Jump to content
Washington Football Team Logo
Extremeskins

Washingtonian.com: Washington Is No Longer a Football Town


SkinsHokieFan

Recommended Posts

I know we hear this quite a bit, in particular the last 15 years under Snyder's reign of terror.

 

I really do think though if the Nats find a way to win it all, this town will shift. It will always be a Redskins dominated town, but I really think the Nationals are close

 

I think there are lots of people in this town that feel the way this author feels about the Redskins. I disagree with the premise (in particular the jab at the name) but have felt this underlying sentiment. 

 

http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/capitalcomment/sports/washington-is-no-longer-a-football-town.php#.VSKb7krrh48.facebook

 

 

Washington is a football town, not a baseball town, for good reason. Since our pro football team moved here in 1937, two iterations of the Senators came and went, producing no titles and few lasting stars. Meanwhile, Sammy Baugh, Sonny Jurgensen, Art Monk, and John Riggins played their way into championship games and local lore. For 54 of the 78 years since football’s arrival, baseball wasn’t even an afterthought—it simply didn’t exist.

But as the division-champion Nationals start their tenth season in DC, hearts and minds are in play.

Less and less of our talk about football concerns what happens on the field. Instead, we reprise Dan Snyder’s impetuous stewardship, the revolving door of coaches, and how the team has managed to squander the once infinite hope of Robert Griffin III.

All this has made the crawl to Landover to occupy far-flung parking spots and $200 seats harder to endure. Attendance at FedExField has fallen by 18 percent in eight years, according to ESPN. Stands were 91 percent full on a given Sunday in 2014—and even that figure has been goosed in recent years by the removal of thousands of seats abandoned by former season-ticket holders—compared with 109 percent (counting standing room) in 2006. In that time, the Nationals gained 426,000 patrons. This year, single-game sales are up by 90 percent.

Behind the Nats’ appeal is a Lerner family whose patience in putting together a winning franchise has made them comfortably invisible—when these owners make news, it’s for investing in a stadium (within the city limits and with its own Metro station) or forking over for new stars like Max Scherzer.Amid the federal government’s inability to get things done, the Nationals are a refreshing example of efficiency—and a symbol for a resurgent Washington.

 

 

Link for rest

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think Washington is a basketball town in terms of sports but Redskins town in terms of team loyalty.

 

HOWEVER, that is dependent heavily on age demographic.

 

I bet if you polled people over the age of...35-40, they would say their fandom is something like Redskins 90% with the other teams some split of 10%.

 

In the 21-35 bracket its probably Redskins 50%(at most)and other teams 50%.

 

Younger than 21, particularly kids, its probably Caps/Wiz/Nats at over 90%. I see more kids wearing those teams gear than Redskins jerseys.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When a noticeable chunk of the city you repreasent is populated by fans of your arch rival, you know things are trending downward.

Not to mention the fact that this is already a fairly transient area, filled with Ravens, Steelers, Giants, Eagles, and Pats fans. Give it another 10-15 years, and if the Redskins still perenially suck, this will be a very different looking town

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel like we're so close to breaking through as a city. We just need one team to win a title and then the dominos will fall. Its kinda like in Boston. They didn't win anything forever. Then the Pats won the Super Bowl in 2001 and it became title town. Pats won two more, Red Sox in 04 and 07, Celtics in 08, Bruins won one(can't remember the year).

 

A Caps Stanley Cup run could propel the city to a multi championship run(I don't expect the Wiz to win one, NBA unless youre one of the 2-3 top dogs you got no shot).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Younger than 21, particularly kids, its probably Caps/Wiz/Nats at over 90%. I see more kids wearing those teams gear than Redskins jerseys.

 

That's really sad to hear.  meh,kids.   their attention spans are short.  Let the skins make the playoffs this year and they'll get back on board.

 

 **** that article.  There is absolutely nothing more "DC/DMV" than the Redskins.  Now I know this is a Redskins forum, but I'd imagine even the most hardcore Nats fans on ES would take a Redskins Lombardi over a Nats Commisioner's trophy any day.  and it wouldn't even be a tough decision...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's really sad to hear.  meh,kids.   their attention spans are short.  Let the skins make the playoffs this year and they'll get back on board.

 

 **** that article.  There is absolutely nothing more "DC/DMV" than the Redskins.  Now I know this is a Redskins forum, but I'd imagine even the most hardcore Nats fans on ES would take a Redskins Lombardi over a Nats Commisioner's trophy any day.  and it wouldn't even be a tough decision...

But its a generational thing.

 

If the Skins continue to lose, and the Caps/Nats/Wiz continue to contend if not win a title, then those kids will be forever entrenched in that team, just like many people are forever entrenched in the Redskins even when they're clearly the worst sports product in the city by miles.

 

20+ years of losing means you lose an entire generation of potential lifelong fans. Yeah you'll get the casual bandwagoners but those come and go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hear you, Warhead.  Makes plenty of sense, unfortunately.  :(

 

I'm 32 years old.  I was a wee lad when we were actually relevant back in the 80s and very early 90s...but at least I can remember.  These poor DMV kids 21 and under have nothing but quarterback carousels and Snyder.  You can probably show them videos of the RFK stands shaking and the "We want dallas" chants and it does nothing for them.  When I see that video and it gives me goosbumps and makes me cry.  Having no connection at all to what the skins used to be probably makes it hard to ride with them.

 

I hope the Skins turn things around soon.  And when they do....here's to welcoming (with open arms) all the young "bandwagon" DMV sports fans (with their Wall, Harper, Ovechkin jerseys) who all of a sudden want to be redskins fans lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's really simple.

NLDS Game 1 featuring the Nationals

Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs with the Capitals

Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs with the Wizards

Week 8 game of the regular season for the Redskins

If you told me any of those first three were happening at the same time as a Redskins game, I'd put money that the Redskins game will have:

1. More ticket purchased for it

2. A higher rating

3. More attention from the local media

Until I feel like that changes, and the playoff game for any one of those teams would be a bigger topic/focus than a regular season Redskins game in the middle of the year, I just can't say this town isn't a "redskins" town any longer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

DC is transplant city and none of the transplants give one ****s about the Redskins.

In my fairly wide yuppie friend circle, none of them give a crap about the Redskins. However they are quite into the other teams. This is partly due to the winning state of every other DC team but also the accessibility that the Caps/Nats/Wizards have.

We regularly have large groups attending games.

I couldn't convince any of them to go to a Redskins game even if I bought everyone's tickets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

DC is transplant city and none of the transplants give one ****s about the Redskins.

In my fairly wide yuppie friend circle, none of them give a crap about the Redskins. However they are quite into the other teams. This is partly due to the winning state of every other DC team but also the accessibility that the Caps/Nats/Wizards have.

We regularly have large groups attending games.

I couldn't convince any of them to go to a Redskins game even if I bought everyone's tickets.

 

Yeah this is largely what I see as well, at least among people in my age group. Not many Redskins fans, but they all root for the other hometown teams.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If McCloughan gets this team on track it will be like the others don't even exist. I love the Nats and the Wizards but they will never be the Redskins.

Yeah but the issue is that you can replace SM's name with Joe Gibbs, Spurrier, RG3, McNabb, etc. Ppl are over it at this point and with good reason. I struggle to even open threads in the stadium

The Nats, Wizards, and Caps are all choking dogs in the playoffs but at least they have been respectable and threatened for titles at certain points

Plus they all have young marketable Stars.

IF the Skins ever get it together, you'll be right. But if i ever win the llottery, I'll never have to work again lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If McCloughan gets this team on track it will be like the others don't even exist. I love the Nats and the Wizards but they will never be the Redskins.

 

Unless they all continue winning (and the Skins continue losing), or one of them goes on a championship run. There is no way they will stay on top. It's a slow process, but already an ongoing one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I couldn't convince any of them to go to a Redskins game even if I bought everyone's tickets.

 

and they're of DMV origins?  If so, wow. 

 

::insert tommy lee jones newspaper disappoint meme::

Link to comment
Share on other sites

DMV origin and non DMV origin.

The Redskins suckitude post 1991 did a great job of destroying fandom in the current 20s something in the area.

Pretty much.

I'm 22. Of all the kids that went to my hs, i would say maybe 55-60% were Skins fans. That's it.

The generation below me is even worse. My 12 yo Bro likes the Iggles (smfh) and all of his classmates like a various assortment of other teams

It's sad.

Part of it is that the Skins don't have a cool star player with RG3ms regression.

From what I'm seeing, the Wiz are making a comeback with Wall and Beal

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel like we're so close to breaking through as a city. We just need one team to win a title and then the dominos will fall. Its kinda like in Boston. They didn't win anything forever. Then the Pats won the Super Bowl in 2001 and it became title town. Pats won two more, Red Sox in 04 and 07, Celtics in 08, Bruins won one(can't remember the year).

 

 

While that's good fun to think about, Boston is a very amazing exception (and probably the single greatest exception) to the normal state of things: teams winning championships largely independently of each other within a given city.  There are so many examples of one team winning it all while its city-mates go without, or of all teams in a city suffering championship droughts.  

 

Seems like the kind of thing FiveThirtyEight might have investigated at some point, though I didn't check.   :)

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...