For several years at Washington football home games, the singing of 'Hail to the Redskins' was one of the best traditions in the NFL. Of course, the franchise's famous fight song was unofficially shelved in the summer of 2020 when Washington chose to retire its old name and logo.

Washington officially rebranded as the Commanders on Wednesday, ending a nearly 19-month process that featured over 40,000 fan submissions. And soon, a modified version of Washington's old fight song could be coming, too.

During the unveiling outside FedEx Field, team president Jason Wright took the podium and at one point brought up the franchise's fight song unprompted. Wright said he believes the team's new moniker "fits well" with the old fight song, which is one of the reasons the team specifically liked the name Commanders.

"I think Commanders fits well with the old fight song. There's stuff there that really connects well," Wright said. "That's one of the reasons we really gravitated towards it."

Wright continued on to say the franchise has an opportunity to evolve the fight song, with the end goal to "bridge the traditions of old with the traditions of new," a common theme throughout the entire rebranding process.

Although the unveiling on Wednesday was supposed to be the official end of the rebranding process, Wright continuously referred to it as just the start. Washington's team president hopes that now that a permanent name is in order, the brand as a whole will continue to evolve and grow without having to worry about rebranding altogether again.

"Over the next couple years, we're going to continue to build this brand together, to really infuse meaning to this name and identity with our fans," Wright said. "This is just the launch because there's so much that needs to happen for our fans to feel a deep and emotional connection over time."

Wright understands that the name Commanders isn't universally loved by the fan base -- he said as much at the podium on Wednesday. The reality is that no new name would have been. But what Wright and the rest of the organization would like is for fans to rally around the new name, as it's something they believe connects the franchise's storied past to its future. 

So yes, 'Hail to the Commanders' doesn't have the same ring to it as the old fight song. But in a few years, that might no longer be the case. That's what the franchise hopes, at least.

"This is just the beginning," Wright said.