What made you become a Redskins fan?

[RVAskins]

Chris Hanburger. I've always loved a good Hanburger.

[Momma There Goes That Man]

My dad and older brothers. My first football memory was the Super Bowl against the Bills. I don't remember anything about the actual game I just remember it because I got to stay up late on a school night and we went to Pizza Hut. This was a family of 7 and we were stupid poor growing up so a trip to Pizza Hut was like a trip to Key West for us. It was a big deal and the excitement of the night and seeing how happy my dad and brothers were...I wanted to be part of that. It was a family tradition. Church on Sunday then we'd leave and go to Kroger to get the groceries then come home to watch the Redskins game. 

 

Fast forward 27 years later..I hate religion and i hate my father. I'm an atheist and I haven't spoken to my dad in 12 years. 

 

So I don't have a ton of nostalgia at this point for the team which is why I'm okay with a restart and fresh new branding and even colors. The only thing I cling to is how excited I was when I was younger to wake up every Sunday and feel optimistic. I couldn't wait for the game, I didn't know enough to know that we weren't that good, I was just excited and thought we had as good of a chance to win as anybody. I captured that magic and excitement back in 2012 with RG3's rookie season which is probably why I irrationally loved him so much at the time. it let me relive that childhood innocence and optimism before years of ineptitude and suck beat me down. 

 

Well that's all gone now, obviously. It would be nice to see a game and not be ashamed of the team and surprised when you actually win or look competent at something. 

[PictureDrawer]

My Dad and I met Sonny Jurgensen on an elevator downtown (around 1967-68) so we had to check out what the games were like (watching in TV). Been a fan ever since!

[thebluefood]

[Parents: Born in Washington, D.C.]

[Grandparents: Born in Washington, D.C.]

[At least one of my great-grandparents: Born in Washington, D.C.]

[Me: Born just outside of Washington, D.C.]

 

I mean, it was basically inevitable. Even if I've become estranged from the team as a fan (which will probably continue, even with a new nickname), I basically didn't have a choice but to at least follow the team. Hell, even my sister - who doesn't like sports - has a teddy bear with the team's logo on it (albeit faded beyond recognition).

[Idaho fan]

I grew up in the early 80s hating the cowboys for reasons I don't recall.  Then working at a resort in North Idaho where I grew up one of my co-workers was the sister of Mark Rypien.  Over time I got to know their family a little and met Mark who had just finished his college career at WSU.  He was drafted by the Skins in 86'.  I started to follow the team as much as I could living in Idaho years before the internet was around and having maybe 3 channels of TV.  In 88' as everyone knows the Skins won it all and I was hooked.  That following off season I was able to meet Mark again and he was really nice to me.  He let me try on his Super Bowl ring he had just got while being a back up.  Then he eventually became the starter and that magical 91' season happened.  So since the late 80s I've been die hard.  

 

Its fun looking back at photos when I was in my teens.  Often wearing a Redskins hat - only had a couple as they weren't easy to come by living in Idaho.  None of my friends who were mostly Seahawk fans could understand my fandom for a team on the other side of the country but the Skins were respected back then...  So much has changed in that regard.

[petey hodge]

ya know... when I was a little kid. The team with the most offensive name is the one who really appealed to me. 

 

yeah... sure. 

 

this sucks.  embarrassing.

 

 

[Dissident2]

I was a Colts fan as a little kid (Baltimore). For some reason, I became obsessed with NA culture early in my life. I read every book I could find on the subject, memorized as many tribe names as I could, learned about the various cultures of each tribe, etc. (Still remember a book talking about the Hopi Indians being more peaceful and into raising crops while the Crow were more war-like. I remember the illustrations vividly to this day. Loved names like "Apache" and "Sioux" and "Cheyenne.") I also loved playing with plastic toy soldiers, and I would spend hours re-creating the Battle of Little Bighorn and other skirmishes and Indian victories I'd read about. 

 

Anyway, when I was about 6 or so, I heard this old song called "Please, Mr. Custer" on the radio. I loved it and begged my parents to buy me the 45. They did, and I played it over and over and over. One of the lines in the song was, "There's a Redskin waitin' out there, fixin' to take my hair." 

 

That's the first time I heard that word. I associated it immediately with NAs. Then I realized there was another local team called The Redskins. And their logo was a proud NA. Forget it. Colts could suck it. There was no other choice. I loved the colors so much more, too, so much better than the Colts' bland and boring blue and white. First real Redskins memory of actually watching a game was 1974 playoff game vs. the Rams. I remember yelling at Sonny as he threw two picks late in the game to guarantee the loss. 

 

Anyway, I never looked back since those days, although the last decade especially has been ****ing hard as hell, especially with this horrendous and utter embarrassment of an owner. 

 

But yeah, losing the NA imagery is what hurts me the most because of the above tale and that connection. While I get the name arguments and have agreed with that change, I still can't fully comprehend how NA imagery associated with a team - if done respectfully - is inherently marginalizing or racist. But ... that argument seems moot at this point. Pulling hard for "Redwolves," as that still has some sort of NA connection with me. But the recent scandal has just sickened me, and I went from being excited at the prospect of "Redwolves" and that rebranding to really not giving much of a **** at this point. I wish I could embrace some other team with the same passion, but ... it's never going to be possible.