"The National Foodball League" Project: How It All Started

by Mike Lunsford, Editor-In-Cheese for GGR

This whole thing started because the Washington Football Team used to have a really racist name. Like…textbook racial slur. Maybe you’ve heard of them. The only way to say it and not be offended is to refer to the potatoes. In the dumpster fire that is 2020, financial pressure made Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Embarrassments, finally change the name. The DC metro area and Washington football fans all over the globe began a conversation about what the next name will be (if there are any fans left. They’ve been a laughing stock for almost 30 years). The team chose “Washington Football Team” as a place holder for the 2020 season and began a search and contest for a new name, giving fans the opportunity to submit their ideas.

Being a self-described creative person, I decided to try my hand at a new logo and renaming the Washington Football Team. I came up with a few creative ones, some I thought were quite cool but the one I liked the most was “Justice.” There was a whole patriotic theme behind it, I even tried my hand at a description that would work well with a flag flapping in the breeze behind me as I read it. “With the new name and changes in the front office, a commitment to one of the tenants of our nation would be fitting” yada yada yada. I tried to wordsmith some fancy description, but many people reminded me that it was a bit hypocritical to name a franchise “Justice” when it did the exact opposite to female employees and the Native American community it mocked every time the name was said, printed or cheered. I took the feedback in the spirit it was meant and moved on from my Justice idea.

come on, blind lady with a sword? That’s dope. Tone deaf? Sure. Dope looking? YOU BET YOUR ASS.

But a funny thing happened: I really enjoyed making the logo. I enjoyed the research that was involved to find something I thought was both cool, respectful but also tough-looking. So I started thinking “what is something that EVERYONE likes?” Food. We all love food. A lot of us love sports, too. And in a “you got chocolate in my peanut butter” moment, I decided to combine the two.

It initially started with my hometown: Washington, D.C. Now, I wasn’t going to just do “the Washington Redskin Potatoes” and have a really satisfying dad-joke-laugh. I wanted this to be authentic. I wanted it to have SOMETHING to do with the city I love. That was something the old name of the football team didn’t do: have anything to do with D.C.’s history or culture. So what is D.C. known for? Quite a lot, actually.

Washington, D.C.’s food culture is symbolic for what makes this country great: it’s a melting pot. There’s a little bit of everything in the DC area. People of all races, ethnicities, religions, and backgrounds call this region home. That being said, because of the large government and military population, that also means it’s often hard to find natives. All these temporary residents bring a lot of their culinary tastes with them and that can make finding something uniquely “DMV” difficult, but there are some staples of this area for sure.

Now, regionally speaking because of its proximity to the Chesapeake Bay, the DC Metro area has some of the best seafood in the country. Crabs, oysters, and fish are all plentiful and a must-have when visiting the area, but we’re looking at DC here! What is uniquely DC? One thing comes to mind: Half Smokes.

damn…

Maybe you’re unfamiliar with what a half smoke is. No worries. A half-smoke is similar to a hot dog, but usually larger, spicier, and smoked. Where hot dogs are typically one meat, half smokes are a pork-beef blend. Not only are they popular in the D.C. area, they were first made in the area, too. As pictured above, they are often served (correctly) with chili sauce on them. You can find them at hot dog carts and restaurants all around the city and surrounding areas. In fact if you’re a Foo Fighters fan like myself, you’ll know that Dave Grohl (a Northern Virginia native) name drops the first restaurant known to serve half smokes in the area, Weenie Beenie, as a track name on the Foo Fighters first album. However, Ben’s Chili Bowl is the most popular and iconic and if you’re going to have a half smoke and want the full DC experience at a place full of history, do it at Ben’s. So, the first “foodball team” idea was easy: The Washington Half Smokes.

Damn proud of my first “foodball” logo :)

As one tends to do, when they have fun with a hobby, I wanted more. I started thinking of other things food-wise that D.C. was famous for. Now…the next one is truly a D.C. staple. Anyone who’s ever ordered chicken wings or fried rice from a take out place in the District has had this wonderfully delicious bbq/sweet and sour sauce hybrid. Not only is it something well known in the DMV, it’s not a native in the eyes of the law but calls D.C. home and has become a member of the community. There are many people who are synomous with the DC metro area who are not originally from here. It’s a transient area, it happens. The sauce embodies that idea and concept. That famous sauce is none other than Mumbo Sauce.

It’s good on fried chicken, it’s good on fries, it’s good in fried rice, Hell, it’s good on pizza. There’s nothing that Mumbo sauce can’t do. I would be doing D.C. a disservice if I didn’t have a Mumbo Sauce logo as well.

Fire. Just straight fire.

So…an idea was born. A fun side project was created to keep me distracted from the despair that is the combined political/pandemic nightmare that is our current world. Maybe food and football, “foodball” if you will, can become something to give people a smile in these trying times. Perhaps they’ll want them as stickers and/or t-shirts in both a “those are cool! I need one” and “let me help support GGR’s efforts” kind of thing. Click here to get a t-shirt!

For the stickers we have for sale on Redbubble, click on the picture!

You can call me a lot of things, shameless self-promoter is one of them. I’ll continue to post my food history journeys as I share more of these “Foodball” mash ups. I hope you enjoy reading about and seeing my creations as much as I have enjoyed making them.