Here at the sports desk located somewhere below decks of the Good Pirate Ship RedState, we’ve noticed that regardless of the turmoil and tumult roiling this mortal coil, there are certain consistencies upon which one can unfailingly rely. The sun will rise in the east. It will set in the west. And anytime anyone anywhere does anything, people will rush onto social media to complain about it in hopes of snagging some attention for themselves. The latest example is the NFL’s Washington Football Team (née Redskins) retitling itself the Commanders.

If one wishes to enter a debate that makes Trump supporters versus NeverTrumpers look like a social high tea, throw out the topic of Washington’s name change and get ready to run for cover. Should the team have changed its name at all? If so, should it have kept the word “red” in it somehow, and if so, should its fight song have changed from “Hail to the Redskins” to this?

All that aside, let’s look at the new name, logo, uniforms, and helmets.

The Name — Commanders is a relatively cool name, once you get past the obligatory commies and ‘going commando’ jokes. It ties into the military strength that once emanated from Washington and will again, once a real President takes up his or her White House residence. Since there is no team name on God’s green earth everyone will like, let the whiners and “influencers” whine.

The Logo — Someone got wise on this one, as there is no logo. At least, no attempt to make Commanders into a logo. Instead, we have a simple “W” made to look somewhat like the same military stencil motif utilized with the uniform numbers. Clean and sharp.

The Uniforms — Not changing team colors is always a good idea, the possible exception to this being the New Jersey Devils in 1992. It’s irritating enough when teams change logos for no good reason (here’s looking at you, Los Angeles Rams), but swapping out colors is more than aggravating for fans. The team has kept it clean and classic with the home uniforms. The road uniforms are okay; the gradient in the numbers is neither here nor there. The third uniforms are also okay; while seemingly every team has some kind of black jersey today, it bears mentioning that a black jersey is like a drum solo during a rock concert. Cliché? Yes. But it works.

The future of Washington football is here #TakeCommand pic.twitter.com/MwkCLTkVAA

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) February 2, 2022

The helmets — The home and road helmet keeps it simple: burgundy with a gold stripe down the middle and the logo in gold on either side. The helmet for the third jersey changes it up a bit; black shell, logo on the front, and player number on the sides. Nice retro feel there.

Now that the name change and ancillary questions are answered, the team that used to have a name – until it didn’t – and now has one again can move on to more pressing matters. Such as whether Taylor Heinicke is a legit NFL starting quarterback. And how is Chase Young’s rehab of his ACL injury coming along? Name changes and new merchandise are fun, but unlike the city with which it shares a name, the Commanders need to win more often to matter.

Although, they’ll always matter to Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Been a loyal fan since 1982 and will be cheering Washington on for years to come. #TakeCommand https://t.co/pLN4YVooJu

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) February 2, 2022