A Fatigued Fan Base
By Richard Rogers
I’m tired, and I don’t tire easily. The drama surrounding the organization can wear on you. Now, before I go further, let me be clear. I am a die-hard Washington Redskins fan and have been one since 1970. I think the organization is headed in the right direction and has immensely improved its personnel and product on the field, but it’s a draining venture. There’s always something, isn’t it? Think about it. Let’s pick a season. Let’s go back to 2012, Robert Griffin III’s sensational rookie season. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Finally, we had a quarterback. Sure, we gave up a ransom to get him, but at the time it was worth the price. Things looked great until that ill-fated Sunday against the Ravens when he injured his knee. It was there where the drama began. I don’t want to rehash those events. That’s not the purpose of this column. Griffin tore his ACL and MCL at the end of the season and all the talk was whether he’d be ready for week one. There was debate on whether he should have been pulled from the game. Drama.
There was drama in 2013 with Griffin’s ill-fated meeting with Mike Shanahan. There was drama surrounding Griffin’s ability to be a pocket passer. There was drama when Mike Shanahan “burned the house to the ground” on his way out. There was drama in 2014 with Gruden’s evisceration of Robert Griffin III in the media followed by a 4-12 season. There was drama in 2015 when Cousins, a.k.a. “The Interceptasaurus” was named the starter for the 2015 season. There was drama in 2015 against Tampa Bay when the Redskins were down 24-0 in front of 70 Redskins alumni. But things changed, the Redskins began to win and in a blink, we were in a magical playoff run reminiscent of those in 2004, 2006 and 2012. But the Redskins don’t like action movies. They like dramas.
The Kirk Cousins’ contract situation seems as long as “The Godfather Trilogy”. It’s dragged on for two seasons and I sense that fans are tired, like me. Every day, every week it’s “Kirk doesn’t want to be here”, “I don’t see a deal getting done”, “a deal is possible”, “Kirk loves Kyle”, “Kyle believes in Kirk”, “Bruce doesn’t want Kirk”. I need a nap. There was a famous line in “The Godfather” when Hyman Roth tells Michael Corleone, “If the money’s on the table when I wake in the morning, I know I have a partner, if it’s not, I know I don’t”. For me it’s that simple. That’s where I am at this point.
Look, every organization has issues. Don’t let the haters and naysayers fool you. But this organization has enjoyed a very short time of prosperity. Every time something good happens, something bad follows. Scot McCloughan was THAT guy. He had credibility. He had “chops”. He liked “football players”. We finally had a bona fide personnel guy, but again, it was short lived. I’m not going to point fingers, because I’m tired. It doesn’t matter. Nobody knows what really happened outside of the brain-trust of the organization. My point is prosperity was short-lived.
I long for the day when the Washington Redskins win, and win again, and keep winning with no drama. Don’t get me wrong, things will go wrong. The Trent Williams suspension is not drama. That’s a thing, an occurrence. Bashaud Breeland and Joe Barry’s clashing was not drama. That was a thing. I can deal with “things”, but the drama has me fatigued.
But will all that said, I’ll be ready. I just need an 18-day nap in order to wake up just in time for the Cousins contract drama. I’m still optimistic about our season. I still like what we did on defense, and I can’t wait to see what Jonathan Allen, Ryan Anderson, Zach Brown and others will do.
I just need a nap.