The President of the United States spent some time at a Washington Commanders game in Week 10. Given the chance, while we probably won’t see him attend too many more in the future, he’d like very much if their games could acknowledge him in some small way for years to come.

With clearly no other pressing issues to occupy his time at present, Donald Trump has expressed a desire that the Commanders name their planned $3.7bn stadium after him. “That would surely be a beautiful name, as it was President Trump who made [the building of the stadium] possible.” Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary and clearly someone with a well-developed eye for beauty, said in a statement over the weekend.

The new stadium is to be built on land currently occupied by RFK Stadium, the home of the Washington franchise between 1961 and 1996. This land was transferred from the federal government to the city via a bill signed by the President in 2024… (Oh sorry, that was President Biden, my mistake), but the deal for the new stadium hit a snag in July, when an outside agency threatened to block the move unless the Commanders’ ownership changed the team name back to the controversial one it held between 1937 and 2020, which was ultimately retired due to its offensive nature. That agency was, you might have guessed, the current President of the United States.

“They’re going to build a beautiful stadium,” Trump told Fox Sports during a brief moment in the commentary booth. “That’s what I’m involved in, we’re getting all the approvals and everything else. You have a wonderful owner, Josh [Harris] and his group and you’re going to see some very good things.”

ESPN reported that it is the President’s wish that the new stadium be named in tribute to him, as recognition for all his hard work to get the plan approved, similar to the Green Bay Packers with Lambeau Field named after one of the most legendary figures in pro football history. President Trump has a long association with pro football, including ruining the USFL in the 1980s and gaining a promise from then-NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle that, “As long as I, or my heirs, are involved in the NFL, you will never be a franchise owner in the league”. So as you can see, the two situations are quite comparable.

The president arrived at the stadium after the game had started, but not before Air Force One had made a spectacularly low flypast. Attending in order to read an oath for members of the military to recite as part of an on-field ceremony during a break in the game, the visit was the latest in a series of high-profile sporting drop-ins, following recent appearances, front and centre, at the Ryder Cup, NASCAR’s Daytona 500 and the men’s US Open tennis final.

Despite his attendance being the first by a sitting US president in nearly half a century, Trump’s presence wasn’t exactly welcomed warmly in a region where his fiscal decisions are taking their toll, and jeers rang out around Northwest Stadium, drowning the occasional shout of support.

The decision to name the stadium is not one the team can make by itself, it should be noted. The District of Columbia Council, which will lease the stadium to the Commanders, and the National Park Service, who currently manage the federal land, would be involved in the decision. But there is a feeling that the President has a number of cards he could play to get the lasting tribute he desires. Maybe if it happens, we may see the by-then former chief executive attend a few more games. Maybe he’ll even stay and watch the whole game, which he couldn’t bring himself to do on Sunday. Maybe his 10-minute stay in the commentary box tired him out.