Jump to content
Washington Football Team Logo
Extremeskins

ES NOSTALGIA THREAD feat. Art, Die Hard, Henry, TK, PCS, Tarhog, and Karl Swanson


E33Green

Recommended Posts

It brings me great sadness to know that a majority of posters on ES now are unfamiliar with the legend of "Andyman" aka Karl Swanson. Maybe I was late to the party on this, but it wasn't until I spoke with a few well respected longtime ES posters at the official ES Tailgate recently that they were able to confirm that Andyman was indeed Karl Swanson.

 

If you don't know who Karl Swanson is, read this first:

 

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/daniel-m-snyder/swanson-snyders-longtime-hench.html

 

For those who need a refresher on the Andyman saga, I suggest reading this Dave McKenna article (I know he is a hack and the WCP is a rag, but it has good info about Andyman):

 

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/31546/the-anti-media-media/

 

 

A bizarre but widely believed legend among media types at Redskins Park holds that Swanson, for some time, has been railing about the coverage of the team in various postings to ExtremeSkins.com and other Web sites under the handle “andyman.” This character has attained hero status among surfers of ExtremeSkins.com for providing dead-on information about impending transactions, trashing the media all the while. When somebody on the ExtremeSkins.com praised the work of Bram Weinstein, the Redskins beat reporter for sports station WTEM-AM, for example, andyman came through with “He has no idea what’s going on at Redskins Park and neither do the other reporters.”

 

A recent posting on a sports-media Web site, SportsJournalists.com, seemed to out Swanson as a chat-room lurker; it claimed that the Redskins official had screwed up by registering at that site while the board was hot from a flame-filled thread about Demasio’s move to Sports Illustrated. If such a high-ranking team official, let alone one in charge of dealing with the media, were discovered to be a pseudonymous basher, that could stain the entire organization. Swanson admits that he indeed registered at SportsJournalists.com, but he says he only was trying to reach the moderator and denied having ever posted there or anywhere else as andyman.

 

“I know of andyman, but I do not know who that is. I am not andyman,” says Swanson.

 

Here is a chat that ES was "miraculously"  ;)  arrange with Karl Swanson in 2005:

 

http://es.redskins.com/topic/111182-may-9-karl-swanson/?hl=%2Bkarl+%2Bswanson

 

Interestingly, one of the interview questions came from Andyman!  :lol:  That was very nice of the mods to let Swanson interview himself. Apparently it was a poorly-kept secret among the mods at the time that Andyman was Swanson.

 

Also, this quote from Swanson in particular kills me looking back:

 

 

 

I have direct responsibility for the communication aspects of the team. I’m involved in the internet. I’m involved in publications. I’m involved in the team’s marketing efforts. But it’s sort of a loose organization. We have defined responsibilities but this isn’t a big, big company.
...
I work directly for Dan, report directly to Dan and have for as long as he and I have known each other. 

There are three of us who are direct reports to Dan (in the current organization).

 

Wow. What a clown. Him and Cerrato were truly two peas in a pod. No wonder the organization was in such shambles during the time period when Karl and Vinny were 2 out of the 3 people who directly reported to Snyder. Not to turn this into a Snyder-bashing thread, but it goes to show you how harmful nepotism and hiring "yes men" instead of capable individuals can be for a company.

 

I actually started this thread because I was hoping to get some anecdotes from some longtime ES posters about Andyman, specifically what was some of the "insider information" that he leaked to Extremeskins. It absolutely boggles my mind that Swanson did this. Only the Redskins would end up with a prominent member of the front office giving tidbits about roster transactions "anonymously" on an internet message board. I can only imagine the uproar if this took place in 2014. Makes me wonder if perhaps Swanson's "Andyman" leaks were sanctioned by Snyder himself? (tinfoil hat on)

 

Anyways, I think the Andyman saga is a unique chapter in Redskins history that was perhaps unprecedented in pro sports! Although it will forever be associated with a very dark period in the franchise's history, it is very cool that us longtime posters got to see it unfold before our eyes.

 

P.S.

 

I would love it if one of the mods could finally confirm once and for all that Andyman was Karl Swanson so we no longer have to rely on rumors and hearsay.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Andyman would post a lot of columns from the WaPo then trash them.

He was right.

 

Interesting you mention the Post. Swanson's interactions with them give a good glimpse into how the Post went from being the Redskins' biggest cheerleader to their worst journalistic enemy under Snyder's ownership. I wonder how things might be different today if Snyder and Swanson had cultivated a more symbiotic relationship with the Post and its writers instead of antagonizing them. However, it can definitely be argued that the Post brought the Redskins' wrath upon themselves with their irresponsible and dishonest journalism.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember "andyman" posting on here in "the old days." I didn't know it was Swanson; heck .. I didn't even know he was a Redskins staffer. All I know is that I was told many, many times by various mods to not question his veracity. Thanks for bringing this to light. Interesting indeed!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure if I am correct but wasn't it Andyman that broke the Laveranues Coles signing?  Or was it the trade for Moss?

 

Not Coles for sure but I think I remember him on here acting all smug predicting winning in free agency with signings like Archuleta, Lloyd, Randel El, etc before we bombed out in 2006.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember Andyman.  Those were fun days. I figured that it was someone in the organization, but I dont think that I ever thought it was  Swanson. 

Also, I dont think that I would put he and Cerrato in the same category (unless it was actually Cerrato?) :unsure:

 

While Swanson and Cerrato certainly had different roles and Cerrato clearly impacted the on-the-field impact more, they had similarities. Snyder seemed to trust them and rely on them to a remarkable degree - despite the fact that neither seemed terribly gifted at their jobs.

 

I'm just not sure what the point was of having your chief pr guy be a "henchman." The only place more unstable than the front office during the first ten years or so that Snyder owned the Skins was the pr department.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting you mention the Post. Swanson's interactions with them give a good glimpse into how the Post went from being the Redskins' biggest cheerleader to their worst journalistic enemy under Snyder's ownership. I wonder how things might be different today if Snyder and Swanson had cultivated a more symbiotic relationship with the Post and its writers instead of antagonizing them. However, it can definitely be argued that the Post brought the Redskins' wrath upon themselves with their irresponsible and dishonest journalism.

 

 

It didn't help media relations either when you had ES moderator Art Mills, aka "Art"  physically intimidate NFL writer Len Pasquarelli in an NFL press box.   Then he boasted about it on ES(Confronting Len Pasquarelli in the press box. PRICELESS!!!!). Art was given press credentials as an ES moderator and represented ES and the Redskins with the usual bluster, bullying and obnoxious behavior we grew to know so well on the board here. McKenna's City Paper article touches on his behavior in the press box and how the media viewed having him there.   He was the embodiment of the obnoxious reputation that Snyder was gaining at the time. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pasquarelli wrote his venomous hit piece on Joe Gibbs 2 years before his confrontation with Art. It was absolutely disgusting, with stuff about Joe being brain damaged by the fumes from Nascar. It was so blatantly personal and unfairly vitriolic that ESPN took it down within a couple days.

Andyman was great with inside scoops and always reliable. Probably wasn't an ideal PR strategy, but it made this board interesting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This all took place slightly before my time paying attention on this board, and it's really fascinating. I learned bits and pieces by things inferred in posts over the years, but this definitely fills in some blanks. A few things I had no idea about. Thank you for the ES history lesson.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pasquarelli wrote his venomous hit piece on Joe Gibbs 2 years before his confrontation with Art. It was absolutely disgusting, with stuff about Joe being brain damaged by the fumes from Nascar. It was so blatantly personal and unfairly vitriolic that ESPN took it down within a couple days.

Andyman was great with inside scoops and always reliable. Probably wasn't an ideal PR strategy, but it made this board interesting.

 

Here's the piece from Pasquarelli on Gibbs.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=1702628

 

I think it was pretty clear he didn't seriously mean that Gibbs was brain damaged.

 

And here's his piece after Gibbs retired:

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=3186628

 

It is clear that he doesn't think much of Snyder, but given the performance of the team since Snyder bought them, I'm not sure you can really argue he's wrong.

 

I'm always struck by something I learned from my school bus driver in middle school when this topic comes up.

 

He who laughs last laughs best.

 

Art laughed first.  Pasquarelli laughed last.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's the piece from Pasquarelli on Gibbs.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=1702628

 

I think it was pretty clear he didn't seriously mean that Gibbs was brain damaged.

 

N.com | January 7, 2004

As the O.J. Simpson trial demonstrated, once they add the bronze to the statue and spit-polish the bust, it's difficult indeed to get booted out of the Hall of Fame.

Lucky thing for Joe Gibbs.

While a jury acquitted Simpson, there's no way Gibbs isn't guilty of at least dubious judgment, and he'd do well to pleadnolo cotendere to charges he has taken leave of his senses. Makes you wonder if Gibbs, 11 seasons removed from the NFL sideline, has inhaled too many fumes while standing behind his fleet of NASCAR entries.

In 3 paragraphs he compares Gibbs with a wife beating murderer and claims he has inhaled too many gas fumes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

N.com | January 7, 2004

As the O.J. Simpson trial demonstrated, once they add the bronze to the statue and spit-polish the bust, it's difficult indeed to get booted out of the Hall of Fame.

Lucky thing for Joe Gibbs.

While a jury acquitted Simpson, there's no way Gibbs isn't guilty of at least dubious judgment, and he'd do well to pleadnolo cotendere to charges he has taken leave of his senses. Makes you wonder if Gibbs, 11 seasons removed from the NFL sideline, has inhaled too many fumes while standing behind his fleet of NASCAR entries.

In 3 paragraphs he compares Gibbs with a wife beating murderer and claims he has inhaled too many gas fumes.

 

It was over-the-top hyperbole to make his point questioning Gibbs' decision to come back to the Redskins. Pasquarelli penned many articles critical of the Redskins and Dan Snyder.

 

But nothing any sportswriter writes deserves being physically threatened by a blustering bully in their place of work.  And physically threatening a writer in front of a passel of writers there to cover your team isn't exactly a brilliant PR move.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...