WhoRUSupposed2Be Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 If this were to happen, I would really lose alot of respect for season ticket holders. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/05/AR2008110504343_pf.html Fan Depreciation At FedEx By Michael Wilbon Thursday, November 6, 2008; E01 My friend Tony was certain when he saw an increasing number of gold towels in the minutes before Monday night's game that it was a Redskins promotion. The team's colors, after all, are burgundy and gold. So some bank or car dealership or the team itself had to be pushing something and was using gold towels to do it. Made perfect sense, since it seems every other night now fans are being asked to wear all red or all white or all black and wave matching pompoms or towels. Except the people waving the gold towels were also wearing, mostly, black jerseys. Pittsburgh Steelers jerseys. There appeared to be, what, 15,000 of them? No, more. They were in the upper deck, the club seats, lower bowl, even the "Dream Seats" right down on the field. They were everywhere. Maybe, what, 25,000? More? I got a text message during the first few plays from a friend in Chicago asking me when the NFL started staging neutral-field games. I assured him we were at FedEx Field. They were like an infestation of cicadas, the Steelers fans, so loud they effectively drowned out Redskins fans. They were like a storm of pirates who satisfied themselves at the expense of home folks who just sat and watched. That the Redskins had to use a silent count because they couldn't hear signals through all the Steelers noise is, well, alarming. It remains the lasting impression of Monday night's Redskins-Steelers game. And it's likely to happen again in the very next home game, Sunday, Nov. 16, because the Cowboys are coming to town. Two sets of NFL fans represent, as the kids say, bigger and bolder than all the others. The Steelers and the Cowboys, in that order. The Redskins like to say they have the best fans in the league. Please, they're not even in the game for consideration of that distinction. You think Steelers fans, no matter how late the game time or how much they hate the stadium, would sell their tickets and let Redskins fans gobble them up? No chance. You think somewhere between one-third and one-fourth of Eagles, Broncos, Browns, Bears, Giants, Seahawks or Packers fans would sell their seats to brokers, when their team is a serious contender no less? No chance. The saddest thing of all is that I completely understand most of the reasons why the people who own season tickets bailed on Monday's game. The e-mails that are flying back and forth on this subject -- and it is the No. 1 Redskins-related conversation in the wake of the game -- state any number of perfectly logical reasons why Monday night was unappealing. The traffic during rush hour on a weeknight, as opposed to Sunday afternoon, is unbearable. It's true. The three biggest traffic nightmares in the NFL belong to the Patriots, Redskins and Cowboys. The Cowboys are building a new place that will presumably improve traffic and parking. And at least the Patriots now have an entertainment complex right there at the stadium that provides fans an incentive to come early, stay late and avoid the mess if they want to. Redskins fans have no such option. Drunkenness and the vile behavior it leads to is a problem at a great many NFL games, but especially on Monday night. Confession: I own Redskins season tickets in the club section, but my wife won't attend Monday night home games (which is fine with her husband). I dread the day when I have to tell my son he's not going, either. I don't need an NFL or Redskins report to tell me about the filthy language and nasty behavior in the stands Monday night or what the league is going to do about it, which is nothing. I saw it firsthand and received a couple of dozen e-mails on the subject. It was abominable, and the Steelers fans were just as responsible as Redskins fans. The couple I gave my tickets to left the game early because the husband had every reason to believe the drunken fan sitting behind them was going to vomit on his wife's head. No, this isn't unique to FedEx Field. And it probably speaks to the civility of a good many Redskins fans that they prefer to simply stay away rather than add to the confrontation. But what is unique and beyond the control of fans is that a 90,000-seat stadium is 25,000 seats too many. There's no team or city in the league that should have a stadium with more than 70,000 seats. Tickets are too easy to come by. And at least one-quarter of the people at FedEx go for the purpose of getting ripped, which, along with the excessive traffic, lack of close parking and inadequate public transportation, makes the Redskins game-day experience probably the most uncomfortable experience in the NFL. I've covered games in all 31 stadiums, many of them 20 times or more. It's an eight-hour day for most Redskins fans and many just don't have that kind of time on a weeknight as well as the tolerance to endure the intoxicated bums who make the game itself completely impossible to enjoy. Nobody should have to spend an entire game shielding his or her children from a barrage of profane language, drunkenness and the threat of fights. I need to pay, in my case, $5,400 a year to get that? The NFL established a fan code of conduct in the offseason to reduce all of the above, yet what I saw and have been told about Monday night was business as usual. I guess what I'm saying to people who bailed to watch the game on television is, I get it. But it is interesting that fans of other NFL teams are willing to put up with the same conditions to see their team. And D.C. has always been an unusual market in that so many people who live in greater Washington are from elsewhere and maintain their rooting loyalties. The local obsession with the blood-rival Cowboys involves yet another dynamic: race. Older men explained to me nearly 30 years ago that when the Redskins were the only all-white team remaining in the NFL and owner George Preston Marshall was vowing he'd never have a black player, the Cowboys were building their franchise with not only black players, but men from tiny historically black colleges. This had and has special appeal in D.C. Many a black Washingtonian long ago vowed his everlasting allegiance to the Cowboys (or Raiders, who built much the same way, around players like Art Shell and Gene Upshaw, but rarely come to Washington to play). So once again, a week from Sunday, the Cowboys will have their supporters, more than they would find tickets for in Green Bay or Chicago or Giants Stadium, making a racket in FedEx Field. Maybe Jim Zorn will have to prepare his players to treat this as a road game. Maybe the Redskins will just stay in those all-burgundy uniforms that made them look like a road team out of the Western Athletic Conference or the Mountain West. Maybe fans of other teams will circle Washington on the schedule because if they can't get tickets where they live they know the pickings are easier here. One Monday night might have been a fluke. Two home games in a row would be a developing situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewCliche21 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Great article. I have never, ever been so ashamed of our "fan"base as I was Monday night. That was absolutely disgusting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benskins26 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Wow, brutal article. It's true though. Sad, but true. We should be ashamed as fans. I have been saying for years that Skins fans are the best fans, but that argument has lost all its validity. I'm really ashamed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HogNose Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Sad, but true. Classic Wilbon, great article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrJL Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I think people who scalp their tickets to non-Skins fans should lose the rights to their season tickets. I'm sure there's plenty of Skins fans who can't get tickets who want them and if you're willing to make FedEx into an away game for the Skins then you can't care that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoRUSupposed2Be Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 I'm being one of the many fans who can afford them right now, but would dream of the Sunday night game against 'Boys if anyone is willing to sell two for marginal price. It still stings and I believe has tarnished the organization quite a bit that we were last team to interject black athletes into the equation. I being afro-negro myself can understand why many people who have never even been to Texas or Oakland supported teams outside of Washington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Great article.I have never, ever been so ashamed of our "fan"base as I was Monday night. That was absolutely disgusting. Why would you be ashamed of the fan base. Our fan base did nothing wrong. Get a clue of how that happened and you will "get" it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoRUSupposed2Be Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 Why would you be ashamed of the fan base. Our fan base did nothing wrong. Get a clue of how that happened and you will "get" it. It wasn't a matter of doing anything wrong, it was a matter of season ticket holders giving their tickets away to the opposing fanbase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingGibbs Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I'll disagree with Wilbon's opinion in regards to our fanbase because we do have a big and loyal fanbase. I will however agree and have stated before that Fedex Field is a shiathole and every thing he said about that place is true. I know some will be in denial and that's fine, but Fed Ex has NEVER captured that "homefield" advantage and just for the record, no I am not blaming Snyder because he didn't build Fed Ex, but he certainly hasn't done anything to improve the gameday experience. It really is a shame and I'm afraid after the debacle that was on Monday night we are going to see it become more and more common to see more opposing teams in the stands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewCliche21 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Why would you be ashamed of the fan base. Our fan base did nothing wrong. Get a clue of how that happened and you will "get" it. Why is it that every time you post, I :doh: ? The fans didn't go to the game, man. When they were there, they weren't loud. It was shameful. Sorry that that concept is a little too difficult for you to grasp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointyfootball Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 It still stings and I believe has tarnished the organization quite a bit that we were last team to interject black athletes into the equation. I being afro-negro myself can understand why many people who have never even been to Texas or Oakland supported teams outside of Washington. I might be wrong, but I think the sheer number of Steeler, Cowboy and Raiders fans has more to do with people jumping on their bandwagon when they were young and those teams were good/popular. As to the rest of the article, pro football has, unfortunately, become an event not suitable for children. My son (9) has begged me to take him to a game, but we stick with HS games instead as I've seen/heard what has gone on at pro stadiums and, IMO, it's not a venue for a 9yo. PF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 It wasn't a matter of doing anything wrong, it was a matter of season ticket holders giving their tickets away to the opposing fanbase. Uhhh Nobody "gave" their tickets to the opposing fan base. First, the stadium is too large. We NEVER fill it. Second, the Redskins are selling tickets through stub hub and the likes. Third, fans that can't go to games aren't just going to eat the tickets. They are damn expensive. So they sell them through websites and such. I have had season tickets. Believe me they are hard to even give to Redskins fans...you sell them on Ebay and the likes, you dont "choose" who buys them. The stadium is too big, and even without the fans selling tickets the Redskins have a plethora of them out on stubhub. Toss in the scalpers tickets and you have.......drum rolll....a stadium that is too big. Anyone can get seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoRUSupposed2Be Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 I might be wrong, but I think the sheer number of Steeler, Cowboy and Raiders fans has more to do with people jumping on their bandwagon when they were young and those teams were good/popular. As to the rest of the article, pro football has, unfortunately, become an event not suitable for children. My son (9) has begged me to take him to a game, but we stick with HS games instead as I've seen/heard what has gone on at pro stadiums and, IMO, it's not a venue for a 9yo. PF I understand where you're coming from. :applause: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Why is it that every time you post, I :doh: ?The fans didn't go to the game, man. When they were there, they weren't loud. It was shameful. Sorry that that concept is a little too difficult for you to grasp. Read my above post. You go :doh: because you make a lot of assumptions that are just false. You should have bought tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoRUSupposed2Be Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 Uhhh Nobody "gave" their tickets to the opposing fan base.First, the stadium is too large. We NEVER fill it. Second, the Redskins are selling tickets through stub hub and the likes. Third, fans that can't go to games aren't just going to eat the tickets. They are damn expensive. So they sell them through websites and such. I have had season tickets. Believe me they are hard to even give to Redskins fans...you sell them on Ebay and the likes, you dont "choose" who buys them. The stadium is too big, and even without the fans selling tickets the Redskins have a plethora of them out on stubhub. Toss in the scalpers tickets and you have.......drum rolll....a stadium that is too big. Anyone can get seats. No excuse..."the stadium is too big" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 No excuse..."the stadium is too big" Its not an excuse, its a fact. What you don't get is the stadium is not sold out. Why? It's too big and seats are too expense, and the stadium is inconvenient for many. No fanbase in the NFL could support 92,000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sticksboi05 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Regardless of anything, FedEx indeed blows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyburd Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I hat e to say this, and will get bashed for this, but as Ron Jaworski said "this would never happen in Philly" I hate their fans, but they fill their stadium with all green. Even when they sucked, they always made sure their stadium was 95 home team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyburd Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Let's see what happen when Dallas opens their 100,000 seat stadium. They are a lot like DC, very transit, and there will be many fans from the opposing teams there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOF44 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 The problem is we have the best 65 or 70 thousand fans in football, but we have a 92 thousand seat stadium. :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMuller7 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Great article.I have never, ever been so ashamed of our "fan"base as I was Monday night. That was absolutely disgusting. I'm totally disgusted in the season ticket holders or the fans who sell their tickets to opposing team fans!!! I actually have a story for you all in that last week I was trying to buy two tickets from a co-worker of mine who just became a season ticket holder last year for the Monday night game. All that week I was on him to try and buy the tickets because he's been trying to sell his season tickets to whomever can get their hands on them for the most money (EVEN TRYING TO SELL HIS COWBOYS TICKETS and trust me there are plenty of cowboy fans here who want them). He went as low as to say "I can't sell them to you because I made more of a profit selling them to some friends who are Steeler fans, sorry man, but I'm just trying to make a profit off my season tickets this year since Dan Snyder is raising the prices on things..." I was seriously pissed off that a long time Redskins fan would say that crap!!! He sits in section 415 if anyone wants to kick him in the nuts...:mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 No excuse..."the stadium is too big" I know it's a difficult concept to grasp after decades of sellouts and and an extremely long waitling list. However, what Chipwhich is saying is totally true. Our fans probably aren't selling that many more of their tickets than most fan bases per capita when a big game comes around. What is happening is the Redskins ticket office has thousands upon thousands of tickets they sell on an individual game basis. Most of these seats don't sell for crappy games like AZ, NO and St.L. However, most those tickets do sell for premium opponents like Dallas and Pitt., thus you really notice the opposing fans. Places like Philly and Dallas where there are only 65,000 seats, most of which belong to season ticket holders who attend the games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 "I can't sell them to you because I made more of a profit selling them to some friends who are Steeler fans, sorry man, but I'm just trying to make a profit off my season tickets this year since Dan Snyder is raising the prices on things..." I was seriously pissed off that a long time Redskins fan would say that crap!!! He sits in section 415 if anyone wants to kick him in the nuts...:mad: If his seats are in section 415 he's probably not making a profit on the resale of his tickets. What he is doing is reducing the overall cost of his season tickets by selling a few the big individual games above face. Ask him what he got in return for his preseason tickets and the games like AZ and St.L if he attempted to sell those games also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Btubes18 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I don't think there will be more Dallas fans than there was Pittsburgh fans this next game. Monday night was a "Perfect Storm". Everyone knows how much traffic sucks on a mid-week game, and people know that if they sell their tickets, they will get way more than face-value for them. I went to the Bears game last year on Thursday night (which in my opinion did not have as many people there as this steelers game) and it took me over 4 hours to get there, when I am coming from Reston. Perfect Storm Points: At least 2+ hours commute for most anyone (meaning most people won't get home till no earlier than 1 am). The Election was the very next day and most people had to get up earlier than normal to vote and have it not impact their normal work day. Some voting lines were at least 2 hours in some places. The Steelers have not played at Redskins Stadium for a home game in 22 years. And as naive as some people are, they do have a bigger fan base in D.C. than most people would think. They are willing to spend $150 for a ticket in the $400, while a Skins fan is not because they would rather see a division rival game on a Sunday. I would be VERY surprised if the Dallas game is similar to this game. I know I will be there in Section 418! HTTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USS Redskins Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 There is a big solution to this problem. The Skins should play better football and shut the non-Redskins fans the hell up. Period. I am still trying to figure out how to tell a Skins fan from a non-Skins fan online. Do you have to ask for his Redskin Fan ID? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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