Destructis Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 My father was a big Skins fan. I became a Skins fan because of him. My first Redskins game was at RFK in 1968 or 69. He took me to see them play the St. Louis Cardinals. As I grew up, I could recite Skins stats like crazy. My son is 19 now and I took him to his first Skins game 4 years ago. He was a Skins fan before that but it was his first game. The other day, we were talking a little bit about the Skins and he mentioned that he would like to see Kevin Barnes stay at safety. My response to him was that I thought Barnes was a bit to small to play at safety. My son started rattling off stats like his height and weight and his stats from college. I was freaking impressed and at that moment, I knew he was going to be a life long Skins fan and will probably pass that down to his son one day. It also made me think of my father who passed away 27 years ago. I thought this would make a good thread. People can talk about how they had the Skins passed down to them or how they are passing them down to their kids. My dirty little secret is that I failed with my daughter, She is a Ravens fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinfan2k Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I got my redskins obsession from my grandpa. He sure loved him and would watch them every week and read the articles in the post every day afterwards. He although never would go to a game eventhough he loved him. For this reason i make it my duty to spend money on things that I love to do and not regret it later. And now slowly i have converted my sister into a skins family and when i am at the game, my mom, dad and sister are on the couch watching them. I want to take them to a game next year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPCreativelab Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 my dad gave it to me. we dont really get along much these days...or even talk but we are both redskins fans. he used to make me sit on a redskins rug during games and rub it for luck...he also used to spout out profanities and racial slurs at our players...which was great for a young boy to hear guess i should be happy that i am one of those people that did not adopt their fathers prejudices, but instead went out of his way to be the opposite of his father. except with the Skins...still love the Skins funny side note, to rebel against my father and him making us sit on the rug, my sister started rooting for the Cowboys, then after so long of faking it, she actually is a Cowboys fan now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MintHillSkinsFan Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 It all started with my Granddad. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1909 but moved to Calvert County Md., which was my Grandmother's home, when he retired from the Navy in the 40's. I guess that's when he got into the Redskins and was a lifelong fan. That's on my Mom's side. My Dad was a Navy brat and then joined the Navy when he graduated high school in Hawaii. He moved to Md. with my mom when he got out of the Navy, which was right around the time I was born. Not sure if that was when he started following ths Skins or if it happened before. But with all that, there was never any doubt that I would be anything but a Redskins fan. Now, my son was born here in Florida and is 7 now but with my rabid obsession, he is all Redskins. He likes the Dolphins in the AFC as a secondary but if you ask him who he is a fan of, it's the Redskins. Hopefully we can win something in the next 10 years so he doesn't stray................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destructis Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Now, my son was born here in Florida and is 7 now but with my rabid obsession, he is all Redskins.. Isn't that such a cool feeling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMutt Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 My Grandaddy got me hooked. My family is originally from Manassas, but my grandparents moved with my Mom and my Uncle to Florida not long before I was born. Most of my family is still in Northern VA though. I never once thought about rooting for the Bucs or the Dolphins growing up, and the Jags came around way too late (I was too much of a Redskins fan by then.) My son (who is now 14 and was also born in FL) is a bigger Redskins fan than I am. When people find that we are from Florida and now living in Charlotte, NC they always ask, "Why are you a Redskins fan?" We just smile and say that our family is from the D.C. area, and it's in our blood. :point2sky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfWashington Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 My dad passed it on to me when I was born. He is 30 years older than me and grew up around here rooting for the Redskins greats of yesteryear. Someday when I have a child, they will be raised on Redskins tradition just like I was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 My grandad was a baseball fan first and he played semi-pro baseball. But his brother in law (my mother's uncle) used to take her to Griffith Stadium when she was a young girl and got her hooked. My grandfather passed in 1998 and always claimed he liked the Dolphins because of Shula, but we all knew he was a Redskins fan. My grandmother said he'd always sit at the kitchen table and watch them. My great uncle passed in 2007, but his family still has the tickets. He took me to my first game our first SB season in 1982. I was 14. We beat the Eagles 13-9 and Riggins had like 140 yards. It was rainy, muddy and cold. Perfect RFK weather. My mom still watches them every Sunday and she passed it down to me. I don't have any kids, but my sister roots for the Packers and her 4 kids root for the Buccaneers, Giants, Broncos and Bengals respectively. Her oldest child has a son (my great nephew) and we thought he was going to be a Panthers fan because when he was 2, we moved to the Charlotte area. He did become a Panthers fan at first because of the neighbor boy across the street liked them. But, he saw Cooley in an interview and thought he was the funniest dude every. He's 7 1/2 now and is a full blown Redskins fan. It sucks that it skipped a generation, but if I ever have a kid, you can be sure they'll be a Redskin fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooper Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Dad passed it to me. Have a little girl now and we live in LA. We're getting the Chargers soon so I'll guess our family we'll have a favorite AFC team and a favorite NFC team with Norv as the common denominator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbank31 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 My dad was a Patriots fan. He delivered mail to a couple of the players. I became a Skins fan during the 1971 playoffs and the 72 Super Bowl is my first football memory. Don't ask me why, but that day I became a Skins fan and there are pictures floating around of me wearing Skins clothing and hats at age 5. My oldest son is 9 now and a case could be made that he was a Redskins fan at birth as his first pair of booties were Redskins. He actually started watching games with me last year and that is when I knew we would always have that time together. He asks an awful lot of questions, but it is worth every minute. Now we get the NFL package on direct tv and every week we sit and watch the game. My favorite part of the week. PS. I tell all the Patriots fans that I support the true local team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins_Fan82 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Got it from my dad, he got it from his father. My grandfather and dad were born and raised in the city, and they bleed burgandy. I have pictures of me at 6 months old back in 1982, sitting on my dad's lap in a Redskins onezie, watching the games. After my wife and my parents, the Washington Redskins are the most important thing in my life. i am THAT hardcore. Being a Redskins fan is more than just watching the games to me, it's a way of life. My wife and father-in-law are Cowboys fans, which sucks. But my kids will have no choice. Either they become Redskins fans, or I'm putting them up for adoption. My Uncle Jerry has 4 daughters. He doesn't like any of the guys they bring home unless they're skins fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MassSkinsFan Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I was almost a Packers fan. Shortly after I was born we moved to Madison for three years. My first jersey was a Ray Nitzche (sp?) #66. Sadly I have a photo of that somewhere. We moved to Springfield VA in 1968 and though I briefly was a Dolphins fan (I liked the unis for some strange reason) I quickly converted to the Skins, as did my Dad. My 2nd jersey was a #42 Charley Taylor - much better IMO. My Dad had never lived in a major metro area before Madison or NoVa, so those were really the first two teams he rooted for regularly. Lombardi moving from GB to DC also swayed him I'm sure. In the end we were Redskins fans. Some of my fondest memories are of watching the Skins with my Dad (RIP). Sadly my brother was a lot older than me so he never really got the Skins exposure before he left home. He ended up in TX and became an Oilers fan. His daughters are Cowpuke fans. Major family failure there, though I like to tease them when the Skins win Dallas week. I'm child-free on purpose, but my nephew in England, age 2, will be a Redskins fan - count on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Slamming Butcher Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 One of my earliest memories as a child was of my father screaming maniacally at the television. He was an understated and unassuming blue collar man that otherwise didn't have much to say, but for some unknown reason he was having the type of out of character reaction that really frightened my 4 year old psyche. With tears welling in my eyes I decided to walk in and ask what was the matter, what could be so upsetting, what could generate such an alarming reaction from such a docile creature...at least that's how I remember it...but it likely came out sounding more like "Daddy, what's wrong"? Although he was blinded by rage at what was transpiring on the screen, he sat me down and attempted to explain as well as he could to a drooling toddler what was going on. Of course I didn't understand, but I did gather that the fellows in the red shirts were my father's favorites. I also noticed the picture of the indian head on the hats. I liked that. The ones in the white shirts were doing something to hurt them. I didn't like that. And the guys in the white shirts made my father scream and say cuss words. They had stars on their hats. I hated them. And that's how it started. That was Thanksgiving day, 1974. My wife and I met in the late summer of 1991. She could not have cared less for NFL football as she had not been exposed to it much as a child, but after witnessing my similar reactions to what I had experienced with my father her interest piqued. The first superbowl we shared as a couple was on January 26, 1992. We won. She was hooked. My daughter was born in 1994, and she has known nothing other than jumping, screaming and cussing on fall Sundays for her entire life. It has probably never alarmed her as it was normal behavior and she was pretty much disinterested in it all. Over the years she has occasionally stopped in the den to gaze at the screen and ask the random question, or comment on the pretty uniforms, but it simply didn't seem to be something she would care much about. This year as my wife and I were preparing our Christmas/new year's trip to DC for our annual FedEx appearance, my daughter asked if she could go. I said of course you can go love, you always go on this trip with us. She replied, no, I mean can I go to the game? My heart skipped a beat. I sold my two tickets here in the ES classifieds and bought 3 instead. We went to the Giants game on January 2 of this year. It was cold. It rained. We lost. And she had a friggin' blast. She "liked" the Redskins on facebook later that week, and has asked for a Brandon Banks jersey for her birthday. I'm beaming. I have managed to pass the legacy on. Her grandfather would be proud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASUki Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I got it from my dad, who is such a die hard! For years, prior to him retiring, he had a signed picture of himself and the hogettes & a signed picture of me, him, and Dave Butz hanging up in his office! While growing up, we would watch games and yell at the tv. During commercial breaks, I would be sporting my Rawlings Art Monk jersey, run outside and throw the ball to myself a couple of times (while of course "diving" to catch the ball)! Fun times! However, the best thing....my 2 year old son came up to me a couple of weeks back, pointed at the Redskins emblem, and said, "Go Redskins"!!! Such a great feeling! He, also, loves to wear his Clinton Portis jersey.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MassSkinsFan Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 That was Thanksgiving day, 1974. Classic. Thanks - made me smile! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfriedenthal Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 My father.... knows nothing about football, but when I brought him to his first skins game two years ago, has an affinity for the team now. I passed it upwards in the chain, and will pass it down to my kids too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdigle Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Like most people here, my father turned me on to the 'Skins. Lucky for me, though, I started getting into them during their 1999 season. If you question my loyalty, just know that I've been with them wholeheartedly since then . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilco_holland Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 My dirty little secret is that I failed with my daughter, She is a Ravens fan. I have no American Football history (not strange if you look @ my location) in the familie but I hope I can pass it on to my kids (if I ever get one, two, three is al ready a crowd...take nothing for granted). But Destructis...tell me why on eath is your daughter Ravens fan? What went wrong ;P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldskoolskins Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I have been a Skins fan since 82, I was five and I remember my dad talking about the superbowl. My wife is from PA just east of philly so you can guess who she roots for:(. Anyhow we have 4 kids all fans of the burgundy and gold...I told them if they root for the sheagles they had to find another place to live:ols: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Command The 414 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Both my Parents were huge Colts fan...grew up in Bmore...but I was always a Redskins fan...(mother used to say I would say Indians when a Skins game was on).......now I have 2 children of my own (7 and 5) my Daughter likes the Dolphins (only because she loves Dolphins) but my little Boy loves the Skins...(never forced it on him either)..so hopefully he'll have a great memory of the Skins being a good franchise growing up like I did........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 One of my favorite memories of the 1991 season is watching every game, from Detroit to the Superbowl with my dad. Growing up in DC I most likely would have become a die hard fan regardless, but its a bit more special thinking about that season and watching it with him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 My Grandfather was born in 1914 and grew up in town near Griffith Stadium. As far as I know he became a fan in 1937 when the team arrived and immediately won the league championship. He held season tickets at Griffith Stadium, the same account I have at FedEx today. Both of my grandparents attended the Pearl Harbor game together, Skins/Eagles 12/7/41. My dad started attending games in the early 1950s. I attended my first game with my dad in 1983. (playoffs Minn) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sniper_king Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 this is how mine started i became a skins fan due to my father, im 21 years old now and have been a skins fan since i can remember sitting on the couch with my father watching the skins play. He took me to my first game for my 18th birthday and it ended up being the sean taylor game against the bills, will never forget that for as long as i live and cant wait to pass the tradition onto my son some day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21cents Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I want a better future for my kids and not go through the struggles i went through. My kids are gonna be steelers fans or colts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToaCommander Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I have no American Football history (not strange if you look @ my location) in the familie but I hope I can pass it on to my kids (if I ever get one, two, three is al ready a crowd...take nothing for granted).But Destructis...tell me why on eath is your daughter Ravens fan? What went wrong ;P I'm like the dutch above, we do not play football here but we watched alot of football back in the 70's - 80's. My dad was a huge 44 fan and I got hooked as well. However, I made the mistake of buying my son a Jamal Lewis #31 (Ravens) jersey because I have not seen a redskin jersey sold here in Samoa. Now my son is a Ravens fan and cannot bring him back to the light (B'n'G) and he is starting to annoy me with Ravens this and that BS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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