A.J. Perez on the Commanders Plan To Honor Blackie Wetzel | BMitch & Finlay

A.J. Perez on the Commanders Plan To Honor Blackie Wetzel | BMitch & Finlay

ayj what up man how you doing hey how’s it going Happ doing well thanks for having me back on let’s start with the important uh subject matter of the day do you remember the KD to DC movement and how silly does that seem Now Kevin durett yeah DC remember when that was a thing oh yeah yeah well he’s from DC he should come back here right yeah so yeah that so simple that was fun it was so simple that they were going to get him back just because he was from here um all right that’s that’s how it goes you got some reporting on the Montana Senator D’s working with the Wetzel family to get the uh creator of the old skins logo honored what do you got yeah oh they the talks are continuing and apparently there’s at least some kind of framework of a deal for the home opener against the Giants so there’s going to be the the wet family I’m not sure how many members but they’re expected to be in attendance I don’t know if this will be a pregame halftime thing or uh but they’re they’re currently designing a plaque that will have a permanent home somewhere at uh Commander seial so that’s so that’s good the team said it’s not final yet uh in a statement to me um yesterday but they’re they’re headed that direction but will that be enough you know maybe for for Senator dve you’re talking about moving off of uh his basically block of this bill that’s GNA be kind of that we don’t know and we also don’t know about the two Maryland Senators who are Senator Dames is doing all this work for kind of uh not saying that he’s there’s some kind of cabal going on but uh there’s you know there’s uh the two senators from Maryland haven’t really had to do much because Senator D just kind of uh has uh kind of blocked things up with his uh um with this kind of with this whole logo thing all right so Senator Danes I mean there’s just so much that I find interesting I do want the organization to honor their history and and I do think there are I’ve seen it with my own eyes right like I I’ve traveled with this football team and I’ve seen groups of Native Americans come together supporting the logo and the team name because they they took it as a sense of Pride I’ve also seen the opposite I’ve seen groups of Native Americans in large numbers protest and rally against the name because they thought it was offensive um and I think you can easily see why both sides would would have their opinion um senator danses from Montana has entered this fight because the family that came up with the logo and the inspiration for the logo are from Montana I find it laughable that that is how he’s decided to enter into the fight I’m sure there’s a lot of people in Montana that would love a senator to to try to represent them I I fear much of this is driven by politics but if the commanders are going to honor the Wetzel family and honor the logo and I I like to think there is a cool way to have the old logo at FedEx Field that is both respectful a nod to history and looks forward if if they’re checking all these boxes is Senator D’s done yeah that’s gonna be that’s gonna be a tough question now see they Senator D’s office and cator D on Wednesday one on X formerly Twitter and posted a Santana Moss video or reposted as a Santana Moss video the the NFL did and know they’re going back through the Super Bowl this year or the three Super Bowl titles that the commanders won uh they kind of cropped out the the logo and the name and everything and for those three Super Bowls uh back when the team was known as that so uh and then they post this video so there’s a lot of like reading tea leaves going on where like oh they’re open to it yes but uh as my story mentioned uh this morning last night they in this ownership group does has mentioned uh has mentioned the name before and it’s uh but it’s it’s Josh Harris talking about you know going up you know he’s he’s from here going going to the games and such you know he talk about the history that’s one thing and I think people are reading a lot into that people people including Senator Dame’s office I think and and and the social media post that that that this ownership group is open to a return to the name they are so far my sources are saying they’re they’re not they’re they’re talking to the family that the the name’s never coming back now it’s been so unequivocal that the name’s not coming back I I just wish yeah I wish that was and it’s and it’s very know things could change could they bring back I we’re so far from some kind of throwback with the old logo on it we’re still pretty far uh you know I think I think that’s what the West family would like to see the logo be used again that’s right now not in the cards uh could that change possibly but I just don’t this is all over a a home rule ISS this is this just DC trying to get use of land that’s just sitting out there at RFK RFK is still being torn down you know they they want use of the land it’s just sitting there and it doesn’t guarantee one that there’s going to be a stadium on there and two that the commanders are gonna be moving into that Stadium you know if they’re if those plans go forward we’re so they’re not this is just just makes DC basically on the same gives them the same footing as Virginia and Maryland this that’s it that’s all this bill does yeah this so it’s you’re right it is gotta it’s kind of strange how Montana Senators holding all this up um let’s assume right and it’s an assumption let’s assume that Senator D is like okay cool you took care of my constituent I’m out let’s let’s move this forward um the two Maryland Senators would then be thrust into a a a bigger role if they actually want to shoot this down now what what I know as a Maryland resident is I understand the economic impact of the stadium in Landover but dude both I I honestly think if you did a poll of marylanders from from the mountains of the Western Maryland to Ocean City I bet a majority of marylanders would support RFK and I say that because one there’s a ton of old school skins fans that just want to go back to RFK that live in Montgomery and PG and Anna Rundle and probably Frederick and Calbert and wherever the the burgundy and gold fan base exists in Maryland two I think all the people in Baltimore and on the Eastern Shore don’t want State money to build another Stadium like does that seem unreasonable no but but I think Westmore the governor and you know is still you know he’s arguably the biggest cheerleader for Maryland for he comes on the program with us during football season I I I get him but if you’re the Senators and you’re just yeah I don’t know who the next dude is up that’s up for election I guess there’s an election going on right now right with also Brooks and Hogan that’s kind of interesting yeah yeah so yeah I mean they they they we don’t know what they’re going to do because like you’re right because during the House vote back in February Raskin abstained everybody else every other rep from Maryland voted no so you know there’s we know there’s resistance there but but just two things one back in 2020 when they changed the name JP uh B Mitch didn’t we all think we were done with this topic but it’s four years later and we’re still talking about it you know it’s kind of shocking there right yeah Ian the name’s not coming back please stop now maybe they change the name again yeah the name does suck I don’t know man just I’m so burnt on this topic there’s a lot of bad there’s a lot of bad team names out there there’s even like I’m a Dodger fan that’s not a great name it goes back to New York and TR of the century uh you know there there’s a lot if I think the I think the view is yeah I think first you know first get the you know this off season a lot of movement front office coaching players things going in the right direction there now the next step is the stadium third step could be the name but I think you know if if they if they if they win because they’re gonna be the next Stadium now the timetable it’s not gonna open till 2029 20 2030 I mean that’s what we’re looking at I think that’s optimistic dude I don’t even think that’s realistic yeah that’s that’s kind of yeah 2020 would be kind of you know a small I mean we’re halfway through 24 and they don’t even have a sight and you’re work with front office Sports how long let’s let’s say they like once you have a site like Buffalo and Nashville are being built as we speak is that a three-year process fouryear process typically a stadium once ground’s been broken it takes two and a half three years uh for a dome stadium this is going to be a dome stadium this is wherever they put it when when Harris and everybody else his own B bought the team they bought the lad both in Ashburn and at and at the former FedEx Field side you know but uh so there’s they have all that they can play they can they could play at um Commander field for forever like no one wants that they’re going to need they need a new stadium that stadium was outdated when it opened um so it was so yeah they’re gonna work towards it but they’re also they they’re not there is no hurry they’re making all these upgrades to make uh Commander field as hospitable as possible these you know these transition years here uh so you know there there is no hurry and it it’s and they’re you know they’re I’m sure they want to see what happens with this with this bill if if advances and makes a DC a player because obviously that we’ve seen the polls and and you just talked about it you this is aot this is where a lot of the fans want the team well I just everything has to be so complicated and I think that’s just life in a multi-jurisdictional city for lack of a better word like I do has no representative mean there’s no one on Congress who you know outside of Elanor uh Elanor uh holes Norton who’s advocating for there we don’t there there is no senator for a DC yeah and I also I mean when you think about Buffalo they got money from the county and the state and maybe even the city Nashville got the same a billion dollars whereas I mean whether you think Muriel Bowser’s done a good or a bad job she’s on an island fighting pretty much fighting the feds as well as the city council like it’s just it just seems so and the new ownership group is full of of legit Heavy Hitters like these dudes know how to get stuff done but damn it’s a complicated road yeah I see I thought once it pass and that’s without dudes from Montana interfering yeah I mean I thought once it passed out of the oversight committee which is one of the most um divided committees you they they there ever has been on Capitol Hill this current this during this current session that that that was a great I was like well got out of the house out of this committee onto the floor it passed overwhelmingly I thought you know we just you know you don’t know what’s going to happen when it when when it when it gets to the other side of Capitol Hill like this but yeah I I I did not expect us to be talking about you know up until this about about two months ago I didn’t expect this this logo issue to be you know have any part of this and it’s kind of a it’s it’s politics you never know it’s politics man you never know um all right AJ appreciate you man good to hear from you hope PA’s well yeah thanks thanks for having me on all right that’s our guy AJ perezz front office Sports um and I I do think it’s important like one of the things that Dane’s the Senator’s been clear about he’s not looking to bring the name back the problem is like he just wants the logo to be honored and the people that came up with the logo and were part of the building that which I applaud the problem is the slightest thing that happens in this process just the gold pants for example the zealots on the edge of the debate run with okay this means the name’s coming back so you bring gold pants back there are a bunch of people that are like okay name’s coming back you you honor the logo there’s a lot of people out there that are gonna say okay the name’s coming back and I just it seems like it’s one step forward eight steps back with some of these people and and I fear that this has all been co-opted by political groups that view the old name as a part of their culture War not a part of a football team that we all care about and and I wish I wish we could build a giant wall between the co-opted political culture War nerds and the people that just want to root for their Hometown football team

Front Office Sports senior reporter A.J. Perez joins BMitch & Finlay to discuss the Washington Commanders plan to honor Blackie Wetzel and the latest on the RFK Stadium site.

#commanders #httc #nfl

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