Larry Gude
Strung Out
Every time I've been to FedEx, maybe a dozen games spanning Norv, Marty, Steve and now Gibbs II, there is an instantly evident carnival atmosphere, from when you're pulling up, to when you get parked and onward. It's a big azz party.
Not yesterday.
Yesterday there was an underlying sense of, in one word, fear. Fear of getting up for this, of hopes for the playoffs, of our Joe returning us all to glory, fear of it all coming down in a mangled heap at the hands of the damnable Cowboys. Not run for your lives fear but "we have top face this to go where we want' fear. Get back on the horse fear. To love again fear. To beleive again fear.
We got to our seats an hour before game time and all the Cowboy fans were running their mouths 100 mph. Two guys in particular;
"This is OUR house! We're gonna make this OUR house! Be careful for what you Redskins fans wish for! You got us, you ain't gonna like what you get!"
Now, in days gone by, this would have been met with an overwhelming fusilade of "Cowboys suck!" and "yer ass is OURS!"
There was some resistance but, they were having their way. As a whole, there was not the usual boldness and equal bragadocio to predict an ass whoopin or a blow out or even a victory. Hell, we were all privately and quietly praying we'd at least put up a good fight and have a chance at the end. We knew we were in for the game of the year, if not the last 5 years and there was a resolution, I guess, that there was work to be done before ANY celebrating would be in order.
I don't know how it came across on TV but all this manifested itself from when the Skins took the field to when they left for the day some 3 hours later, the crowd was relentless. I have NEVER experienced this kind of sustained intensity. No one, NO ONE in that cavernous stadium, sat down while play was going on ALL game. The first time my section sat AT ALL was a TV timeout late in the second quarter. As soon as the teams broke huddle, back to our feet and screaming.
No 'would you please sit?" No 'down in front". This was what I was begging for; NO LET UP. Score? Score again. Then again. Well, that's what the crowd did. There was this tangible desire and fear to NOT let up, to NOT let them have a chance, not a prayer, to will the Skins to play flatout to win, every play. Everytime the Skins responded by making a play, it just fed on itself,
we'd cheer harder.
Dallas did not play bad per se. Yes, their O line injuries were obvious and yes Bledsoe was rattled but they played hard and ran hard and hit hard until well into the 4th quarter.
On our second TD, I couldn't tell who ran it on 1st down and I couldn't see who stuffed him but I was right in line with the play, help? POW!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, those poor Cowboy fans didn't have a damn thing to cheer about, nothing, all game and they actually took it like good sports. Some of our fans, sad to say, crossed the line some, though. No class.
That's all I got for now because I gotta make some bacon this morning.
Last thought; Whenever there's a game like this, a good or great win, TV or live, I can't wait until the paper next morning to re-live it blow by blow because it jogs the memory. I was stone cold sober yesterday but it became a screaming, jumping up and down fist pumping euphoric blurr and it's all coming back in bits and pieces.
I'll be back...
Hey Giants? Ready?
Not yesterday.
Yesterday there was an underlying sense of, in one word, fear. Fear of getting up for this, of hopes for the playoffs, of our Joe returning us all to glory, fear of it all coming down in a mangled heap at the hands of the damnable Cowboys. Not run for your lives fear but "we have top face this to go where we want' fear. Get back on the horse fear. To love again fear. To beleive again fear.
We got to our seats an hour before game time and all the Cowboy fans were running their mouths 100 mph. Two guys in particular;
"This is OUR house! We're gonna make this OUR house! Be careful for what you Redskins fans wish for! You got us, you ain't gonna like what you get!"
Now, in days gone by, this would have been met with an overwhelming fusilade of "Cowboys suck!" and "yer ass is OURS!"
There was some resistance but, they were having their way. As a whole, there was not the usual boldness and equal bragadocio to predict an ass whoopin or a blow out or even a victory. Hell, we were all privately and quietly praying we'd at least put up a good fight and have a chance at the end. We knew we were in for the game of the year, if not the last 5 years and there was a resolution, I guess, that there was work to be done before ANY celebrating would be in order.
I don't know how it came across on TV but all this manifested itself from when the Skins took the field to when they left for the day some 3 hours later, the crowd was relentless. I have NEVER experienced this kind of sustained intensity. No one, NO ONE in that cavernous stadium, sat down while play was going on ALL game. The first time my section sat AT ALL was a TV timeout late in the second quarter. As soon as the teams broke huddle, back to our feet and screaming.
No 'would you please sit?" No 'down in front". This was what I was begging for; NO LET UP. Score? Score again. Then again. Well, that's what the crowd did. There was this tangible desire and fear to NOT let up, to NOT let them have a chance, not a prayer, to will the Skins to play flatout to win, every play. Everytime the Skins responded by making a play, it just fed on itself,
we'd cheer harder.
Dallas did not play bad per se. Yes, their O line injuries were obvious and yes Bledsoe was rattled but they played hard and ran hard and hit hard until well into the 4th quarter.
On our second TD, I couldn't tell who ran it on 1st down and I couldn't see who stuffed him but I was right in line with the play, help? POW!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, those poor Cowboy fans didn't have a damn thing to cheer about, nothing, all game and they actually took it like good sports. Some of our fans, sad to say, crossed the line some, though. No class.
That's all I got for now because I gotta make some bacon this morning.
Last thought; Whenever there's a game like this, a good or great win, TV or live, I can't wait until the paper next morning to re-live it blow by blow because it jogs the memory. I was stone cold sober yesterday but it became a screaming, jumping up and down fist pumping euphoric blurr and it's all coming back in bits and pieces.
I'll be back...
Hey Giants? Ready?
TRAITORS! 
I started to pick the cowboys AND make it my 5 point pic to ensure a win but I could not come to contract terms with Snyder.
