32 The Washington Commander’s Name Dilemma (Anti Fandom)
32 The Washington Commander’s Name Dilemma (Anti Fandom)
Clement Chibueze
Introduction:
When it comes to anti-fandom, it is expected that as much as texts or certain subjects are consumed, whether negative or positive based, it would also show the responses of fandoms and the dynamics between interest and disinterest regardless of shown or unshown allegiance (Gray, 2005, p. 25). The thesis statement that will be spoken about during this essay is on the topic of the NFL’s Washington Commanders changing their name back to their former name. This thesis will also show how the audience reacts to it from the anti-fandom standpoint. The timeframe will be between July 2023 to December 2023 and the interaction from the audience will be taken from the social media platform, Twitter or X. One thing to outline specifically is that for fandom and anti-fandom to be understood, there needs to be awareness regarding the relationship between the two concepts. According to Henry Jenkins’ chapter on fandom and participatory culture, it explains that the relationship between those two topics have a “binary opposition” or a ying-yang effect, implying that they live to complete each other in every topic (Jenkins, 2018, p. 16).
When it comes to the conversation between the topic about the name change of the Washington Commanders, one thing that will be shown and outlined throughout this essay will be the lines between a fan and an anti-fan, which will blur very often. In Jonathan Gray’s chapter on the different types of anti-fandom, he explains that visceral hate-watching is prominent regardless of an individual’s feelings towards a certain topic (Gray, 2005, p. 38). This is true in the case of Commander fans because regardless of their views and their opinions regarding certain topics that have to do with team and or management they still represent and express their devotion to their team no matter what.
In this academic essay, the topic of the name change of the Washington Commanders will be broken down into an overview of what allowed this conversation to come to place in the first place, the reactions of the team as well as the management to the topic, what fans have to say regarding it as well as the direction the majority of the fans are taking, and the role the fans have to play in context to anti-fandom. Due to this word’s terrible history, the term will not be used in any manner since it is derogatory.
Overview of the Name Change of the Washington Commanders:
When it comes to the overall situation that occurred, this did not just start in 2023, or during the pandemic, but has been a constant conversation for several years of the NFL’s duration and playing time. According to James Bingaman’s article, in context with the history of the term, the team’s previous name has been deemed as one of the most negative racial slurs to the indigenous community (Bingaman & Leach, 2023, p. 355). However, it took over 80 plus years for them to change their name (Bingaman & L