ttr77 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 So, one of my best friends has a 12 year old son. He's been a live-and-die by the Redskins fan since he was about 6. This kid new more than I did about some aspects of the team. Two years ago we took him to his first Skins game - the one against Buffalo. After witnessing drunken fans, out of control cussing, 30 minute bathroom lines, random fights, and all the other pleasantries that go with the gameday experience, he said he has NO desire to go back. Fast forward to this past Sunday. I go over to their house for the Skins game. When I get there, the kid is out in the field across the street with about a dozen of his friends. They come in at about 3...I ask them why they aren't watching the game. They basically said that they don't care about the Skins anymore..due not only to the game experience, but the fact that the team has become a 'joke'. I mean, it was UNANIMOUS. I'm aware that this is a small sample size...but this is definitely not the first time I've seen younger fans completely lose interest in this team. It makes me wonder what the future holds for this franchise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akorn22 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Hmm interesting. As far as that kid's experience at the game goes, i think he was just overwhelmed. Every stadium is like that and being from philly, i can say that there are no young eagles fans being driven away from liking the eagles because of behaviour they saw at the linc. Anyway, i never saw the redskins win anything, or even ever really be a good team and i still like them. when i was little i actually liked rooting for the bad teams and hoping they won. I guess it was more fun to me then rooting for the stellar teams. That's what made the redskins my team i guess, they were always a bad team haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renegade7 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 It's hard to keep fans when you aren't winning football games. The future of this franchise is the same as any that doesn't win games; it loses fans. Having said that, our golden age isn't THAT long ago, and there are plenty of true fans left from that era; my father being one of them. We didn't go to game together until I was an adult, and I've never seen any of the glory that he was blessed with. I cannot see myself rooting for anybody else and it goes far deeper then wins or loses. It's like unconditional love, and I know I'm not the only one of my age group that's like that. Not at all. And as ugly as it could get in our lifetime, I always get this weird feeling in my spirit when I remember there are still Lions season ticket holders. To me, that's deep... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soup Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I don't know, when I was a kid, yes I liked the redskins but I didn't go nuts over them. I became a true fan around 18 or 19. I think its just an age thing, they'll come around sooner or later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farbod21 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Renegade, ur sig says it all baby... HTTR :logo: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terpfan Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Little kids are going to be fairweather. I would worry though that if the team keeps sucking they will never care enough to get really into their team. If attendance keeps dipping at Fedex Field we will see how much the teams failures actually have affected fan support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewCliche21 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 When I was six, we had just won Super Bowl XXVI. I have hope because I've seen that we CAN do it. What does your kid have to cheer for? The Monday Night Miracle? Big deal. We've sucked his entire life. When he was six, what were we in, the Spurrier years? The next generation doesn't care because they shouldn't; they have no reason to. Why am I a Redskins fan? To be honest, at this point, I don't even know. It's not like I'd jump ship, but this season just feels like a tipping point for me. Like being in an emotionally abusive relationship, it kind of numbs you to the point where you realize, "I'll take it, but I don't even care anymore." The more and more that I watch the Ravens do what they do, the more and more I realize how horribly we do it. I grew up in Columbia, so I've seen the Ravens everywhere. I used to hate them because they were a rival home team and their fans can be asses, bragging about this and that. But now that I look at it, they really know how to run a team. 98 Rock is THRILLED to be their flagship station, but who do we have? Three stations run by Snyder. The Redskins aren't a team anymore, they're just a business. It's a shame that it's come to this. Thanks a lot, Danny boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Excuses Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Those who will root will root for the team. I've been a fan forever and I'll always stay one. But no doubt the amount of Skins fans in the current generation is very small. In my high school, I couldn't name more than 15 people who were die hard passionate fans. I don't blame people though... What is there to root for? Honestly, I'm only a fan because I only root for DC teams and I love football. I'll always stay a Skins fan but some people look for more than sense of pride for the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRobi21 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 He's 12..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedskinsTime Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Winning brings people back. Losing pushes them away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redskin301 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 That kid is a loser I ked I ked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePreciating Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 So, one of my best friends has a 12 year old son. He's been a live-and-die by the Redskins fan since he was about 6. This kid new more than I did about some aspects of the team. Two years ago we took him to his first Skins game - the one against Buffalo. After witnessing drunken fans, out of control cussing, 30 minute bathroom lines, random fights, and all the other pleasantries that go with the gameday experience, he said he has NO desire to go back. Fast forward to this past Sunday. I go over to their house for the Skins game. When I get there, the kid is out in the field across the street with about a dozen of his friends. They come in at about 3...I ask them why they aren't watching the game. They basically said that they don't care about the Skins anymore..due not only to the game experience, but the fact that the team has become a 'joke'. I mean, it was UNANIMOUS. I'm aware that this is a small sample size...but this is definitely not the first time I've seen younger fans completely lose interest in this team. It makes me wonder what the future holds for this franchise. I don't believe a word you say. I can picture a 12 year old "Well the game experience was harrowing, so I won't watch the team. Fans were cussing, oh and we're a joke. All of us kids think that. All of us." :jerk: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolio47 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 This kind of thing bothers me. I may only be 21, but living in VT my whole life and now NY(in a household where my dad is a giants fan and my brother is a cowboys fan), I faced a lot of flak but I kept on believing and will keep on believing in the Skins. IMO, a real fan is someone who sits through wade through the same crappy seasons as everyone else but the bottom line is THEY DON'T LET IT TAKE THEM DOWN. Those people will always keep the faith no matter the pain or frustration-that is what defines a fan imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark The Homer Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 ... Renegade, ur sig says it all baby... HTTR :logo: Yes, it's a fine sig, but it needs to shrink to about 80% of its current size. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redskins Diehard Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 My 10 year old nephew has been to a few games and watches every week. I wonder if all the Steeler fans that were born in 1980 gave up on their team before that Super Bowl in 2005? (I think they would have been about 25 by that point) I wonder if the Cowboy fans that are now in 8th grade have given up because they have never seen their team win a playoff game? I wonder how the Eagles have any fans at all. The only thing wrong with the next generation in the OP is that they have to sit around and listen to the current generation whine and cry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theTruthTeller Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Most of us schedule our time around the games. Kids have other things to do. I'm glad the kid is out playing with his friends rather than getting all upset about a stupid football game. Would you guys rather he locked himself in a room for a week because of the Lions game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Sure kids are fair weather fans, but he wouldn't be the first to think that the FedEx game day experience sucks and isn't worth the trouble, especially when the team is not performing. If the highlight of the game day experience is sitting in the middle of a crowd of aggressive, depressed, swearing drunks for three hours, then I can understand someone not thinking it's not a great use of their time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsFTW Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I'm really not sure if I'd have ever gotten into the NFL and the Redskins nearly as much if they hadn't started winning soon after I started watching. The first Redskins games I remember were the 0-5 start in the 1981 season. I didn't quit watching the games when they were losing and they soon became very good so I don't have any idea. If that 8-8 season was 2000 instead of 81 maybe I wouldn't have ever registered here, who knows. The game I remember really getting me into the NFL was the Miami/San Diego playoff game that year 41-38 SD win. That was just the most amazing game I had seen up to then, maybe still actually. Or maybe it was just because I was 8-9 years old. I knew right away I was supposed to hate Dallas though. My grandparents were 1 Redskins fan and 1 Puke fan. I think I went with the Redskins because they were the underdog back then but I can't remember exactly why now. I think my grandfather told me everybody is a Cowboys fan, we need to root for the Redskins, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurntToast Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 The kid is only 12 years old! At 12 I'd rather be outside playing football than watching it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffylookin Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I certainly am not in tune with "the next generation" so this is complete and total speculation, but I think that we will see a dip in support for the Redskins as the next gen comes up. There are a variety of reasons. Yes, them sucking and being a laughingstock are part of it. But then again when I was growing up the Redskins, while not a laughingstock, were not very good either. I didn't remember the Allen era, I remember watching the Skins and be disappointed by losses in the Pardee mini-era. I didn't jump ship. I don't think kids today would jump ship only because the Skins suck. Of course it was only a 4 year dry spell 1978 year one of Pardee (8 years old) to 1981 year one of Gibbs(11 years old). By year 5 we won the Super Bowl. Kids today have gone their entire childhood and are now well into their teens and have not seen the Skins be any good. I think we're living in a different era. Kids today have access to other teams that we did not. They have cable/satellite/internet and today can adopt any team they want and follow them pretty closely. I know growing up that I developed a loyalty to the Skins because they were the local team representing where I lived and because they were the team that I heard about all the time. I don't know if kids today have that same loyalty to the local teams and certainly they have access to hear about any team they want to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMVSkins Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 The only thing wrong with the next generation in the OP is that they have to sit around and listen to the current generation whine and cry. I think alot of it has to do with the area we live in as well where everyone including myself thinks our opinion matters when it comes to this team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMayo21 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Well hey, being 18, and my brother being 14, we're relatively young but diehard Skins fans. Living in Massachusetts, I honestly think my little bro and I know more about the Skins than most of these jackhole Pats fans knkow about the Pats. We're going down this this ship we call the Redskins until the day we die, don't have to worry about us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. Kaos Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I can assure each and every one of you that MY next generation bleeds burgundy & gold. Don't believe me.... Tell her she can't go to the next home game Ask her to sing you HTTR (both verses) Ask her what she thinks of Dallass Ask her what her 3 greatest memories are This past week she looked at me and made a statement that solidified her allegiance - After the Rogers INT drop she looked at me and said "Dad, for the first time ever my heart skipped a beat when he dropped that football" Tears welled up in my eye and I knew right then that I had done a good job with her. I think you get the point. Oh and by the way....... She's 12! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttr77 Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 I don't believe a word you say.I can picture a 12 year old "Well the game experience was harrowing, so I won't watch the team. Fans were cussing, oh and we're a joke. All of us kids think that. All of us." :jerk: I'm sure you read the part where I said it was a small sample size, right? And that this does not make it a certainty that it is the case all over, right? But, when I was watching this team in the 80's, DC and N.Va was a freakin' ghost town. My mom would schedule her shopping on a Sunday, since the stores were always completely empty. I'm aware that times are different, but the passion for this team is waning, especially amongst the younger fans. And if you think I'm making this up, then you ain't paying attention. Besides, I got better things to do than make up stories to put on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttr77 Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 He's 12..... When I was 12, you couldn't DRAG me from the TV during a Skins game. And yes, we had TVs back then. Color and all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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