To you Puzzled Redskins' fans

[donbarzini]

To those of you logical Redskins' fans who are always wondering why Sports fans in general(Not just Cowboy fans) and Sports writers, like Michael Wilbon treat you with such disdain; let me attempt to explain with a story of what happened to me the past two days.

While I have never been a Redskins fan; I have always admired George Allen, Jack Pardee and Joe Gibbs. Hell, I even liked Marty Schottenheimer and Richie Pettibon. What I did dislike was the 24-7 coverage of the "home town team" to the detriment of the "red-headed step-children"(Caps and Bullets/Wiz). I even won a $200.00 bet with a co-worker when I bet him that over the course of a year there would be a Redskins story in the Post and the Times each for 365 days and you would not be able to say the same for the other two teams. He was livid when he had top pay that one off.

But that is all preface to the icing on the cake to what Wilbon referred to a "second-rate" sports town. Yesterday afternoon I had to leave the house while the MLB playoffs were on. I figured, "Well that's okay, I saw on ESPNews that ESPNRadio is covering all games.". Hah! I should have been amazed and shocked when I turned on the radio expecting to hear Jon Miller or maybe Charlie Steiner, but instead I got the voices of a decrepit antique basketball coach who tries to sound intelligent by using his rather vast knowledge of the English lagnuage, a pedantic blowhard who played the game at a semi-acceptable level for a very short time, an Al Koken who is, at best, vanilla. You know what? Instead of being amazed, or even shocked, I just laughed and shook my head. My 15 year old son asked me: "Hey Dad, why are they talking about the Redskins when the playoffs are on? I thought this was ESPN Radio?" Hey Dan Snyder!!!! Even 15 year old kids are figuring you out pal! This should serve as a warning to every business owner in the area. It's going to get to the point where people are going to get pissed off at you if you're the "Official ANYTHING of the Washington Redskins" Word to the wise folks.

 

[Johnll]

Most major cities like Chicago ESPN 1000, LA ESPN 710 and Dallas ESPN 103.3have ESPN radio and each day the shows are split between local talk shows and ESPN network stuff, this is nothing new.

They joined the baseball games in progress at 7PM for the last few days.

 

[Tilted]

Yesterday afternoon I had to leave the house while the MLB playoffs were on.

They still broadcast Major League Baseball on TV? Who knew? J/K

Seriously though, I used to watch/listen/attend Orioles games years ago. However, for the most part, society has moved on to other things. I'm not criticizing the game (frankly if the Orioles had been more significant in the last decade I might still be paying considerable attention to baseball), just being honest about its place within the contemporary entertainment landscape. As a spectator sport, it just doesn't fit modern society as well as it used to - thus its slide form being the national pastime to playing second or even third fiddle to things like football.

Football just resonates more with most people. This is because it hits on the essence of why we love sports to begin with. Humans, especially men, still carry an underlying evolutionary need to physically challenge one another in order to determine or prove dominance. As we started forming societies and needed to work together harmoniously, the feasibility of those kinds of challenges diminished. In came sport - an artificial, civilized, controlled means to satisfy that competitive need. As we get older and have busier lives, more responsibility, and less resilient bodies, it becomes less and less practical to actually participate in competitive sport on a regular basis. However, that underlying, visceral need to compete still remains. Therefore, we turn to spectator sports to satisfy it vicariously.

That's why we love to watch sports so much, and football in particular. It's classic mano e mano - a pure physical competition. It fulfills that basic need that men have better than baseball does. For most people everyday life is getting more cerebral and less physically confrontational; and, we have more and more sources of frustration with one another without viable, legal means of relieving that frustration. As a result, we have an increasing need for spectator sports that are more physically competive.

In short, I think you're wrong about the risk of a backlash to an over saturation by football. No doubt, there are some diehard baseball fans who disapprove, but things like football are going to become more and more popular, and things like baseball are going to become less and less relevant.

Again, I'm not dissing baseball. This is all coming from someone who used to fall asleep as a kid listening to Cal Ripken, Scotty McGregor and Eddie Murray on the radio.

 

[Larry Gude]

Don...

...DC is a second rate sports town.

We do not have the population to support baseball. We just don't. Many people here are from somewhere else, so there is a dissolution of fan base. And there is the Orioles. DC is a go-go-go town that does not favor the relaxed pace of baseball and it's endless season. And the Nat's lose. A lot.

The Wizards are new to winning as are the Caps.

The Bullets were the talk of the town when Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld and Bobby D were here. The Langway Caps were a constant source of excitement. Since then, the Caps transitioned to Dale Hunter and were still a hot topic. The Bullets sunk into oblivion.

All through that time, from Allen and Superbowl VII, to Joe Gibbs I, through Norv having some good times to Gibbs II and two playoff appearances, the Redskins have done pretty well.

At to that the modern American love of football and the decline of baseball in general.

Now, I agree that the Redskins are being over marketed they have been from Snyders first day. From selling the name to FedEx, to the players he brought in, to the transformation of games into flashy sideshow spectacles to getting rid of Herzog to buying up all the radio stations, to making people give up casual contacts an associations with the name.

It's a business and the cozy familiarity is gone. DC, as a whole is not a small, friendly town anymore.

 

[BuddyLee]

to Larry.

ESPN radio 980 is more catered to the Redskins, which is why they call it "Redskins Radio".

They play basketball, hockey and baseball games all the time on there. Their main focus, however, are the Redskins and deservedly so. As a fan of the team, I wish they had more on the Redskins. I can see that as a fan of another team it would get old very quick. The DC marketing machine isn't something new to the country though. Almost all teams are capitalizing off anything that will garner them that extra dollar. Dallas has a flurry of radio stations devoted to the team. Even Detroit has several.

To put it succinctly, fans in this area would rather hear a Skins game on the radio than a Nationals, Capitals or Wizards playoff game. Part of the reason is because the Skins have been here the longest and have a storied history. Another reason is because the Skins have been winners and for that the town becomes Pittsburgh whenever a win or loss surmounts. The three aforementioned teams have only won one championship and that was more than 30 years ago.

Wilbon and some other mediots like to loathe on the Skins from time to time for several reasons. The first is most assuredly Daniel Snyder and his past actions. Secondly, the team hasn't been a winner in recent years. Besides a few playoff trips in the past few years the media can criticize all they want and get away with it. Lastly, some just hold a grudge. Tom Jackson just can't get over that Super Bowl loss. Mark Schlereth and Brian Mitchell can't get over being let go. Czaban and Cowherd merely like to be contrarian.

 

[Otter]

Wilbon and some other mediots...

mediots - perfect!!

 

[Larry Gude]

He's...

mediots - perfect!!

...really doing nicely, ain't he?