TD_washingtonredskins

This is my biggest one... If John Kent Cooke had taken over and kept this team operating in a classy way. I realize that they had struggled for half-a-decade under the Cookes, but I'm also confident that patience would have led to something sustainable. The 1999 team was basically all pre-Snyder and that team was poised to be built for the long-haul and contend after a division title (albeit a pretty soft division title). With the 1999 team plus the draft picks that we were set up with, I think a more steady hand would have put us in the position that the Eagles/Giants played in the early-2000s.

I'm with you...I'd rather he just lose outright, but he's not the answer even for conservatives. So if it ultimately keeps him out of office and allows the Republican party/country to move forward, then whatever. But it'll cause quite the uproar.

I think Vivek is gaining a lot of momentum on the right, and shouldn't be overlooked with still plenty of time before the election. He's very well spoken, pushes the conservative agenda, is extremely civil and polite when engaging in these discussions, and even understands how to try to hook some of the Trumpers (pardons, etc.).

And oddly disinterested in finding companionship in anyone else, even if they are far better looking than said high school sweetheart.

Exactly! And my parents' beige carpet had to be sand, snow, grass, water, and space.

…how cool Star Wars and He-Man toy commercials were in the 1980s during Saturday morning cartoons? The sets seemed so elaborate and so much better than me using my family room carpet and coffee table. Those lucky actors got to set up the Ewok village in a real forest, Hoth in real snow, and Jabba's Palace in real sand. Anytime I was motivated enough to take all my **** outside I'd get too cold, bored, or pissed off because a lost a lightsaber down the sewer.

Yeah, I mean, it was a movie so it had to be Hollywoodized a little bit. Remember the Titans did that too. They made 1971 Alexandria, VA seem like the Jim Crow Deep South.

At this point, we have two very wealthy/famous parties bickering about something. I'm not even sure who the victim is yet. I'm just lobbing out potential ways that this thing could have happened because I'm a little intrigued having seen the movie a couple times.

Yeah, I'm looking at both Sexton and Oher on this. Assuming the arrangement above, we have to imagine that Sexton pressed Oher on the movie rights, etc. He's an agent and those guys are blood-sucking vampires who see their cut. What I could have seen happening because Oher was making his NFL millions is that he told Sexton to stand down or leave it alone (either believing that he was already taken care of my his "adopted" parents or because he was already sick of dealing with them).

I'm not sure, but I would think if a movie starring A-list celebrities about my client and his journey to the NFL was coming out, I'd be digging into the details to see how it was going to benefit him. An agent's job (I think) is all the financial dealings, not just the NFL contract. Anyway, I'm not in any way saying the family wasn't being shiesty. Clearly something was up. What I'm curious about is how it all went down. I'd like to know if they just completely tried to trick him or if they left a represented adult to handle his own business and take his piece of the pie (something Oher and his agent screwed up).

But, I'm curious of the mechanics of it. Did they say to him "They're making a movie about us and we'll make sure you're taken care of" and then not take care of him? Or did they say to him "They're making a movie about us, make sure your agent covers you" and he didn't have his agent (remember, it came out after he was an NFL player) negotiate for royalties? It's more a curiosity of HOW he was left out of the pay day.

Yeah, it's certainly eye-opening, even in the movie. I have no idea how it really went down, but there's a scene where Oher gets mad at the family and asks if they only helped him so he would go play for their school. They tell him to play wherever he wants to. He eventually picks Ole Miss. Again, who knows if any of those things truly happened...but it was at least addressed in the movie. But, I'm also torn based on some things you mention. They provided stability, helped him become eligible (through significant measures), etc. All of those things very well could have been to land a great OT at their alma mater. I don't know. But it all directly resulted in Oher earning $25-30M in the NFL he probably wouldn't have without their assistance.

I just can't believe he didn't make any money off the movie. How is that possible?

I'm already nervous.

He's a ****ty owner for sure. When you remove the lewd and perverted things, it becomes a much closer race to the bottom.

Yep, I'm in my mid-40s and I was still pretty engaged through some pretty bad years (mid-90s, 2000s, even the 2010s).

I feel the same way... I bailed before 2020 when all the dirt came out and, like you, now feel relief that the home team can be "the good guys" again. But, I don't feel like I'm completely back yet. I think having that passion slowly pulled away over the years has done a number on me. I hope it comes back fully, but maybe the combination of my age, the change in the name, and all the extenuating circumstances have just created a situation that won't ever be the same for me. We'll see...but it will be nice to not have to actively root against this team like I was for the past few years when I found out the BS Snyder was up to.

Imagine an owner who believes in trying to outclass the rest of the league from the top down...

I mostly agree. I would almost prefer to focus entirely in the bullpen at this point. I don't think anyone of significance will be on the move in terms of a starter. If we can beef up the pen to the point where we have a lot of flexibility, we'd be in good shape. That could also include one of the current starters bumping to the 'pen in the post season and going with a 4-man rotation.

Yep, I bit far too often on those...clearly. Like you said, it would have required 3 "ifs" to work out. I remember thinking very early on that I wanted Kyle to be promoted to head coach and Mike to take over the front office. That could have been an actual long-term structure.

Agreed. I admittedly didn't really know that either at the time. Maybe I stretched too much trying to give Snyder credit for that one. I guess I figured the combination of Shanahan and Allen (if it was accompanied by Snyder backing away) would be enough to get the team back on track. It felt like an authentic attempt by Dan to try to let established football men do football jobs rather than play fantasy football with Vinny Cerrato.

That's fair, and I'd agree that any good owner would have known. But given Snyder's limitations, the fact that he usually hired people he was familiar with and/or had some tie back to the organization, and the fact that Allen had won some Executive of the Year Award previously all probably made Bruce about as safe to him as possible. I wasn't meaning to give him a full compliment...just more of checkmark in the column of "he was trying to do things properly" even if the ceiling would have still been relatively low.

The 2000 team is a good one...as you alluded to, the spending spree actually worked. The investment in defense improved a shaky unit and turned it into a strength. It was offensive injuries and inconsistent kicking that kept that team from winning 11 or 12 games that year. The brief moment in 2001 when he attempted to let Marty turn this organization into a well-run outfit, until he got bored and pouted a couple weeks later. Gibbs II was also a nice time period, but it was tempered a bit by having no real GM and some truly awful personnel decisions. I'd also throw in the attempt to build the right way with Shanahan and Allen. He didn't choose the right guy for his GM, but I'm not sure he could have known how bad Allen would be (and maybe he didn't intend to meddle when he built it). While I was still a Snyder apologist, I pointed out from time to time that he would occasionally let players and employees use Redskin One for personal emergencies or other situations. I don't remember every circumstance, but I do recall that many of them seemed genuinely kind.

Oh, got it. I always overreact to that term, but I see what you guys meant.

Not to nitpick, but was Means ever an ace himself?