Predictably, the Redskins loss on Sunday to the Lions has been received in our nation’s capitol like the proverbial fart in church.
And the Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post in his always entertaining D.C. Sports Bog enumerates some of the visible symptoms of this.
There’s one fan auctioning his team loyalty on e-bay: “The Winning Bidder will get my undivided, unwavering support for their team for the rest of the season. . . . I will watch my new team’s games and will cheer wholeheartedly for victory on sundays, even if it mean against my beloved redskins.”
Another is trying to pawn off a single ticket for Sunday’s game against Tampa on Craigslist: “You have the awesome opportunity to see the offense stall out in the red zone multiple times and the defense literally fall over trying to catch receivers LIVE”.
Not totally novel, but entertaining nonetheless.
More intriguing is the hard-line, on-line coverage of the team by Larry Weisman, the Redskins Editorial Director, and criticism of Redskins owner Dan Snyder that a Snyder-owned radio station “re-tweeted.”
Weisman, a respected NFL writer at USA Today for 26 years, has certainly brought his objective chops to his new role with the Redskins.
Per Steinberg, Weisman wrote that "[the Redskins] are the NFL’s new mullets. The slaps. The team to abuse. Is there no pride? No sense of what it means to be a part of this team? . . . This team has enough veterans. What it lacks is heart, speed and quickness, not necessarily in that order but that’s not a bad order to start with.”
Meanwhile, it’s no surprise that former Redskins running back John Riggins was going off on Snyder during Sunday’s loss. It was a surprise that Riggo’s line calling Snyder a “loser” (first noticed by Stet Sports) was re-tweeted by the folks at ESPN 980, which Snyder owns.
Oops.
Certainly, the Redskins and Snyder have larger issues at hand than a few disgruntled fans and straight-shooting writers. But it’s worth pointing out that the villagers already have their torches lit before October.
