bubba9497 Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 http://bleacherreport.com/articles/176136-washington-needs-change-in-fan-base Click link for entire article Washington Needs Change in Fan Base Like clockwork, whenever I catch a highlight of that historic 1982 NFC Championship game against Dallas, the chills inevitably run up my spine. “We want Dallas! We want Dallas!”, screamed by 53,000 strong in unison as the ancient bleachers of the dying RFK Stadium shook in harmony with that spine-tingling chant. Perhaps there was no greater time to be a Redskins fan than during the Joe Gibbs era at RFK. That was home field advantage at its finest. The Redskins won 6-7 home games each year during most of the 1980s and early 1990s. Throw in a historic team fight song (Hail to the Redskins) and opponents would tell you they hated coming to RFK. Then Jack Kent Cooke had a dream to build a new stadium outside of D.C. named after the aforementioned owner. With a seating capacity of 90,000, there was nothing else like the Cooke Palace in the NFL. Unfortunately, despite holding nearly twice as many fans as the old RFK Stadium, Fed-Ex Stadium made way for a new type of Redskin fan. Sure, the 50,000 or so who held lifetime rights to season tickets continued to attend games, but now a new group emerged as part of the fan base. The corporate casual fan now comprised a large portion of the fans attending games. The corporate fans make a habit of showing up to games late (if at all) or they would spend the entire game stationed at one of many bars located within the stadium. Who won the game became a secondary concern, if it all. The only positive thing Redskins fans can say about Fed-Ex Stadium is that it has made owner Daniel Snyder a ton of money. And many would say that it is really a negative. The team has lost its home field advantage (barely over a .500 win percentage since the move) for financial gains. Americans voted for change in 2008 in Washington because of concerns over corporate greed. Fed-Ex Stadium is another prime example of greed winning out over goods. Redskin fans have the ability to provoke change once again in Washington in 2009. Show up in your seats before the start of the game. Stay in your seats throughout the game. Yell and chant like you’re attending a bloody English soccer match. And, most importantly, do not allow fans cheering for the opposing team to ever feel comfortable in our house (I’m not encouraging physical abuse of any kind, but there are legal ways to let them know they are not welcomed in Fed-Ex Stadium). Bring back the 12th man, and you will see more home wins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattFancy Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 This person don't go to many home games I guess. That place is always loud and crazy, with the exception of the Pittsburgh game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Monarch 06 Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 God we need to just move back to RFK. This article is spot on, though. The tip of the iceberg was the game against Pissburgh last year when it was louder on our third downs than it was theirs. Disgusting. I dunno skins fan, I went to quite a few games... the one time I sat in club level there wasn't a single person yelling , screaming or standing. at all, at any point of the game. I think that was the Browns game. It was just a bunch of people hanging out and chit chatting amongst themselves, mostly about things completely un-related to football. The lower level can get crazy, but not as crazy as it should. All the psychos are upstairs, that's why I love sitting up there the most regardless of the view. If you leave a game and you can still talk then you haven't done your job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattFancy Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 God we need to just move back to RFK. This article is spot on, though. The tip of the iceberg was the game against Pissburgh last year when it was louder on our third downs than it was theirs. Disgusting.I dunno skins fan, I went to quite a few games... the one time I sat in club level there wasn't a single person yelling , screaming or standing. at all, at any point of the game. I think that was the Browns game. It was just a bunch of people hanging out and chit chatting amongst themselves, mostly about things completely un-related to football. The lower level can get crazy, but not as crazy as it should. All the psychos are upstairs, that's why I love sitting up there the most regardless of the view. If you leave a game and you can still talk then you haven't done your job! I guess its different since I'm in the lower level. Its usually pretty loud down there. There are always people down there yelling and screaming and such. There's been plenty of occasions where I've left with a scratchy voice lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Walton Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 I agree with everything but his solution. The hardcore are gonna do their jobs.....but try telling the girl in the mink coat or the douche bag that looks like he is going clubbing to start cheering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Monarch 06 Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 They need to just take the entire club level of the stadium out and put the top tier in place of the club level. I honestly couldn't believe what I was seeing. People huddled under blankets, complaining about cold weather and not being able to text because their fingers were cold. I'll never sit up there again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucfSKINS Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 I think the title is a bit misleading. What he is proposing isn't necessarily a change in the fan base, but a different attitude. The title leads me to believe that we need new or different fans. Either way, I've only been to a handful of games at Fed Ex, and its not bad, not great, but not bad. I think once we become a more stable franchise (ie. playoffs regularly), you will see more people at games and an even livelier experience, which is unfortunate. Edit: And I completely agree about the evil teet that is the corporate casual fans. Too bad Snyder is a money grubbing whore. I think we should have douche bag security screens to keep them out, along with cowgirls, vagiants, and feables fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngestson Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 With so many seats, boxes, and blocks bought up by companies it's unrealistic to expect the crowds to return to the level they were back in the day. There are a couple of reasons. The area around D.C. has more folks from out-of-state and from out-of-area then any metro area in the U.S. They move to D.C. for jobs in government and government contracting, bringing their fan alligences along with them. These people get tickets to Redskins games, and figure "heck it looks fun" and head off to the game. If we are lucky, they just sort of take in the atmosphere. If we are unlucky, they come to cheer on the opponent. The Steelers game was an exaggeration of that as there are millions of Wester Pa folks in the area and a seemingly unlimited number of tickets floating out there in cyber land. Toss in a team which has been maddingly dissapointing year after year.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Old news. I guess it took the author 11 years to notice this change from RFK? It's like this everywhere nowadays people. The exceptions are Lambeau, Wrigley and Fenway. In these venues, longtime GA STHs still have the best seats and are seemingly a priority over premium seat holders. The fans are packed tightly together and empty seats are few and far between. People actually sit in their seats to watch the games because there are fewer revenue generators like bars, restaurants, humidors, arcades, or side attractions from the game itself. Just how it used to be in RFK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuryYourDuke Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Americans voted for change in 2008 in Washington because of concerns over corporate greed. Such well thought out political insight and analysis. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Tater Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 I will make a bet that if we ever have a similar NFC Championship game at FedEx, it will rival and may even surpass what we saw at RFK in that game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbleedBnG83 Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 This person don't go to many home games I guess. That place is always loud and crazy, with the exception of the Pittsburgh game. Based on this statement, I don't think you have ever been to an NFL game at another stadium. You're in Baltimore, have you ever been to a Ravens game? You will see what a real home field advantage. The old RFK was 100x better than FedEx. FedEx is loud but not razy like you described. There are always too many fans from opposing teams there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattFancy Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 I will make a bet that if we ever have a similar NFC Championship game at FedEx, it will rival and may even surpass what we saw at RFK in that game. True. He's comparing an NFC Championship game to a regular season game. Of course the crowd at an NFCG is going to be going nuts and of course fans will be in full support when the team is winning. We have a nice showing of fans at every home game. If we were consistently making the playoffs and having Super Bowl runs, I'm sure FedEx would be going crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattFancy Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Based on this statement, I don't think you have ever been to an NFL game at another stadium. You're in Baltimore, have you ever been to a Ravens game? You will see what a real home field advantage. The old RFK was 100x better than FedEx. FedEx is loud but not razy like you described. There are always too many fans from opposing teams there. No I haven't. I've only been to FedEx and RFK. Now I will say RFK was much better, but its not like people at FedEx are sitting on there hands all game and could careless about what's going on out on the field. A big difference is that in a 90,000+ stadium, we just have too many seats and too many corporate suites. RFK had what like 70,000 or so and not nearly as many suites. But look at most stadiums in football today, its all about corporations, hell look at the Super Bowl. But FedEx isn't as bad as some people make it out to be. Its loud yes, and it could be louder. But its not like sitting in a library with silence either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttr77 Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Interesting that the last line indicates that it's the fans' fault that the team doesn't win at home. Amazing that this team EVER wins on the road... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbleedBnG83 Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 No I haven't. I've only been to FedEx and RFK. Now I will say RFK was much better, but its not like people at FedEx are sitting on there hands all game and could careless about what's going on out on the field. A big difference is that in a 90,000+ stadium, we just have too many seats and too many corporate suites. RFK had what like 70,000 or so and not nearly as many suites. But look at most stadiums in football today, its all about corporations, hell look at the Super Bowl. But FedEx isn't as bad as some people make it out to be. Its loud yes, and it could be louder. But its not like sitting in a library with silence either. You are right. But the guy who wrote the article is too. They need to bring down the number of seats to around 75-80K. The game day experience also needs to change (parking, seating, STADIUM, ammenities, etc). Once that happens, the real fans will come back out in drones. I have had season tickets the past 3 years, not this year. Its not worth the price and experience. I will have a better time from my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoVaSkins21 Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 God we need to just move back to RFK. This article is spot on, though. The tip of the iceberg was the game against Pissburgh last year when it was louder on our third downs than it was theirs. Disgusting.I dunno skins fan, I went to quite a few games... the one time I sat in club level there wasn't a single person yelling , screaming or standing. at all, at any point of the game. I think that was the Browns game. It was just a bunch of people hanging out and chit chatting amongst themselves, mostly about things completely un-related to football. The lower level can get crazy, but not as crazy as it should. All the psychos are upstairs, that's why I love sitting up there the most regardless of the view. If you leave a game and you can still talk then you haven't done your job! No question. Fed Ex doesn't even come close to resembling the RFK crowds of the 80s. The problem is that this is going to be the continuing trend unless the Skins become like the Packers where I believe fans own shares of the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattFancy Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 You are right. But the guy who wrote the article is too. They need to bring down the number of seats to around 75-80K. The game day experience also needs to change (parking, seating, STADIUM, ammenities, etc). Once that happens, the real fans will come back out in drones. I have had season tickets the past 3 years, not this year. Its not worth the price and experience. I will have a better time from my house. I agree with that. The tickets and everything else are extremely expensive. Which does alienate the casual fan from coming. I think it would be great if we had like 70-80k seats instead of what we have now. But like I said, its not as if the fans there aren't cherring and going crazy, alot of it has to do with us winning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttr77 Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 I think it would be great if we had like 70-80k seats instead of what we have now. This could also lead towards a price increase on the remaining seats, which could make the problem even worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sens11 Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 I have often said that winning creates an enormous part of the environment. It's rather unfortunate that the stadium change came during some tougher years. Think about this...We have had one home playoff game in 12 seasons. Scary. That's why it is super tough to compare..albeit you can't compare 55K jumping and screaming in tiny little intimate RFK, to the 90k at Fedex; but like I said it's the winning that made RFK special. If you think of any of the proudest moments since 1997 (when Fed Ex opened) at home think about how that stadium has rocked. It's just too bad we haven't had more. This list was on redskins.com. If you were around for any of these, you know how awesome the stadium can be. http://www.redskins.com/gen/articles/15_Memorable_Moments_at_FedExField_3741.jsp On another note...For those hockey nuts.. Think about how crapping Verizon was when the CAPS were bad... look at it now. That place was insane during the playoffs... winning is the difference! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Brown Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Based on this statement, I don't think you have ever been to an NFL game at another stadium. You're in Baltimore, have you ever been to a Ravens game? You will see what a real home field advantage. The old RFK was 100x better than FedEx. FedEx is loud but not razy like you described. There are always too many fans from opposing teams there. M&T Bank is a great stadium and the fans love watching their ravens there. Like you said they provide a real home field advantage; at least its real compared to ours. The place hold 70,000 I think and could embarrass Fed Ex on a bad day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Lloyd Christmas Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 when we become a dominant force again like we were in the 80s the casual fans will care again. kinda hard to get the common man jazzed up with year after year of failure. kinda hard to chant "WE WANT DALLAS" when youre sitting at 5-7 every season in december. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. Kaos Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 http://www.redskins.com/gen/articles/15_Memorable_Moments_at_FedExField_3741.jsp Pretty cool walk down memory lane. I was there for a few of them, including the top 3 As far as the FedEx vs. RFK issue, I have said all along..... winning will cure alot of the negatives people find in FedEx. Anybody that was at the Lions playoff game will tell you that FedEx can rock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizKauai Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 I haven't had a chance to see an NFL game yet (just one ProBowl, though) but I know I felt "terrible" when FedEx Field was filled with Terrible Towels last year. SHEESH! FILL DEM SEATS, REDSKINS FANS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
da#1skinsfan Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 While this is a poorly written piece that could barely pass for an amateur blog... The writer is correct in what they are saying. Fedex field sucks, our fanbase is weak, and we have a limited homefield advantage. With the exception of the Pittsburgh game, I can honestly say this has been improving each year, our fans are becoming more passionate, more hostile towards visiting fans, and are giving fedex more of an NFL home field feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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