Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera conveyed to WJLA TV-7’s Scott Abraham Tuesday that he now knows the new name, which will be unveiled Feb. 2, on the NBC Today Show.
“I can tell it to you in about 15 days,” Rivera said. “To me, this new name is an opportunity to move forward, to move from where we are right now. It’s an opportunity to distinguish and separate ourselves so that people understand, please judge us from where we’re headed, not from what happened in the past.”
You recall one week earlier (January 11), Rivera was making his last appearance for the 2021 season with the “Sports Junkies” on 106.7 The Fan. In that conversation, Rivera insisted he did not yet know the new name, clarifying that he felt the less he knows about other things than football, the better.
Some may pounce on Rivera for this, citing an apparent contradiction. They will say he told the “Sports Junkies” he did not know the name, but he told Scott Abraham he did know the name.
But that is not a contradiction necessarily. It is entirely possible that Rivera did not know Jan. 11, and in seven 24-hour days, he was informed of the new team name.
Not only is it possible, but perhaps even probable that Rivera had informed Wright and or Snyder that he preferred to stay focused on the final regular-season games. Rivera did insist to the “Sports Junkies” his last two appearances he was focusing more on football instead of peripheral matters.
Thus, Rivera probably simply waited until the regular season was concluded as well as the exit interviews (he mentioned taking up much of his time early last week) before inquiring about the new team name.
Rivera had also stated last week to the “Junkies” he was not planning on being at the Today Show unveiling. He elaborated upon that Tuesday with Abraham saying he is planning on being in California for his father’s birthday.
Doesn’t this actually fit his statements of the last two weeks? Is this Rivera indirectly revealing he doesn’t need to be in front of the cameras for the new name unveiling?
Doesn’t his choice display what Rivera, at this stage of his life (age 60), finds more important is spending time with his aging father on his birthday? In this day of shallowness and ego, don’t you find Rivera’s choice refreshing?