Despite so much change around the Washington Commanders, a lot actually hasn’t changed.
So, the palpable difference in vibes around the team now are evidence of the impact new ownership can bring.
With the cloud of the Dan Snyder era now passed, things are looking brighter for the Commanders, now owned by a group led by Josh Harris. Washington has plenty of the same personnel on the field returning following an 8-8-1 2022 season, but the new ownership has injected an optimism that has been lacking into the fanbase.
That has been evident in the attendance at Commanders training camp practice, which has seen a staggering difference in fans from last year to this year.
Washington tight end Logan Thomas told The DA Show that the players are feeling that enthusiasm.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Thomas said. “I think a lot of that comes around from having these crowds here at training camp and having people in your day-to-day life be like ‘We’re coming back to the games this year. We’re excited to be in the stadium, can’t wait to come back and watch you guys play.’
“That excitement alone, just the excitement for Week 1 and having a packed house, just being something different than what I’ve had, and this is my fourth year. I’m just excited to see what it looks like when we come to gameday, because these training camp practices have been awesome.”
For players like Thomas, they have seen how adversely impacted fan interest was based on the issues surrounding Snyder and the team.
But the ownership change alone has removed, as Thomas put it, the “burden” of always being in the center of issues.
“You lose that burden of people always talking about us in a negative light,” Thomas said. “It’s kind of nice not just having to hear about it everyday from somebody on the street or see something pop up on the bottom line when you’re watching TV.
“We’re thankful that Josh and Co. are here and excited to work with us, and we’re excited to work with them because I think we can have a very good partnership and grow to be exactly who we want to be.”
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