Washington’s in a funk.

The type of malaise that’s easily recognizable to Beltway insiders as a Redskins-induced trauma. This time, they’ve gone and lost to the woefully inept Detroit Lions, a team that wins ballgames with roughly the same frequency as Nancy Pelosi wins Republican support.

Yet fans will continue to support the team. Sure, they’ve had 19 head coaches in the past six years. Sure, their shockingly racist moniker is now being litigated in the Supreme Court. Sure, Dan Snyder is one of the worst football minds in a generation. But he’s a damn good brand manager.

And that’s what a sports team is, a brand.

Steve Bisciotti bought the Baltimore Ravens in 1994. But what exactly did he buy? The logo, the NFL license, the practice equipment? I was thinking: if Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the rest of my Patriots heroes all changed teams, would I still support the Pats?

I think I would. And a lot of it, I honestly believe, is due to the damned inconvenience of switching brands.

So here I am rooting for, essentially, a corporation. With the emotion and passion that sports uniquely draws out of its core (male-skewing) demographic.

It’s not an unexplained phenomenon. Kraft pays for it. So does Snyder. Advertising, public relations, grass roots, sponsorships. Hail to the Redskins galore.

We could learn a lot from the worst team in the NFC East.

Just not anything about football.

Tags: Braves on the Slowpath, Things Jimmy Carter Never Said

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 at 1:04 PM and is filed under Creative, Messaging/Branding.