Check out this awesome retro Bullets Wes Unseld jersey. At least Leonsis is considering changing the Wizards' colors back to red, white and blue, fitting for a team in Washington.
New Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said Thursday he will not change the name of the Wizards, but said a change in colors back to the traditional red, white, and blue is likely at some point. Leonsis also asked the fans to welcome back former all-star guard Gilbert Arenas.
Leonsis formally took over ownership of the Wizards Wednesday. Recent speculation has centered on whether the Wizards will change their team colors and even their name after the upcoming season, with many fans clamoring to a return to the Bullets, the team’s name from 1963 to 1997.
Interest in the Wizards is high again after they won the rights to the number one pick in the NBA Draft Lottery last month. What was the good luck charm? Irene Pollin wore her late husband Abe’s 1978 Washington Bullets NBA championship ring.
At a press conference Thursday, Leonsis put an end to the rumors of a name change: “There will be no name change, and even if we wanted to change the name, you couldn’t do that for years. It’s not a secret that I am partial to red. And we’re the nation’s capital. And that won’t come overnight, either. But I remember coming to Bullets games when I was a kid and a student at Georgetown: I thought those colors looked handsome. I think we all saw the change in the Capitals’ uniform, and how that was galvanizing, and I think at some point it’s not a secret that we would want to change and go back to more traditional colors.
See the rest of my article at examiner.com here, including why if the Wizards do change their name in a year or two, they could become the Washington Monuments.
I can’t imagine a Wizards logo on the Red / White / Blue. I like the blue / tan scheme a lot, and if they move to include red it’s going to cut down on the amount of merch they can sell long-term, since people could show up to games in their red Caps / Nats gear and feel like they’re still supporting the Wizards.
I’m not anti-Bullets, but I don’t know that I’d change the name back.
Rob,
As they say on ESPN PrimeTime, “C’MON, MAN!” Teams in the nation’s capital should be red, white and blue except for the Skins, because of their great history. The Wizards logo is almost as bad as their mascot, G-Wiz. You’ve gotta love that old Bullets uniform!
Maybe I haven’t been to enough Wizards’ games, but I never knew they had a mascot named G-Wiz.
As Barkley says, “That’s T’RRRIBLE”