I Like Sonny (button)

[DButz65]

A good friend of mine, his father passed away 2 weeks ago, and while rummaging through his stuff, he found this and said if I wanted it, I could have it.... figured I would share it with everyone..HTTR!

[Conn]

That is cool!

[scruffylookin]

Pretty cool.

It really is amazing that such a hotly debated QB controversey among fans never really did split or hurt the team.

One thing I'd like to ask the fans who were around back then, were there boos in the stands by the Sonny folks when Billy took the field or threw a pick and vice versa? Today fans seem to be alot harder on the players (I'm as guilty as anyone) than they seemed to be back then. My impression is that while fans may have liked Sonny or Billy, they did not hate the other guy. I think today supporting one player means you almost have to hate his competition.

[andyburd]

Pretty cool.

It really is amazing that such a hotly debated QB controversey among fans never really did split or hurt the team.

One thing I'd like to ask the fans who were around back then, were there boos in the stands by the Sonny folks when Billy took the field or threw a pick and vice versa? Today fans seem to be alot harder on the players (I'm as guilty as anyone) than they seemed to be back then. My impression is that while fans may have liked Sonny or Billy, they did not hate the other guy. I think today supporting one player means you almost have to hate his competition.

Sonny and Billy were the best of friends, they had many a drinks together.

[Mark The Homer]

Cool! Here's mine:

http://img532.imageshack.us/img532/5538/dcp4099.jpg

[Destructis]

Sonny and Billy were the best of friends, they had many a drinks together.

That was exactly what I was going to say. They were good friends. I remember going to games and watching the warm ups. Sonny and Billy were in the back row. That was way back when teams lined up to stretch and whatnot. They would be doing toe touches half assed. They would lift their arms over their heads and then bring them down but never bend at the waist. It was really funny. They would stand there and talk and laugh. Both of them had beer guts in those days and it was something acceptable.

You would read in the papers about them going out and getting drunk the night before and the fans would laugh about it. It just was what it was.

[S.T.real,lights,out]

hahahaha, awesome!

[Skinsfan1311]

Pretty cool.

It really is amazing that such a hotly debated QB controversey among fans never really did split or hurt the team.

Today fans seem to be alot harder on the players (I'm as guilty as anyone) than they seemed to be back then. My impression is that while fans may have liked Sonny or Billy, they did not hate the other guy. I think today supporting one player means you almost have to hate his competition.

I think that the current fans are harder on the players because we're living in the information age.

Every single move by every single player seems to be scrutinized. Nowadays, if a player takes a bathroom break at an OTA, it's on message boards, tweeted, whatever, before he's leaves the stall!

Of course, I'm being facetious, but you get the point.

JMO

[Mark The Homer]

I think that the current fans are harder on the players because we're living in the information age.

Every single move by every single player seems to be scrutinized. Nowadays, if a player takes a bathroom break at an OTA, it's on message boards, tweeted, whatever, before he's leaves the stall!

Of course, I'm being facetious, but you get the point.

JMO

What stall? We got 'Tana leaking at the tree line last season.

Nothing escapes our watchful eye. The players love it!

[SWFLSkins]

Really Cool. Not like we are going to see McLovin It and Cult of Colt buttons. hahaha

[andyburd]

I still have my ticket stub from the 1972 Championship game where we whipped Dallas 26-3.

If I can figure out how to downsize my image, I will post it, but on the stub, it actually says Dallas Cowboys vs Washington Redskins on it, as where today, they print them up so early that it just says, NFC Championship.

The ticket was $30.00 in 1972, which was actually a lot of cash back then

[LD0506]

Pretty cool.

It really is amazing that such a hotly debated QB controversey among fans never really did split or hurt the team.

One thing I'd like to ask the fans who were around back then, were there boos in the stands by the Sonny folks when Billy took the field or threw a pick and vice versa? Today fans seem to be alot harder on the players (I'm as guilty as anyone) than they seemed to be back then. My impression is that while fans may have liked Sonny or Billy, they did not hate the other guy. I think today supporting one player means you almost have to hate his competition.

Things were VERY different then. It was far more civilized, more tongue-in-cheek than anything is nowadays. There were quite a few people that sported both "I Like Sonny" and "I Like Billy" buttons at the same time.

[#98QBKiller]

What stall? We got 'Tana leaking at the tree line last season.

Nothing escapes our watchful eye. The players love it!

Haha, I forgot about the 'Tana leak. But he's right, it's getting pretty close to zero privacy in the digi/info age.

I will say though, that this city loves it a QB controversy. Protest is just in the spirit of the area. Gotta love it.

[LightningBuggs]

Cool! Here's mine:

http://img532.imageshack.us/img532/5538/dcp4099.jpg

Very cool hat, Mark. Love both buttons.

[SonnyRules]

That is so cool. Thanks for sharing; much appreciated.

[mcpingist]

That was exactly what I was going to say. They were good friends. I remember going to games and watching the warm ups. Sonny and Billy were in the back row. That was way back when teams lined up to stretch and whatnot. They would be doing toe touches half assed. They would lift their arms over their heads and then bring them down but never bend at the waist. It was really funny. They would stand there and talk and laugh. Both of them had beer guts in those days and it was something acceptable.

You would read in the papers about them going out and getting drunk the night before and the fans would laugh about it. It just was what it was.

They were both very likable characters who loved their beer and everyone in Washington loved and respected them both. A reporter once commented on Sonny's belly. Sonny's response was something like, "Son, I don't throw the ball with my belly, I throw it with my right arm and believe me, it gets plenty of exercise, if you know what I mean." He said this while making motions of drinking a beer with his right hand. It was a fun time to be a Skins fan.

Kilmer was a tough guy and a fighter who would never give up but seriously, no way should he have ever been the starter with Jurgy on the team.

[wildbill1952]

Very cool button. Thanks for sharing.

I barely remember the controversy, but there wasn't the media attention given to it outside the DC area. You'd hear it on Sundays during the game (And the Skins were the only football team we ever watched), but there wasn't the overall media attention given to all of sports that there is today.

From a Redskin fan who lived in the deep south, I just remember my father's attitude that Kilmer was more of a working man's guy and Sonny was more of an elitist. Since he never met or knew either of them, I'm not sure why my father had that attitude, but that was the way my family felt, because that's the way my Dad felt. Older Redskin fans than me are getting harder to find as we die off, but I'll ask around to a couple of them and see if any of them remember the Kilmer/Jurgensen controversy. If I get any feedback at all, I'll bring up what they remember.

Guaranteed it never reached the lack of civility experienced with the latest QB controversy, but it was a different time. Conversations were usually held face-to-face and not through media that allowed anonymity.

[thebluefood]

They were both very likable characters who loved their beer and everyone in Washington loved and respected them both. A reporter once commented on Sonny's belly. Sonny's response was something like, "Son, I don't throw the ball with my belly, I throw it with my right arm and believe me, it gets plenty of exercise, if you know what I mean." He said this while making motions of drinking a beer with his right hand. It was a fun time to be a Skins fan.

Kilmer was a tough guy and a fighter who would never give up but seriously, no way should he have ever been the starter with Jurgy on the team.

From what I understand, the only reason why Kilmer started over Sonny was because Allen didn't like Sonny on a personal level. He didn't like the way he played ball and he just didn't like him as a human being. Jurgy was a gun slinger. Allen only wanted to play with defense and special teams.

I think if Allen let Jurgenson do what he did best (throw the football), the Redskins would have more than 3 Lombardi's in the trophy case.

[AllBusiness]

I LIKE McNABB!

[pjfootballer]

If I were old enough I would have been on the side of Sonny. My first full season of watching football was 1976 and I didn't know until a couple years later what the controversy was.

[pjfootballer]

From what I understand, the only reason why Kilmer started over Sonny was because Allen didn't like Sonny on a personal level. He didn't like the way he played ball and he just didn't like him as a human being. Jurgy was a gun slinger. Allen only wanted to play with defense and special teams.

I think if Allen let Jurgenson do what he did best (throw the football), the Redskins would have more than 3 Lombardi's in the trophy case.

Very true. Allen thought we should win with defense and special teams. Plus, Sonny called his own plays which would make him in control of the offense and Allen wanted to always be in control.

[SonOfWashington]

That's awesome. Does anyone have any bumper stickers?

[Destructis]

I remember my father had a "I like Sonny" bumpersticker.

Sonny was more of a gunslinger, which is part of why he was a fan favorite. Billy was a winner. He would throw ducks all the time, but damned if somehow, he found a way to win. Sonny would win too, but it was a different way. With Sonny, the defense had to fear that quick strike. With Billy, it was always a drive at the end which he would just barely keep alive.

I really do miss those days.

[allskins]

Pretty cool.

It really is amazing that such a hotly debated QB controversey among fans never really did split or hurt the team.

One thing I'd like to ask the fans who were around back then, were there boos in the stands by the Sonny folks when Billy took the field or threw a pick and vice versa? Today fans seem to be alot harder on the players (I'm as guilty as anyone) than they seemed to be back then. My impression is that while fans may have liked Sonny or Billy, they did not hate the other guy. I think today supporting one player means you almost have to hate his competition.

I remember back then you prefered one over the other but they were both REDSKINS so you rooted for whoever was out there. Along with the buttons (I like Sonny/Billy) there were also bumper stickers with the same. You would think it divided the city but, it did just the opposite, it was all about the Redskins. I remember when Billy got a cut on his nose and wore a bandaid on it, all of the Billy supporters went to the game with bandaids on there nose. I think it was a great time in the area. Like someone else said on here, both Sony and Billy had beer guts and it was acceptable.

[veteranskinsfan]

I could never figure out why Allen let Billy start in the Super Bowl. I was a die hard Sonny supporter. Billy and Sonny did like each other. Billy was tough and he fought hard but he was not a pure passer like Sonny. There will never be another Sonny Jurgensen. I wish the younger Skins fan could have seen him play. He never gave up even when the score was lopsided in the 4th quarter of games. He was relentless. He had 3 good receivers- Jerry Smith at tight end, Charley Taylor, and Mitchell.