Washington Possibly Back in D.C.: Return of Nostalgia or Luster Lost Forever?
April 18, 2025
by David Earl
The reality of Washington returning to D.C. at the RFK site looks to be closer, as recent reports indicate that a deal is imminent in which Josh Harris and the ownership group will put up as much as $2.5 billion of the $3 billion to bring the organization back. The actual breakdown of the business side of this will not be covered here, as Steve Thomas covered that in depth on the latest episode of The Hog Sty. Harris’s commitment to investing approximately $2.5 billion shows not only a personal desire for this destination but also to return some of this organization’s nostalgia and glory it once had during the Jack Kent Cooke and Joe Gibbs era. Let us talk about a move back to the D.C. area and what that means for the fans.
Before we talk about the nostalgia side of a return to the R.F.K. stadium site, what made that stadium so memorable to the old school fans? The 1982 chant “We Want Dallas” after beating the Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional Round of the playoffs on Jan. 15, 1983, will forever live in the minds of the older generation, especially how the stadium was literally rocking. This was en route to the team’s first Super Bowl championship on the back of John Riggins. Two years later, this pinnacle moment was followed by a devastating injury to Joe Theismann during a Monday Night Football game on Nov. 18, 1985. He suffered a comminuted compound fracture of the tibia and fibula in his right leg after being tackled by legendary New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor, which ended his career.
Then, the Jan. 17, 1988, the Redskins beat the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game as Redskins Great Darrell Green knocked down a Wade Wilson pass at the goal line to clinch the victory. This game paved a way for the most memorable Super Bowl Championship not just for the Redskins organization but for the entire league. Green’s pass deflection set the stage for Doug Williams‘ record-setting second quarter against the Denver Broncos in route to a 42-10 win and claiming the MVP award. He became the first African American quarterback to achieve this for an organization that was the last to sign an African American player under a known racist, then-owner George Preston Marshall.
Let’s not forget the 1992 seat cushion game against the Atlanta Falcons, which was one of the greatest single-season performances any NFL team has ever had. The next week, the Redskins dismantled the Detroit Lions, 41-10, in the NFC Championship Game and advanced to Super Bowl XXVI. This was the final NFC Championship Game played at RFK. In all, the stadium hosted five NFC Championship games, with the Redskins winning them all. Then later that year, in the new season as defending champions, on Oct. 12, 1992, Art Monk broke Steve Largent’s record and became the NFL’s all-time leading receiver with his 820th reception.
The memories of the RFK Stadium certainly had their highs and lows but they became engrained in the fabric of Redskins families across generations. The nostalgia around RFK Stadium became more than just football for many families and the Washington Redskins became synonymous with the stadium. It was only fitting that the Redskins closed out their time in the stadium with a 37-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 22, 1996. The stadium in Maryland has just never seemed to have that same energy as the organization headed for the darkest era of Washington Redskins football under then-new owner Daniel Snyder. So what does a return to the D.C. area mean for a Josh Harris organization that has lost all its identity since that 1996 season?
Right now, this fan base comes in two factions, the “Golden Era” fans and the younger generation fans who only know Dan Snyder as the owner. The “Golden Era” fans, after years of relevance with the team being a contender year after year, sat by watching a once-proud franchise torn down to its foundation. The history stripped away as a result of losing the Redskins name which, in turn, takes away the nostalgia of any return back to the RFK site. While many of the younger fans who can never truly relate tell the older fans to move on, they will never understand what it meant to have a generation of families celebrating together every Sunday. The memories within these households are just as cherished as any significant events within the family. So while a move to the RFK site will be long overdue for this organization, I just don’t see this moving the needle much for the older fans as it will never be the Washington Redskins on Sunday in that stadium. They may still have the colors and even bring more of the 1980’s style uniforms back, but it just will never be the same without that Redskins logo that was designed in 1971 by Walter “Blackie” Wetzel. Some may say this thought is irrational, but when all you experienced from this organization is the dark ages of Dan Snyder, you just have no idea what you are talking about. That being said, how may this move be received by the younger generation?
I used the term “younger generation” here but this group can also include those Redskins fans that do not hold the same emotional attachment as the older generation yet share much of the same history together. I will focus on those who knew only the knew Dan Snyder as an owner during their prime years of fandom. There is a sense of a much-needed fresh reset of sorts, and the Commanders’ branding does just that, and a move to the RFK site could be a solidifying factor. While many older fans see the Commanders brand as a black cloud left behind by an owner who destroyed their proud franchise, the younger fanbase do not see this as the case. They did hate Snyder just as much as us old heads, but they just do not see the Commanders brand through the same lens. Frankly, although I may not align with their thought process, it is understandable they use this brand and potential return to the RFK site as the perfect continued reset of a Redskins franchise they only recognized as a horribly run organization. A move to the RFK site will certainly be received with far more fanfare by the younger generation, which I can completely understand.
In conclusion, the Redskins were a team rich in history and pride that became more than just a name but of lore in many fans. The symbolism of the name ran deep in the veins of the fans passing from generation to generation, which brought together families, friends, and strangers during the game time experience. The name held great sentiment within most of the fanbase so a move back to the RFK site under the Commanders branding, most likely, will not hit with the same excitement as the younger fans. I sense the overall feeling with this potential move will be as mixed throughout the fan base as is the current branding to this day. Now, maybe between now and then, there will be a new branding of the team with a name that calls closer to the nostalgia of the past, but I wouldn’t hold your breath on that direction. In the end I just want Josh Harris to continue building a respectable and relevant organization that will be in the Super Bowl conversation consistently like the 1980s Redskins.