studzmckenzie Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 First reported last week, RFK Stadium is slated for demolition by 2021. To be honest, I am surprised that the building is still standing. Age and acid rain have definitely taken its toll on the structure (the Capitol building, a few blocks away, has had its exterior reworked several times, because of acid rain). But a lot of great memories there --- Redskins, Senators/Nationals, soccer and concerts! I'll never forget how much the end zone bleachers used to shake, even during TV timeouts, when the opponent had the ball, often throwing my camera settings off. And in the 1960s and '70s, being able to leave the house and get home from the game afterwards in a very reasonable amount of time (today, not so!!) Your favorite RFK Stadium gameday memories? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakedtater1 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Hey no ****!!!..excuse the language but I love this thread already..thank you so much for posting this!!!..I have nothing to contribute(as usual)but I'm gonna love reading stories of those that do have memories of RFK.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hail2skins Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 I was born in northern VA, but came back to the DC area for work about 30 years ago, and so I only got to attend about 10 regular season Redskins games at RFK before the team moved to Landover. Of course back then getting tickets to games at RFK just seemed like a real treat, even for preseason games. I also thought having the Metro fairly close to the stadium provided a good camaraderie for fans, as Metro cars packed with people in B&G would open at the Stadium-Armory site and the throngs would go up the escalator and take the relatively short walk to RFK, certainly not the mile-long death march that people have to take to and from the Morgan Blvd site to and from FedEx. Out of the few games, the notables: 1986: my first-ever regular season experience was a late-season huge game against the Giants. Both teams were 11-2. Seats were in the upper deck end zone. Unfortunately, NY dominated the Skins that day, once of three times they would beat us that seasons en route to their first Super Bowl title. 1991: went twice that year. One was a rainy day against Atlanta where Rypien threw 6 TDs in a 56-17 rout; the other was the game where the Cowboys ruined our undefeated season with a 24-21 victory. 1996:The last game at RFK was a meaningless win over Dallas, but I attended the prior home game against the 49ers. The Skins had won the previous week at Philly (I was also at that game) to go to 8-3 and I thought there was no way they were going to miss the playoffs. We went ahead 16-9 in the 4th quarter and on the ensuing kickoff the 49ers fumbled. I was sitting in the lower end zone on the opposite side of the stadium, but I can still hear that roar from the fans when that ball hit the turf. Unfortunately, SF recovered, tied the game, and then won in OT. Also still remember Steve Young remembering as he was leading the Niners down for the game-tying drive and he said "doing this at hostile RFK.....is there a much better experience?" and then seemed bummed when he was told that it was going to be the last season for the Skins there. Of course we will probably have a similar thread about FedEx in about a decade when the Skins will be in yet another stadium. At its core I think FedEx is a functional-enough place to watch a game, and maybe we'll have some big playoff wins to celebrate in there before it closes. As of now, though, my fondest memories of Landover will probably revolve around its first few seasons when the place, although not without issues, was largely seen as a welcome upgrade to RFK. That was before the era of Snyder, with the cheesy music over the PA, scrapping the fun kids area outside the stadium, getting rid of Phil Hochberg for the carnival barker Mark Kessler, and, of course, the two decades of mainly losing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clskinsfan Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 I have a couple. But my very favorite moment in RFK was the 91 NFC Championship Game. The very first play of the game Charles Mann had a sack fumble and the place just erupted. It is still the single loudest thing I have ever heard in my life: There are SO MANY awesome memories from the 80's and 90's for me. I was a late teenager to mid 20's during our glory years. My parent had season tickets 50 yard line last row in section 107. Right behind the Hoggettes. The perfect age to REALLY enjoy having a winning team. Unfortunately it locked me into following the national embarrassment that is now the Redskins. Moment number 2 for me was this: Moment Number 3 for me: There are TONS more. But I could eat up an entire page posting them all. Such a shame what our beloved franchise has become. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redskinss Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 I'm gonna go with winning. Yeah right now I gotta say that's my favorite memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus T Firefly Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 2 hours ago, hail2skins said: Of course we will probably have a similar thread about FedEx in about a decade when the Skins will be in yet another stadium. Really? The same kind of thread? On one hand, we have RFK with multiple NFC Championship games, a 51-7 playoff win, the iconic, stands-shaking "We want Dallas" and subsequent league shocking upset. On the other, we have a stadium where we once slipped past the Lions in a Wild Card game. I think it might be a bit different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redskinss Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 12 minutes ago, Rufus T Firefly said: Really? The same kind of thread? On one hand, we have RFK with multiple NFC Championship games, a 51-7 playoff win, the iconic, stands-shaking "We want Dallas" and subsequent league shocking upset. On the other, we have a stadium where we once slipped past the Lions in a Wild Card game. I think it might be a bit different. No kidding. We're gonna be like Jenny, standing up screaming and throwing rocks at the place as the dozers roll in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c slag Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 My favorite memory of RFK stadium is the last game me and my dad went to before he passed on, the game was a loss, against the Raiders ,early in the season probably around 1995 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skins island connection Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 I'd absolutely love a piece of the stadium. Just a small piece, a little tennis ball-sized piece of the stadium; i'll pay someone if they can do this for me. I will guarantee one thing; if I'm lucky enough to get a piece of it, it will be in my coffin, and after I'm gone, i'll throw it at the windshield of a Cowboys fan's car window... If there's anyone who can get me a piece of RFK, PM me, i'll send you whatever money needed for shipping, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volsmet Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hail2skins Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 40 minutes ago, Rufus T Firefly said: On the other, we have a stadium where we once slipped past the Lions in a Wild Card game. Easy RTF!!!! That game was my best FedEx memory! And we didn't slip past Detroit...….it was like 27-0 at halftime (27-14 final)! That crowd went crazy when I think Greg Jones put Gus Frerotte to the turf on the game's first play (much like Mann did to Erik Kramer early in the 1991 NFCCG). I probably shouldn't have said "similar," but there will be a thread in 2028 or whenever we are in a new stadium. Any reason to believe the Skins will get to host at least a divisional-round game at FedEx in the interim :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWJ Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Volsmet, you nailed it! Remembering the stands moving up and down and that game. It will live on in infamy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clskinsfan Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 1 hour ago, c slag said: My favorite memory of RFK stadium is the last game me and my dad went to before he passed on, the game was a loss, against the Raiders ,early in the season probably around 1995 Ha. I was there. I saw a guy unbolting his seat in the 4th quarter. I was like what the hell is that guy doing. Then he pulled out a duffle bag, loaded the seat into it and walked out of the stadium. I couldnt believe it. We all went down on the field after the game. And I have a big chunk of RFK turf in a mason jar in my man cave. Was a pretty cool experience for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoycottEuphemisticFans Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 19 minutes ago, clskinsfan said: Ha. I was there. I saw a guy unbolting his seat in the 4th quarter. I was like what the hell is that guy doing. Then he pulled out a duffle bag, loaded the seat into it and walked out of the stadium. I couldnt believe it. We all went down on the field after the game. And I have a big chunk of RFK turf in a mason jar in my man cave. Was a pretty cool experience for sure. how weird! I was at that same game too! And I have lived in NJ my whole life and only got to go to 2 games at RFK and one of them was that game. I saw them play the Bucs in 1994 (Norv Turner's first year). I remember Eric Rhett was the Bucs RB and they had this guy on their team that was their 1st round draft pick ( a defensive linemen named Eric Curry I think). He was gigantic. Biggest guy on the field. Never amounted to much in the NFL though. The Bucs won. And then the next year, I saw them against the Raiders. I remember Jeff Hostetler was the Raiders QB and he would later QB the Skins. I remember the Raiders had this back that was super fast Napoleon Kauffman. they won that game. i also remember both times there was native american activists outside the stadium politely handing out literature regarding their assertion that the team name was bad. so that was happening way back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volsmet Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 15 minutes ago, BoycottEuphemisticFans said: how weird! I was at that same game too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfan4221977 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 I grew up in Connecticut, but I managed to make three Redskins home games at RFK (and three road games at Giants Stadium and the Vet) in my childhood. All but one was a Redskins victory. All three home games were wins. First was in October 1985 against the Lions. We were given tickets AND passes to the Touchdown Club for breakfast. This was close to Riggins' last hurrah. He had three touchdowns and ran for 114 yards. We sacked Eric Hipple six times and intercepted him twice. Theismann got the job done and, for once (in his last year), didn't throw any picks. Skins won, 24-3. Second was in October 1991, the last Super Bowl year. My father bought tickets off a scalper and negotiated with him incessantly. I was afraid the scalper was gonna walk and pressured my dad to just pay already. We beat the Browns, 42-17. Ricky Ervins closed out the game with a 65-yard TD run. Final one was the RFK finale against Dallas on 12/22/96. Whoever called that game "meaningless" wasn't there. Regardless of the disappointment of a season that had collapsed from virtual perfection at 7-0, we knew we had to beat the Cowboys. What stands out to me was Dexter Manley waving triumphantly to the fans as he ran on the field at halftime. He had just been released from prison and had to get his parole officer's permission to come up from Texas. I've seen the Skins win a few times at FedEx. Unfortunately, in the four games I've taken my kids to, the Redskins have never emerged victorious. Paradoxically, of the three Capitals games I've taken them to, they've never lost. So yeah, there's that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 I was 3-0 when I visited RFK. Each game was so much fun. The memories have gotten a bit hazy as I was a kid, but ironically the play I remember best was against the Chargers against the 'skins. Rypien completes an eight yard pass to Monk for a first down and the entirety of RFK erupts in boos. Rypien turns to the crowd and spreads his arms out in confusion. Everyone except Ryp saw that no one had covered Sanders. Ricky was open by 20 yards 30 yards down the field. We won the game and I stood for almost the whole thing and got to sing Hail to the Redskins a whole bunch, but it was one of the first times I saw a good play that was also a miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skins island connection Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 I remember watching the last game vs Dallas on tv, and thinking to myself " c'mon, let's not lose this last game at home to of all teams the Cowboys ". Luckily they won and I was happy, but kinda sad to see the stadium go. For all of the people who said it was a dump, a dinosaur compared to other stadiums, etc, yea that may be true but that dump was a place that opponents came to and knew they would be in a dogfight for 60 minutes, especially in the Gibbs era. What caught my eye was, at the end of the game, I was screaming 'f dallas', and Madden and Summeral gave their last minute comments, all the while fans were stripping the field of anything they could get their hands on! Chunks of turf, dirt, banners, endzone markers, seats, signs, ANYTHING they could grab, shake loose, break, dig or lift, they took it ! I guess I was still in victory mode to remember this was the last game there and nostalgic fans as well as opportunistic fans were feasting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFK Lives Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 There is a reason my handle on the board is what it is. Although my times in person there were limited, you can see Darrell Green's quote in my sig, the place had a vibe that could not be duplicated. A place that moved with the volume of the fans voices and the stomping of feet...RFK in fact Lives and will continue to live in our hearts and minds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightningBuggs Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 My first game at RFK was in 1987 against the Giants. That was the year after the Giants had beaten the Skins 3 times in 86 on their march to the Super Bowl and they were THE team. Skins were down big early, something like 19-3, but on a rainy late afternoon, Jay Schroeder led the Skins to a comeback win. The big play was a td pass to Ricky Sanders along the left sideline where the Giant CB fell down. The stadium erupted and my ears rang for 3 days. Skins had finally beaten the hated G-men. Was a great experience. I got to go to both playoff games in '91 and they were great but nothing will ever top my first game there. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I also attended the 1993 3-0 loss to the Jets debacle. Was cold and miserable all day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFK Lives Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 25 minutes ago, LightningBuggs said: On the opposite end of the spectrum, I also attended the 1993 3-0 loss to the Jets debacle. Was cold and miserable all day. I remember watching that game on TV. 2 of my friends went and I told them they should have asked for a refund because what they just watched was not a professional football game. U-G-L-Y Another favorite memory, although not onsite, is to hear the voice of Brent Musburger saying... "You are looking live at RFK Stadium..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 13 hours ago, redskinss said: No kidding. We're gonna be like Jenny, standing up screaming and throwing rocks at the place as the dozers roll in. "Please God make me a bird, so I can fly far, far away" I only went to a couple games at RFK, but I was in awe each time... 1987 vs. Jets - this was the first game after the strike and the regulars were back. The crappy Jets eventually took a 9-point lead and there were chants around me about wanting the scabs back. We rallied and won 17-16 on an Ali Haji-Shiek FG and a LOOOOONG missed FG by the Jets. Phew! 1990 vs. Dolphins - we dominated this game...I think we won something like 41-21. It was that 1990 team who started hitting its stride and would become the 1991 elite team! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hail2skins Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 I remember a few years ago that Dan Steinberg (I think) on his blog posted an old classified ads section from the Post from the 70s or 80s and showed the ads people would post selling their Skins tickets. Most would be asking $150-175 per seat at a time when the seats were like $25-35. That might not sound like much now, but paying 5-6 times over face back then seemed like a lot. Again, when you got the chance to get tickets to a Redskins game back then, you took it as a real treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mania Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 the We Want Dallas Game where the bleachers were shaking. Of course the bleachers shook at RFK every week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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