What a blessing it is for the Washington Redskins and their followers to be able to reflect and focus our attentions elsewhere during this bye week. This truly has been a week of detox and relief. It was a quiet week at Redskins Park. Players are recouping after a terrible 2-5 start and are more than welcoming the fallout of criticism and anger being directed toward their owner and upper management rather than on themselves and their lack of accomplishments on the field. The censorship that took place at FedEx Field during the Redskins Monday Night Contest against the Philadelphia Eagles is embarrassing to the Redskins organization as a whole. Any signs brought into the stadium were confiscated. A rule only enforced when the signs became increasingly critical of Dan Snyder.
In case that wasn’t enough, paper bags were taken away as well. Apparently it is illegal to wear one over one’s head to express disappointment with a team that you gave one hundred dollars to go see. What makes this worse is that the embarrassment is now encompassing fans who continue to support a team that seeks to silence their voice in a triumphant arrogance many are comparing to various brutal political regimes of the past. I question this loyalty myself. Is this well deserved loyalty or am I just as guilty as the establishment is for turning a once proud and admired franchise into the laughing stock of the NFC. This is the question and turmoil at the heart of Washington’s fan base. As a result, there is a large sucking sound heard all around in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area. The sound comes from the vacuum up north in Baltimore that pulls harder and harder gathering once proud Redskins fans into M&T Bank Stadium growing the Baltimore Ravens fan base. Somewhat ironic. Peter Angelos must be quietly enjoying this fulfillment of revenge as the Karma from the Expos move to Washington reaches critical fallout. Mr. Snyder must be counting on the fickleness of human nature and our desire to be a part of a winner. The Redskins fans who have abandoned the team for another are most likely to return once again when the tide turns. Those of us who continue to stick with the team are just dumb enough to continue supporting by forking out $250 for two tickets to their Monday Night game against the Giants in late December. At least I might get on TV. Though hated and despised by many the fact remains that Dan Snyder strongly desires to bring home a Super Bowl Trophy and is willing to spend a lot of money to obtain one. His egocentric nature is not his fault. He is merely a victim of his upbringing and his life experience. A man who has accomplished much despite limited resources. Redskin’s football will return to prominence one day. Hopefully Mr. Snyder will understand exactly how irrelevant his actions at Fed Ex Monday Night were. Hopefully…and I have yet to meet a loyal Redskins fan without hope.
