When you think of words to describe Redskins fans, “rational” is far from the first one that fills your head. After a 24-10 win on Sunday over the Rams, and a series of misfortunes throughout the rest of the division, Redskins fans woke up Monday morning to every talking head on local sports talk radio throwing more logs onto the fire that the fan base started the night before on Twitter. The Redskins can win the NFC East in 2015.
Click here for Part One of our look back at Robert Griffin’s week with the DC media.
Two years ago, ESPN 980 (owned by Dan Snyder’s Red Zebra Broadcasting) shook up its daily lineup in a big way by adding Chris Cooley to their roster on a new afternoon drive show called “The Drive”.
The move would split long time co hosts Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin, as Czaban stayed with “The Drive”, while Pollin and “The Sports Reporters” show would be moved to a 6-9am time slot on a sister station.
When anyone closely affiliated with the Washington Redskins talks, people in the DC sports media world listen. Robert Griffin III and Chris Cooley are two of the biggest names affiliated with the Redskins, so naturally lots people tuned in this week for what both have had to say.
As a non-Redskins fan living in the DMV, the sports media crutch that is anything Redskins related has drawn more than a few eye rolls from myself and many other sports fans in the area. However, I understand that these media entities have ratings to hit and sponsors to please.
I love a good sales pitch, and the Washington Redskins do too.
Since the days of RFK Stadium, when there truly was high demand to get season tickets for the 56,000 seat relic on East Capitol Street, the Redskins have marketed their bogus season ticket waiting list incessantly. Who knows, maybe it was an honest mistake since their marketing team doesn’t understand the difference between a page view and an impression.
However, a move to Landover, a change in ownership, a terrible product on the field and a stadium that swelled to 91,000 seats at its peak led to loads of cheap tickets (including season plan packages), empty seats and hollow claims from the Redskins front office.
During the Dan Snyder regime, the Washington Redskins have not given their fans much to cheer about when it comes to the NFL draft. Spending free agent money like a poet on pay day and trading away picks for pennies on the dollar has resulted in two division titles, and two playoff wins over 16 seasons since Danny Boy bought the team.
Since the 2009 season, the Redskins have 32 wins total, for an average of a little over 5 wins a season.
The frigid temperatures and sunless skies of February in DC are accompanied by a barren sports landscape; that is, if you ask a producer of any local sports show on radio or television. Their reasoning is simple; this point on the calendar is one of the furthest dates away from a Redskins game. What else could they possibly talk about?
Fortunately for them, the NFL has successfully rolled out a calendar that keeps the league in the sports news cycle year round, save for a few weeks in the summer when Roger Goddell is vacationing on the Isle of Capri with Peter King, Mike Florio and any other NFL shills with a press pass and a lap top.
The Redskins and Cowboys meet tonight for 109th time in NFL history, and 16th time on Monday Night Football. Living inside the Beltway and only a handful of exits away from FedEx Field, I have a front row seat for the yearly circus of over inflated expectations, over priced veteran free agency signings and predictable disappointment that the standard issue Redskins season brings. At 2-6 and facing the 6-1 Cowboys in Jerry World, it may seem like another season is evaporating before the calendar even hits November. Well I’m here to tell you, noble Skins fan, that tonight your beloved team is actually playing with house money.
