The Hypocrisy of Winning
By Richard Rogers
The great John Madden once said, “Winning’s the greatest deodorant”. Well, right now the Redskins need it in bulk. Since the painful loss to the Giants that eliminated the Redskins from post season play, the stench surrounding this team is unmistakable. Everything from the unceremonious exit of Scot McCloughan to the daily soap opera of Kirk Cousins contract negotiations. You would think the Redskins were 5-11 as you sift through the mess that’s surrounded this team over the past six weeks.
If you’re able to hold your nose for a minute, I’d offer a different perspective. This organization has had few glimmers of winning over the past 20 seasons. There have been improbable playoff runs and guarded optimism that maybe, just maybe this team is on the right track. Winning has a tendency to forgive and grant a benefit-of-the-doubt that hasn’t existed previously. Following the 2015 season, there were zero articles written about the “dysfunction” at Redskins Park. In fact, many if not most local pundits declared that the Redskins were building a “solid foundation”, and maybe Dan Snyder finally “gets it”. No one, including myself, ever stopped to think about Scot McCloughan and whether he still struggled with alcohol. No one questioned whether he was in treatment or whether the Redskins had a support plan in place for him. The collective opinion among fans was “In Scot We Trust”. Scot’s running the show. Scot is the personnel guy we’ve always needed. PLEASE! This is all true, but who really cared in 2015 and most of 2016 if the building was stocked with liquor? Where were the columns that at least would caution us to not get our hopes up? Winning is a hypocrisy that permeates us all. Does anyone REALLY care about anything other than winning? The rest of the NFL isn’t any better.
The New England Patriots are considered to be the Pantheon of NFL franchises. They win. They win on the field and off the field. They win without their best player. They win with their best players. But they aren’t without scrutiny. There were allegations of stealing opponents’ signals by filming their practices. They allegedly deflated footballs, which to some creates a competitive advantage. Their head coach is a complete jerk to the media. No one seemingly cares. They win. The Cowboys have a reputation of being the organization of second chances. They’ve had multiple players with “checkered pasts”. But who cares? As long as they win, no one cares if you have a player on the sidelines who is responsible for the death of a teammate after driving under the influence. Domestic violence charges were dismissed against Greg Hardy, and he was given a second chance. Randy Gregory has failed multiple drug tests. My point is that winning seems to trump outrage.
The Redskins don’t do themselves any PR favors. You would think they would talk more after two consecutive winning seasons, but they don’t. Fans have been riled up as of late over the McCloughan firing. Every blogger, sports talk radio host, and columnist has taken a shot at the Redskins. It’s fascinating to see these guys take turns trying to outdo one another with the most outrageous rumor or opinion. But the Redskins need to do one thing: win! For most of those swearing off the Redskins for life, they’ll be back for a deep playoff run. Sign Kirk Cousins to a long term deal and most of the rumors go away. I don’t think for a second that many people care that deeply about Scot McCloughan, the person. People love a “good vs. evil” story and this is a juicy one. But if team continues to go about its offseason in the manner in which they have in a strictly football sense, winning is attainable. I am not suggesting that fans will forget how McCloughan was allegedly treated. I’m saying, let’s not pretend that we’re a fan-base that’s overly concerned with feelings while winning. I am an admitted hypocrite. Are you?