Fandom-istics

[LoyalSkinsFan]

Fandom-istics.

Don't bother looking in Webster's....I just made that one up.

Fandom-istics, to me, are those things that combine and mix and blend to make up who we are today...and who we will be in the future....as Redskin fans. Not sure if Webster would agree, but then, who really cares?

These days, being a Redskin fan is a tough deal. Without getting into specifics, I'm sure we can all agree that it's been years and years since it's been fun...TRULY FUN.....to be a Redskin fan. Oh sure, there were the odd years where we made the playoffs....once under Norv Turner - when we lost in hideous fashion to the Bucs - and once under Gibbs - when, just last year, we lost to the Seahawks...again, ugly. And, this year....well...don't get me started on this year. We ALL know about this year.

Thing is, Joe Gibbs only won three Super Bowls...he lost one, too. He was our coach for what, twelve years or so? And George Allen....he was our coach for what, ten years or so? He lost a Super Bowl, too. Didn't win ANY.

But, for those that can remember, weren't those still fun years? Even though we lost in the end? Yeah.....y'know, they really were. Because we were in the hunt and we were competitive...year in and year out. Even in our "losing seasons", were were, at worst, 7-9 or 6-10. But, this year's 4-9 is just hurtful. It's not even fun. And, for those Redskin fans who don't remember those years when George Allen and Joe Gibbs ruled the team before, well, that's really all they know.

But, still....what those fans don't realize through all the fog of losing, is that these are the days that are shaping them...changing them....building up their hopes and dreams and modeling their "fandom-istics".

For those before us that had to endure the 50's and 60's..until the fun began to creep back in in the 70's...and then had to wait even longer..until 1983, when John Riggins broke that run in Super Bowl XVII....well, their fandom-istics were pretty hard core. And that Riggins run was for all of them.....and for all of us who came just a little bit later. I swear sometimes that it was really ME running down that sideline...it was a such a joy to behold...and, it was truly cathartic. But, most of all...it was just so g*damned FUN!

So, to you current day fans who desperately long for the fun to return...I would preach to have a little patience and a little faith that Joe Gibbs will help bring it back. Enjoy the ride as much as you can in the meantime...even these last few meaningless games this season...cause these ARE the times that will ultimately shape you and help you appreciate the fun when it gets here. There are so many other teams out there in the NFL that have NEVER had the opporutunity to enjoy the kind of fun we've had as Redskin fans over the years. Consider ourselves fortunate to have had those times...and, by the way, to have an owner who is also a real Redskin fan. I, like many of you, don't always agree with his methods, but I DO believe that as a fan, his heart is in the right place. Some people, when they look at him in the owner's box at Fedex, they see a pompous, self-absorbed Steinbrenner wannabe....but not me. When I look up there, I see a little kid, wearing his Redskin belt buckle, looking for the fun and the joy in this team and their games...just like the rest of us.

And next season, when the ball gets teed up for that first kickoff of the pre-season, all of us will have had one more year of character building to draw upon...of defining our fandom-istics. And, as foot gets put to pigskin, the anticipation will be palpable and our bodies will practically tingle as we embark on yet another season of joy and of, most certainly, heartbreak. But no matter what, let's just try and remember to have what matters most............fun.

HTTR