Can you tell me what made you choose “The Tradition”?
Donald Wine II: “Sure, well the first thing I thought of was, DCU has a lot of tradition, and it’s one of our slogans – it’s on the back of our jerseys. It fits in well with the club. I thought that if I’m going to keep it inline with the other D.C. Brau beers, the Tradition, the corruption, the Public, and even Penn Quarter Porter is still linked in with that. You have traditional names that go well with the city and I think that was the perfect name that will go inline with the town and fall inline with the team and its fans and everything that the franchise stands for.”
WATCH: Chris Pontius surprises Donald
Awesome. So, why are you a Screaming Eagle, and what does being a D.C. United supporter mean to you?
DWII: “It means everything to me. I have really grown to love the team. When I moved here six years ago, D.C. United was the first team I picked up. I had started watching MLS by watching D.C. United play back in the 90s, and when I first moved here, the first thing that I wanted to do was go to a D.C. United match. From there, being a supporter has been awesome—it’s basically a family. We’re all very, very tight with each other. We go on road trips, and we follow the team everywhere. Even with the season going the way it is, it’s only made me love the team even more because the team still fights and I think that, win or lose, they have shown improvement. So, they have earned my trust and earned my support, and I’m going to go to the ends of the earth to see D.C. United win.”
That is amazing! Are you going to New England this weekend?
DWII: “I, unfortunately, am not. I’m going to Jamaica to see the U.S. match.”
That will be fun, though. So what would you do if you won this contest?
DWII: “I’d freak out! I’ve never branded anything in my life. And to even be a finalist, I’m actually really, really excited. A lot of my friends, when I told them about it, said it was a great idea, but I’m thinking, ‘Oh, there’s probably some submission that will probably get it over me.’ But, if I got this, I have a beer that I named in kegs or on shelves, or even just to have people drinking it—I’m going to be walking around with the utmost pride that I was even a part of that.”
WATCH: The big reveal
Yeah, for sure. Well, there were a few finalists, and we chose Dejan Jakovic, Chris Pontius and Ethan White to have a little panel discussion, and they chose the winner. So, some of the players could possibly, personally choose it. We’re going to release the video and the winner on Thursday.
DWII: “That’s great! I’m sure they picked a great one, and if it’s mine, I’m going to be even more excited now that you said that.”
READ: D.C. United's 13 favorite submissions
D.C. United returns home to RFK on Saturday, June 15 when they host Toronto FC. Buy tickets now
