Magic Johnson declares changing the team name is “on the table”

Hope springs eternal

In the midst of the ownership change celebration, I made a minor commitment to myself – and, by extension, the readers of Hogs Haven: Hold off on talking about a new team name for at least 24 hours after the NFL vote to purge the Snyders from the franchise.

And I was doing pretty well……until ESPN’s Don Van Natta went on the Rich Eisen show last night. The two got to talking about the ownership change, things that could be done to turn the franchise around, etc., and Van Natta offered up his thoughts on the prospects of another name change for Washington’s football franchise:

Eisen also suggested that the team’s disgraceful hanger display for Sean Taylor should be replaced with a proper, bronze statue.

Then, this morning, as part of an interview on the Today Show, team owner Magic Johnson was asked directly about the prospects for changing the team name again:

His response:

“Everything is on the table, especially after this year… We’re going to spend this year understanding what we have in place. I’m sure (DC stadium) will come up. The name of the team will come up eventually, but right now, we’ve got enough work to do. That will keep us busy.”

That could hardly be clearer. The ownership has higher priorities – which makes complete sense – but they recognize that the team name is something that needs re-evaluation.

I’m happy to give these guys some time, but glad to know the prospects of a completely fresh start are well within the realm of possibility.

What are your thoughts?