and I go, okay.
11:19They went back to the classic look and said, this is what we are.
11:23Burgundy and gold.
11:25And we have a lot of pride in this, and we're going to try to build this up again.
11:29I'm cool with that.
11:30I like them.
11:31You know, when I saw, and then now, you know, like, when we wore them,
11:34we had some of the, you know, as we went on and began to try to make the jerseys,
11:38the sleeves tighter.
11:39Yeah.
11:39They come out with everything fitting you like it's your skin.
11:42Right.
11:42I like that.
11:43You know, but when you see Gary Clark running and the sleeves are flapping,
11:48you know, but still, what was flapping?
11:50The burgundy gold stripe.
11:51Right.
11:52You know, so I like them.
11:53I like them.
11:54And I'm telling you, like I said, when I looked at the black ones before,
11:57I go, I look like a little Steelers.
11:59Now, I look at those, I'm like, you know what?
12:03That's fine.
12:04It's right.
12:04I like that.
12:05Dude, they're classic uniforms that they've modernized.
12:10Yeah.
12:11Like, you look at that.
12:13And you know exactly what team it is.
12:14There's no question if it's an alternate uniform for the Arizona State Sun Devils.
12:19Like, that is the iconic burgundy and gold that John Riggins wore,
12:23that Dexter Manley wore, that Joe Jacoby wore, that Ricky Irvin's wore,
12:28that Terry Orr wore.
12:29You know what I mean?
12:30Like, there's just no surprise to it.
12:33And I think it is really well done how they rolled everything out.
12:40And, I mean, Brian, you and I can tell the truth here.
12:44We've talked to some people about how this has looked.
12:47We're going to be joined by Mark Klaus here in just a few minutes,
12:50who's the commander's team president, kind of the driving force behind all of this.
12:57Like, I said to them, so obviously the jerseys, kind of the rollout in the video,
13:03and a lot of the, I don't know if that's computer imaging or what,
13:07is a silhouette of a player wearing number 26, right?
13:12Yeah, most of it is 26 because that's the year.
13:1426, right, totally.
13:15But when I saw the burgundy helmet, white pants, 26,
13:21I literally pulled up a picture of Adrian Peterson when he was playing for the Redskins.
13:25And it just, it looked damn near identical.
13:28And it just, it looked and felt right on a level that maybe was nostalgic.
13:36You know what I mean?
13:37Maybe it was almost romantic.
13:39And I think we got to live in a world where we understand the name's not coming back, folks.
13:46Like, please stop with that.
13:48The logo's not coming back, but this is as good as it gets.
13:51And we should be happy with as good as it gets.
13:55And then you add in the spear.
13:57I think they've done a really good job of going back to the past, honoring the past,
14:06connecting to the past, and trying to spin things forward.
14:09And they're doing it in this manner where they're talking about commanders as leader of warriors.
14:15And it's kind of this Game of Thrones, 300, like, Roman spear kind of vibe.
14:21But I think there's a wink and a nod to the past of the spear, of, you know,
14:27Sonny wearing a spear on his helmet.
14:29Yep.
14:30And they've differentiated it enough from Native American imagery that,
14:36because you and I had a conversation with one of the salespeople yesterday.
14:39Like, maybe not the majority of people were offended by the old name,
14:44but there were people offended.
14:46I saw protests myself in Minnesota.
14:49Like, I saw thousands of people, right?
14:51But I...
14:52Like, that...
14:53Now, there were plenty of people that supported it.
14:54Yeah.
14:55I saw Native Americans in Seattle that came up and told me how much they loved the logo.
14:59But the attempt at just completely dismissing that some were offended
15:03is an attempt to rewrite history that's not accurate.
15:06I've seen and had discussions with people.
15:09I had the privilege of doing this event with the NFLPA called Native Vision.
15:14And I had the opportunity to talk to people that live directly on a lot of these reservations and all,
15:19when they would come in and do a lot of different things.
15:22And just like when I watched the stuff go down in Miami with Isaac Gimm and the Cubans and all
15:26that,
15:26and he made the comment,
15:28a lot of older people will tell you what they feel about certain things.
15:31And a lot of younger people don't give a damn.
15:33Just like if any one of us, whatever our nationalities are,
15:36look at our society now and tell me that the younger people think the same as the older people.
15:41No, they don't.
Comments