Trump threatens the Commanders
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Apparently, everything in the United States of America is operating at amazing and unprecedented levels of pure excellence, because the president has turned his attention to a topic that isn't quite vitally important for the enrichment and well-being of the nation's people: Sports team nicknames.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Donald Trump called on the NFL's Washington Commanders and MLB's Cleveland Guardians to revert to their previous team nicknames.
(As an aside, I want to know what the president might have been watching that got him going on this tangent.)
Trump doubled-down on the Commanders, saying that if the team didn't go back to its previous nickname that shall remain nameless in this space, that he would work to restrict the team from building a new stadium on the old RFK Stadium site.
Many Washington Commanders fans have longed for the team to return to the old RFK site, where the team played during its glory days under coach Joe Gibbs and before the dark times under former owner Daniel Snyder. In April, the team announced plans to build a new stadium at the RFK site, but the team and Washington D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser need approval from the D.C. Council. Trump is potentially threatening to throw another monkey wrench into the team's plans to return to D.C. after nearly three decades playing in Landover, Maryland.
The Washington NFL team moniker that shall remain nameless in this space had been a point of contention long before Snyder's reign. In 2013, Snyder told Paste BN that "we will never change the name of the team." Never is a long time, and words can be meaningless, as the saying goes. Seven years later, the moniker that shall remain nameless in this space was out and rebranded the Washington Football Team. Two years later, the team officially became the Washington Commanders.
That was all a good thing. Not only did the team put an offensive moniker that shall remain nameless in this space in its past, but Snyder's sad and disturbing reign as owner finally came to a merciful end. In 2023, an ownership group led by Josh Harris bought the team and it is no coincidence that the team has experienced a rebirth, reaching its first NFC championship game in 33 years last season. The team has its sights on the Super Bowl this season.
As far as the branding of Washington's NFL team and Cleveland's baseball team, this is all a ridiculous waste of time. This has been settled. Moving on …
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There are 45 more days until the 2025 NFL season opens with the Kickoff Game between the Dallas Cowboys and defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4.
The 45th edition of the Super Bowl featured then-Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers defeating his current team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, at Jerry World in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Rodgers was Super Bowl 45 MVP as the Packers prevailed, 31-25. It remains the only Super Bowl appearance for Rodgers, who enters his 21st NFL season in 2025.
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Aaron Rodgers has faced the Steelers four times (as a starting quarterback) during his career (winning three times). The most memorable matchup, of course, was the aforementioned Packers win over the Steelers in Super Bowl 45. In the season prior to their Super Bowl showdown, the Steelers defeated the Packers in a game that featured a high-octane offensive display as two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks dueled at Heinz Field. In a 37-36 Steelers win, the two teams combined for 973 yards of offense, with Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger throwing for 503 yards and three touchdowns and Rodgers going for 383 yards and three touchdowns.
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