SkinsNatsFan Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 By the way, he did say that he has also been part of the problem at FedEx. He did include himself when he was ripping into the FedEx crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jempet Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 My dad is a huge Skin's fan. I grew up with the skins. A few years ago, I took my dad to Fedex for a game. It was my first time ever going to a pro game. Even got a nice deal online for 4 tickets. It was the playoff game with us against the Detroit Lions, and Gus "I hit my head on the wall" was now qb for Detroit. It was a blast before the game. Fans had targets hanging everywhere for Gus to smash his head again. But, during the game, it was a different story. There were several failed attempts to get a wave going, and my Dad, being a true fan, got "looks" from other fans sitting near us all day long everytime he yelled loudly. My point being, it just felt uncomfortable to be loud and roudy in support of the team. There were so many "yuppies" around that it no longer seemed like a football game. That's the last game I went to. I can't envision taking my son to a game in the near future. Just my 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halter91 Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I think Doc is right, Hey I've been to a few Penn State games, and that place hols 107, 000 thousand fans. Even last year we they had 3 stinking wins, that place was rocking. We as Redskins Fans need to step it up! I would love to be at more games and cheer more, but living in Philly makes it tough. I WILL be at a few games and MY PRESENCE WILL BE KNOW! HAIL TO THE REDSKINS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedskinsNation Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Doc has said this same schpeel before... Though I do agree w/him - Winning seasons do & will help. Until then we are gonna have some garbage fans show up or worse - NO SHOWS. Its seems to me like its a date function at some games. Im in the Lower Level sect. 127 and there are more couples there then a restaruant on Valentines DAy. And you know that the dudes arent gonna get rowdy w/the chicks sitting right there w/them. And you know the girls arent gonna say a peep. But in our fans defense... I was at the '99 playoff game vs. Detroit and it was unreal how loud it was. It felt like a different place. Even last year at the Jets game I was impressed w/the crowd. And finally, the game vs. the Giants when we started that big comeback and the game went into overtime - that was in the top 5 of loudest games Id been too. But I agree its horrid that some moron yells before & during 3rd downs. But thats not the fans fault. That is our owner's fault. Doc does tell it like it is and I admire and love him for that. But sometimes he cant see other ppls. opinions and cant take criticism. And he always thinks he's right & knows everything regarding the Redskins and he'll tell you that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wskin44 Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 The one game that was different at FedEx was the playoff game against Detroit. The reason it was different was that it was a different crowd than the regular (yawn) season ticket holders. Danny required season ticket holders to send in the money for two playoff games before the Skins were assured even one home preseason game. Danny told us that if there were no, or only one home playoff game, he would just keep our money and apply it to the next season's tickets. I would guess that only half of the season ticket holders sent in their money. The tickets were sold to folks who stood in line outside the ticket office. Real fans who were ecstatic to be there, not (yawn) the whine and cheese crowd who main mission is to look bored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullbackIsKey Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 i've got an idea here... At UF I periodically work with as a freelance production helper for whatever broadcast crew is covering the football game(ESPN, CBS) and I usually am assigned to hold one of the parabolic mics on the field, either that or pulling cables behind a cameraman. I can honestly say from my experience, that being literally on the field is absolutely deafening, you literally can't even feel the vibration of your voice in your bones, let alone hear yourself talk. Certainly, it is at least 50% louder on the field than it seems from from the stands. I think that Doc, after spending his first 4 years(however long he played for us) on the field(the bench is on the field) has skewed his ears somewhat as to what a crowd should sound like and how loud it should be. I think sometimes, when he actually is in his seat (seems like rarely from what i've been reading here), he is relating how the crowd sounds now to what he used to hear on the field, and he thinks, "These fans used to be sooo much louder." and he loves the Redskins, nobody can doubt that, so it kind of hurts him in his heart a little to think the fans are going away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonsofwashington Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I guess he missed the fourth quarter of the Giants game last year at FedEx. My buddy who has season tickets to the GIANTS said it was louder that day at FedEx than any day he has been to see the GIANTS. New York fans are NOT quiet fans. I think losing has had an affect on it, but mostly it has been the lack of heart in general the skins players have shown over the years. When the players are in the game so are the fans. I remember many games last year where it appeared our players were either giving up or just not IN the game (penalties, repeated mistakes, poor execution etc). Doc may have a point, ut FedEx is a loud stadium and the fans are responsible for that. I disagree with him 100%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red zone Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Unfortunately, Doc is right. Our fans are soft as a baby's butt. The weather and the pre-season aspect kept people away from Joe's unofficial homecoming. I don't know, nor do I care what goes on at the "Jail Birds" Stadium. I do know I have been a damn one man gang in my section trying to represent. I didn't ask for Rob "High Pitch" Speewac (sp?) to serve as crowd motivator. He is worthless and weak. So are the fireworks and the dudes with the big flags. All we need is Hail To Redskins. I do believe Doc is trying to bait us. I also believe Doc is under the great misconception he had game. Doc was a role player on his best day. The joint will rock on Sept 12. F the wine and cheesers..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky21 Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 A few game day improvements would be nice. Substituting a few commercials for Redskins highlight reel type stuff would go a long way toward pumping up the fans. We have a tremendous revenue stream and we can afford to do something like this. The time that is spent pimping the $3 personal pan pizza during the game is just unbelievable. The new field announcer is no Phil Hochberg to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I was at the Detroit game, and yes, it was loud. It's amazing what a playoff appearance will do for a fanbase. Also, I wasn't there, but I remember thinking the fans were also really loud opening day last year. While I agree that our home crowd has been pretty weak these past few years, I do think our fans want to be enthusiastic again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieselfan44 Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 If we expect the team and coaches to perform then we also need to perform. We are not just there to watch the game. We are part of the game and can be game changers. We've all seen how a loud and rowdy crowd can make other teams hate to play some teams at home. As a collective group we have to re-fire the RFK tradition. I only make it to a couple of games a year, but you guys with season tickets can be the most influential on fans in your area of the stadium. Don't feel like your bothering someone by telling them to get off there ass and make some noise. One thing that I have seen is that so many tickets are available from ticket brokers. There are literally hundreds for sale on several different sites. Hard core fans do not put there season tickets up for sale. That's what we need in the stadium is more hard core supporters. People that are fortunate enough to be season ticket holders are the backbone of FedEx and the Redskins. I can understand selling off a game or two because everyone has things that we can't control that come up. Hell, that's how I'm able to get them. But if we can't put 80-90% of our season ticket holders in the stands on Sunday then creating the atmosphere we want may be difficult. I'd like to see the Redskins monitor who sells off there tickets and act according. There are plenty of us waiting in line for a chance at them. :2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kappaluvacee Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Winning is like prayer for sports teams: "It changes things." Fedex is a large stadium and it hasn't had a winning product inside to show its real personality since it was erected. When the skins begin winning again the place will be electric. Doc maybe be right on point with his comments, but who in their right mind was going to come to FedEx and cheer like crazy while Norv was having brain freezes during the game, Marty was boring us to death with his offense, and Spurrier was coaching half the team, not knowing the names of all the players on the other side of the team. I'm not an excuse maker, but dang, you asking a lot of the fans to go crazy after posting the price of the ticket, then being forced to eat the meal that is put before us. The comparison to Baltimore is a bad one in the sense that they were starving for a team when the browns/ravens came to town to clean them of the Colts experience. I think a hidden contributor is the fans that migrated to the Carolina franchise. Almost all of them used to be Skins fans. I know I travel three hours to get to FedEx from DE and it makes me want to cheer hard to keep my blood pumping for that long drive back home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatty P For The Pulitzer Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Originally posted by red zone Unfortunately, Doc is right. Our fans are soft as a baby's butt. The weather and the pre-season aspect kept people away from Joe's unofficial homecoming. I don't know, nor do I care what goes on at the "Jail Birds" Stadium. I do know I have been a damn one man gang in my section trying to represent. I didn't ask for Rob "High Pitch" Speewac (sp?) to serve as crowd motivator. He is worthless and weak. So are the fireworks and the dudes with the big flags. All we need is Hail To Redskins. I do believe Doc is trying to bait us. I also believe Doc is under the great misconception he had game. Doc was a role player on his best day. The joint will rock on Sept 12. F the wine and cheesers..... Doc is definitely trying to bait the fans, but he is right too. He's calling out the wine and cheesers and for the real fans to not tolerate them. The last game I went to was the Texans game two seasons ago, the stadium was only 75% full, and after the first drive or two, it was dead unless we scored or had a big play. The low point was definitely that Dallas game last year. I turned that game off early in the second quarter, not because we played our worst game in a long time, but because I was embarrassed that it turned into a home game for the Cowgirls. I hope that that was a locally televised game and not Fox's national game for that weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red zone Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 dieselfan44 wrote: People that are fortunate enough to be season ticket holders are the backbone of FedEx and the Redskins. I can understand selling off a game or two because everyone has things that we can't control that come up. Hell, that's how I'm able to get them. But if we can't put 80-90% of our season ticket holders in the stands on Sunday then creating the atmosphere we want may be difficult. I'd like to see the Redskins monitor who sells off there tickets and act according. There are plenty of us waiting in line for a chance at them. Amen dieselfan44. I have been saying this for years. I have been a season ticket holder for 33 years and I pride myself on making the visiting team and fans feel most unwelcomed. I also know all the season ticket holders who sit around me and I let them know it would be nice if, on the occassions they can't make it, at least they should try to sell to a 'Skins fan. We have a family policy we can only sell to 'Skins fans........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Om Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 The last thing Doc Walker needs is me to defend him, and I’m a bit too close to the subject to speak my mind fully here, but there are a couple things need to be said: 1) Doc started on the 1982 and 1983 Super Bowl teams. People should do their homework before throwing both irrelevant AND wrong **** around. 2) Doc WORKS weekends during the football season, and gets to games when he can via invitation. Try to understand the difference between that dynamic and being a season ticket holder with an assigned seat. 3) I can’t help but be amused at the irony of anonymous fans on a football board, expressing their strong opinions in the clearest, starkest terms, choosing as the object of their venom an insider of the team and the league expressing HIS strong opinions in the starkest, clearest terms ... and then calling HIM a hypocrite. 4) The man is RIGHT. Over the past decade, the combination of the move to a sterile new stadium, dumped in the middle of nowhere with horrible access and parking, and the often absurdly unprofessional and uninspired brand of football the team has provided, fresh on the heels of as great a run of NFL glory as any team can ever realistically expect to enjoy, the once-feared and vocal backing of the team has eroded considerably over the past few years. Regardless of who points it out, any truly objective observer can see it. The good news is, those days are quite likely over ....we’ll begin to find out in a couple weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandies Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Let me think. Just a second, time for another sip of Chardoney and a piece of Brie. Rah, Rah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDSCNZ20 Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 if anyone sees a different color jersey sitting beside you take the chair number and lets find out who sold it to the opposing fans..... i really wish there was a hotline we could call to report this... nothing sickens me more than ppl selling their tickets to the opposing fans.... i'll be there on the 12th and i'm resting my vocal cords for that game... if i don't loose my voice by end of the game then i didn't do my part... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posse81 Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Originally posted by red zone Amen dieselfan44. I have been saying this for years. I have been a season ticket holder for 33 years and I pride myself on making the visiting team and fans feel most unwelcomed. I also know all the season ticket holders who sit around me and I let them know it would be nice if, on the occassions they can't make it, at least they should try to sell to a 'Skins fan. We have a family policy we can only sell to 'Skins fans........ Agreed. Personally, when I'm watching the Skins on my couch I won't watch games with those who root against the Skins. I have kicked people out of my living room before. Same goes when I go to games. I don't want to see any Philly, Dallas, or any other fans there. I'd prefer to watch games surrounded by those who feel the same way I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeSkins Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Losing is an excuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pez Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I totally agree with him.. Our fan base is pathetic right now. Too many bandwagon fans who drop at the sight of a loss. I was there at the hurricane pre-season game. It was dis-heartening to see all the empty seats (yeah you can say there were x number of people there, but all you can see is empty seats and I know we have people out there to fill them. Even if it is a pre-season game, get your asses out there to show we are behind our players and coaches!!! When we get to the regular season, those empty seats will be taken by the other teams fans if we don't get our butts out there!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budski Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Heres my take on the crowd. I have only been to the stadium twice, and have noticed that the everyone does seem to just sit back and watch alot unless prompted to cheer, weird. I dont have season tickets and it is too expensive to go, but when I go I scream and yell until the game is over! I have gotten some weird looks from skins fans about it too and wanted to yell them how bout some help here! The problem I have and my family has is that two times I was at the game I yelled just as much as I do in front of the TV knowing full well they can't hear me, but it makes me feel better. I am so biased for the skins every call a ref makes against the skins I complain and scream about whether their wrong or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsNut73 Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I've had the privelege of attending games at both RFK and FedEx. I've never heard the crowd at FedEx come close to the noise levels experienced at RFK, despite the fact that it fits almost twice as many people as RFK did. Part of the reason may be due to the fact that I'm in the 400 level at FedEx and I'm assuming a lot of the noise is being projected toward the field, so I'm "behind" the noise? At RFK I always sat in the lower portions of the stadium closer to the field. Also, the acoustics at RFK were much better. As others said, this is more of a corporate crowd at FedEx. RFK seemed to be more blue collar (aka - real fans). I went to Super Bowl 34 (Rams/Titans) and experienced the same thing...friggin' corporate people more interested in the pre-game and halftime entertainment than they were the actual game. Some actually left in the 3RD QUARTER. I just kept thinking of how many "average" fans would love to have one of these tickets. I get the same impression at FedEx. As for cheering, most folks in my section get pumped up during the introductions and it continues into the early portions of the game. But when you start getting spanked, or the players show a genuine lack of effort....well, the cheering begins to tail off. Turns more to the occassional "Spurrier, you are an A$$" type comments. I think things will change this year. I know the Bucs game will be loud (as long as we can still yell while crying tears of joy seeing Joe back). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posse81 Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 It'll be better this year. It's hard to cheer for false starts and late hits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallsux Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Originally posted by jempet My dad is a huge Skin's fan. I grew up with the skins. A few years ago, I took my dad to Fedex for a game. It was my first time ever going to a pro game. Even got a nice deal online for 4 tickets. It was the playoff game with us against the Detroit Lions, and Gus "I hit my head on the wall" was now qb for Detroit. It was a blast before the game. Fans had targets hanging everywhere for Gus to smash his head again. But, during the game, it was a different story. There were several failed attempts to get a wave going, and my Dad, being a true fan, got "looks" from other fans sitting near us all day long everytime he yelled loudly. My point being, it just felt uncomfortable to be loud and roudy in support of the team. There were so many "yuppies" around that it no longer seemed like a football game. That's the last game I went to. I can't envision taking my son to a game in the near future. Just my 2 cents. At the playoff game? That stadium was so loud I couldn't even hear myself scream, much less have anything left to give the guy next to me a "look". I will agree that it has been like that at several games. For example, the game before the Detroit playoff game was the Miami home game. Part of the crowd started chanting ":wewantd: " & my girlfriend (now my wife) & I chimed in as well. The idiots in front of me made it a point to tell me that we weren't playing Dallas in the playoffs next, we were playing Detroit. My response was that We Want Detroit doesn't exactly have the same meaning, now does it...then I proceeded to chant louder. Needless to say, he left, angrily. What an azzhole. BTW, :wewantd: :wewantd: :wewantd: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallsux Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Originally posted by SkinsNut73 I've had the privelege of attending games at both RFK and FedEx. I've never heard the crowd at FedEx come close to the noise levels experienced at RFK, despite the fact that it fits almost twice as many people as RFK did. Part of the reason may be due to the fact that I'm in the 400 level at FedEx and I'm assuming a lot of the noise is being projected toward the field, so I'm "behind" the noise? At RFK I always sat in the lower portions of the stadium closer to the field. Also, the acoustics at RFK were much better. As others said, this is more of a corporate crowd at FedEx. RFK seemed to be more blue collar (aka - real fans). I went to Super Bowl 34 (Rams/Titans) and experienced the same thing...friggin' corporate people more interested in the pre-game and halftime entertainment than they were the actual game. Some actually left in the 3RD QUARTER. I just kept thinking of how many "average" fans would love to have one of these tickets. I get the same impression at FedEx. As for cheering, most folks in my section get pumped up during the introductions and it continues into the early portions of the game. But when you start getting spanked, or the players show a genuine lack of effort....well, the cheering begins to tail off. Turns more to the occassional "Spurrier, you are an A$$" type comments. I think things will change this year. I know the Bucs game will be loud (as long as we can still yell while crying tears of joy seeing Joe back). Actually, FedEx was built to be louder than RFK accoustically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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