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Does today feel like an end?

Burgold

By Burgold
in The Stadium

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Burgold

Burgold

Posted
Posted

There are several questions running through my head today:

Does today feel like an end?

Will tomorrow feel like the beginning of a new era?

What attaches a person to a team?

 

I think it's worth it to pay an homage to a name. I think it can be done apolitically. Here goes my attempt to answer to my questions.

 

1. Does it feel like an end?

No, not really. And yes. I mean all the coaches, players, and management are still the same. The ownership is still there. So, it's more like a birthday. Something to mark, but other than the date on the calendar nothing has really changed internally from one day to the next. And yet, it also feels like a big change. When I close my eyes and think of football, I see the glory days. I see Theismann and Rypien. Charlie Brown, Alvin Garrett. Monk, Clark, and Sanders. I see Monte Coleman and Dave Butz. Daryl Grant and Mann and Manley. I see Hogs. Without looking I can name a hundred players. But I also remember, Hail to the Redskins. I also remember getting my first jersey and the pride of representing. I remember that bet with Mike Laverne that started off my football fandom in a nonfootball household in fourth grade. I remember meeting and interviewing Joe Gibbs. Partying with dozens of Extremeskins posters at Dave and Busters. And part of that will be cut off now. And honestly, it's a bit sad. So yeah, today will have meaning for me even if it changes relatively nothing on the field.

 

2. Will tomorrow feel like a new era?

I'm excited to see what the name will be. I don't think it changes much. They timed it wrong. It should have been timed so they could associate it with some new face, but it's not even being announced before the end of the season. Right now, I think it's mostly a Shakespeare thing. You know, "A rose by any other name..." And yet, maybe they'll roll out something that will hook the imagination. Maybe some of the baggage of being a Redskin fan for thirty years, though for me, the baggage is more based on bad play, bad decisions, and poor results, than the infamy of a name or logo, will be wiped clean. Maybe the league will want this new Washington team to gleam. Maybe the players and coaches get inspired by the idea that they will be remembered. That theirs will be the first name in the history books. They will be the first Washington _________________s.

 

I will say they don't get to have it both ways in my book. You don't get to claim to keep the history and achievements of the old and claim to be something new. If they are something new then this is a team with zero Super Bowl trophies, zero hall of famers, zero NFL records. So, no one can ever break the records of the past. I kind of like that.

 

So yeah, let it be new. I don't think they can pull it off or want to, but let it be new.

 

3. What attaches a person to a team?

There are a bunch of answers to this. I think it's primarily collective memories. Memories of struggle and memories of success. I don't think it's winning. Although winning attracts people to a team. But what attaches them to it is more substantial. It's the stories we share with friends. It's the sense of regional identity. It's the team activities we engage in outside of the games: from simple things like wearing a cap and nodding at each other to bbqing before a game at a Tailgate. It's also that sense of family. I remember being at a science fiction convention in Roanoke, Virginia. I'm doing the author thing and someone comes by my table wearing a jersey so I shout HTTR. It stops him and surprises him, but he stops and we talk for about ten minutes about the draft, the upcoming season, our prospects, our frustrations, and our shared story.

 

So, what attaches us to a team is not a name. It's not players or wins. It's us. It's community. It's this damned message board. It's the family we create and discover randomly who share an identity with us.  And from that perspective, tomorrow will not change anything at all for me. Because when I close my eyes, I do see Green and Olkiewiscz, and Taylor and Bostic, and Nelms, but I also hear song, feel the slap of high fives, feel the surge of adrenaline that forces you to your feet even when watching from quiet of the living room couch. And that remains. 

 

Writing this last bit, I realize that's not true. The song is gone. A new one will be different. An absence of one is wrong. And what remains of my Redskins community is smaller than it was. Whether that's names I no longer see here like Omm, Honorary Hog, or Blondie (plus too many others to list) or people who've turned away from the team altogether.  My family has shrunk over the years. My passion for the team is certainly banked if it's not out. I still love the team enough to have this pour out of me without thought or prep (or revision lol), but this team is in need of new. It is certainly in need of better and hopefully that can start with a name. But again, a name doesn't change much, a name isn't the team's identity just like wins aren't the team identity. A team is the stories we build around it.

 

So, one last time...

 

Hail to the Redskins

Hail to all of us who have persevered.

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Probos

Probos

Posted
Posted

Change is the surest thing in life. 

 

I have great memories of watching the glory years with family and friends, but my passion for the team has been severely muted over that past 20+ years.

 

Dan should have been out in front of this a long time ago, anyone could see where things were headed eventually if you were being honest with yourself.  

 

All that said -- this is an opportunity for the org to remake and start new.  It's in my nature to lean forward so I'm all for it.  Like you sad, a name is just a name -- we'll see how much they truly change in the coming years.  

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KDawg

KDawg

Posted
Posted

The Redskins have been gone for a long time at this point. So no.

 

It's only an end if you can't accept the fact it's gone and not coming back, and even then, the end was when they announced the name change. We've been WFT for two seasons now. 

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LightningBuggs

LightningBuggs

Posted
Posted

Interesting thoughts @Burgold

 

I've been reflecting a good bit in recent weeks on my fandom.  Without going into the details of the why's, I think the last remaining shred of any interest I have in this organization is solely based on location.  Every day I drive home from work I see the practice bubble in Ashburn.  But that's really it.  Soon, I'll be retiring and moving away from the area.  At that point I think that last remaining tie I have to the Washington franchise will be severed.  I have an idea where my retirement will be and it opens the door to 2 somewhat close by teams.  Or I may choose to not be a fan of one team at all.  That's something that kinda has to happen naturally.

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London Kev

London Kev

Posted
Posted

I keep flip-flopping on whether I think the change is merely superficial or has some deep meaning.

 

It's merely superficial because it's only a name change, a rebrand. Everything else about the team will stay the same. Over the coming months there will be far more significant changes to "the team" than just a different name. Personnel will change, possibly leading to schemes being adapted, which will hopefully lead to a better, competitive team and some success.

 

It has a deep meaning because the name means something dammit. It's how we refer to "our team", it's an identity, a bond. The name will be spoken by fans, reporters, commentators, analysts. It will appear at the stadium, on websites, the TV and newspapers. It will be "our" name and it's important.

 

I loved the Redskins name. I understand why it had to be changed, but I still miss it. WFT has been a temporary placeholder and will probably be forgotten in a few years. Maybe as the merch becomes rarer there will be a market for it, or maybe it will just fade gracefully into history.

 

I still don't know how I feel. Maybe I'll know once the new name is revealed and we can all move on.

 

Hail to the Redskins.

 

 

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TheGoodBits

TheGoodBits

Posted
Posted

This feels like more of an end and new beginning to me than it was when they changed it to WFT. I guess because it’s permanent now.  
 

Also it seems silly to me that I feel this way, but I honestly don’t know if I’m going to feel the same level of connection to the team. 

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dyst

dyst

Posted
Posted

The change from Redskins to Football Team already should have given you that feeling. This will be no different. It’s a new name, just like Football Team was. The uniform colors and style will likely be the same/similar. I think it would have been nice to feel like it was a fresh start but I also feel like this whole thing has been botched and it just feels clumsy at this point.

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Est.1974

Est.1974

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Burgold said:

 

Does today feel like an end?

Will tomorrow feel like the beginning of a new era?

What attaches a person to a team?

Today doesn’t feel like an end to me.

Neither will tomorrow feel like a new era.

Back in the day I became attached to something great. It was everything, the name, the uniforms, the HC, the team. It was all great.

 

Tough act to follow. Virtually impossible I believe.

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Redwards

Redwards

Posted
Posted

There is no new "era".  It's a mirage, really.  

 

Oh, Dan desperately wants everyone to buy into this "new era", "going forward" thing.  So does Ron.  They want to selectively embrace the past.  Embrace the Gibbs era and trophies, forget the atrocities committed by Dan (that are still under heavy analysis).  

 

Does't work that way.

 

If you want to embrace the past, you embrace all of it.

 

The organization hasn't been even a shadow of its former self for over a decade now.  So, to me, all of what is about to transpire is nothing deeper than a facade.  Dan will own the team still, so his stink is and always will be all over it.  

 

The name and rebranding hoopla will be fleeting.  

 

Again...Dan is still here.   Once the novelty of the rebranding wears off, which, IMHO, it will - and quickly (heck, Congress is meeting about the organization the next freaking day), we'll be left with the same incompetent people at the top, from which, all trickles down.  And hence, more of the same.  That's where I come out on the subject.  

 

 

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CTskin

CTskin

Posted
Posted

If it’s possible, we need to pair this name change/new look with a new face of the franchise. Not to bring the qb thread in here, but Russ would be the ideal poster boy. New name, jersey, and a stud qb would genuinely feel like a positive change and the beginning to a new era. 
 

This is just really poorly timed as there’s zero hype for this team, and deservedly so. If we did this on 2-2-21, when it felt like we were on the ups, I think there’d be a few more who would care/embrace this change.

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Chris 44

Chris 44

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, dyst said:

The change from Redskins to Football Team already should have given you that feeling. This will be no different. It’s a new name, just like Football Team was. The uniform colors and style will likely be the same/similar. I think it would have been nice to feel like it was a fresh start but I also feel like this whole thing has been botched and it just feels clumsy at this point.

Yeah but now its really starting to sink in......Redskins, gone forever.

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redskinss

redskinss

Posted
Posted (edited)

The truth is the name itself doesn't really matter, what we've called ourselves for the last 90 years does.

If George Preston Marshall had named his team the boston Commanders in 1932 we'd all be freaking out about having to change it and 90 percent of the fanbase would think redskins is an awful suggestion and a typical dan Snyder debacle.

For some unknown reason we bond to these sports teams and the name and locality are the two ties that bind us to that.

If your not from the area once the name is gone so are the ties.

I have to figure out if I can somehow remain bonded with the new name or if it's just an expansion team now.

 

Sounds crazy but I know I'm not alone, and truthfully that's been the most comforting thing through it all.

Edited by redskinss
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Dan T.

Dan T.

Posted
Posted

We're 30 years removed from the glory days.  Thirty years since a Super Bowl. 

 

Since Snyder bought the team more than 20 years ago, they've won a grand total of two playoff games - and one of those was in his first year of ownership, before he was able to fully put his unique stamp (stench?) on the team.

 

The past is the past.  Those memories are as faded as the newspapers held onto with headlines touting the Super Bowl wins. There's not much to hold onto. 

 

The character of the fan base for the last decade revolves around bemoaning the state of the sad-sack franchise and commiserating how much it sucks losing all the time - kinda like Cubs fans were before they finally won a World Series.  

 

I still watch.  But it's not like it used to be. 

 

They're really trying to drum up excitement about the name reveal. Winning off the field I guess.

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