Washington Name Series: Wolves

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July 2, 2021

by David Earl

Keep It Simple Right?

For my previous name series article on “Redwolves“, some eluded to Wolves as the “Red” designation, which just seems forced. A comment made in our previous poll brings up a good point – “Wolves” certainly bridges a middle ground between those who love Redwolves vs. those who despise the name. In today’s environment of compromise, the “Wolves” name fits the bill for a fan base so torn over the Redwolves name and would be easily marketable, as well. So keeping it simple with “Wolves”, let’s dive into the name and how it fits going forward.

Order and Pack Mentality

I’ve beaten the drum of Native American reference in my Redwolves and Warriors name series articles enough, so let’s take this in another direction. Wolves are very social animals who are extremely loyal to the pack, especially under the Alpha Wolf. As you can read about the Wolf Pack Mentality, these packs are “less about ferocity and more about order”, which is certainly part of the culture Ron Rivera is striving for. As their Alpha, Ron will continue to build a roster that follows a particular hierarchy while instilling a cohesive and fierce pack mentality each week much as you’d see among the wolves themselves. It’s really simple: as the structure within the pack of wolves from the Alpha down to the Omega wolf gives the very blueprint Ron is looking for in constructing this roster, especially through a young man with an Alpha mentality in Chase Young.

Fan Involvement

Some fans believe that “Wolves” is just a generic and boring name that just doesn’t scream originality. While I can certainly understand that sentiment, especially after retiring one of the most iconic names in sports, “Wolves” can offer a unique fan interaction as well. From the stadium being known as the Den to having our own Dawg Pound section named the Wolf Pack, the marketing opportunities for the team are limitless.

As this is merely a small sample of what this organization could implement for designs, the in-game experience can potentially create a lively and intimidating atmosphere with a sell-out crowd. Although I believe that going from singing Hail To The Redskins to howling and/or growling in the stadium is just silly and disrespectful to our history, it’s the younger generation they must appeal to quite a bit more. While most of the younger generations have no ties to the team’s history and have known nothing but inept ownership, creating a new era around the idea of a Wolf Pack is appealing in many ways. Putting that idea in the team logo and overall design is exactly what’s needed for the young blood.

In Closing

I tend to agree the name doesn’t exactly scream originality and certainly does not send chills up anyone’s spine. In my opinion, the Wolves name almost feels more like a cop-out than anything else. It could be an option just to try and make the fans who hate the Redwolves name buy into Wolves as the team name. With that said, I don’t believe that Ron and the organization will choose a name without military ties; plus, a segment of our society correlates Wolves with the Native Americans. There just isn’t any originality, although fan interactions could be a blast, and the potential exists for some to accuse the organization of not wanting to fully rid itself of Native American ties.

Another aspect of Wolves (however minor, probably) is the idea this once iconic franchise named Redskins would essentially play second fiddle to a University. North Carolina State has built a long-standing image of the name Wolfpack which the name Wolves and associated monikers would simply appear to be a mirror image. At the NFL level, at least in my view, I don’t want a name change from Redskins to potentially mimic that of North Carolina State, especially since Wolves doesn’t lean towards very many creative depictions as would others, such as Warriors.