Good morning Skins fans

I felt it was necessary for my first post to be introductory. My love of the Washington Redskins began virtually at birth. I think my parents may have rocked me to sleep with "Hail to the Redskins" and upon learning that the doctor that delivered me was a Dallas fan, I promptly soiled my newly formed self while in his hands. Okay, that last part was made up, but you get the picture. Born in DC, raised in the suburbs, I have been surrounded by Redskins fans. As many of you know, the week-to-week existence of a Redskins fan is both a gift and a curse. The last time I can remember it was a gift, however, was the 1991 season when the Redskins won Super Bowl XXVI. I remember being 6 years old, watching guys like Mark Rypien, Gary Clark, Art Monk, and Darrell Green. These guys were my heroes, they were sports gods to me. (P.S...if anyone has ever seen or heard from Mark Rypien recently, please let me know, I'd love to know what he's up to.) I remember the final seconds ticking down in that Super Bowl and saying to my Dad, "we did it!". Joe Gibbs hoisting the Lombardi Trophy gave the nation's capital inspiration, and brought a city together. At the time, the city was wrought with gun violence and strained race relations but for a short while, the citizens of this great city put that aside, and put on their burgundy and gold with pride. Since then, it's been an emotional roller coaster of "maybe this is the year". See, being a Redskins fan is not like being a Bengals fan or a Lions fan. Those fan bases have been cursed with mostly horrible teams for a majority of their existence and therefore, their fans don't expect much. Redskins fans, however, expect excellence every year. And why not? With 3 Super Bowl wins, the Washington franchise is one of the most successful in the NFL. We're supposed to be good!

What this has created is a certain level of palpable excitement before every season, then when the Redskins under-perform, as they have in the past few seasons, there is that annual sinking feeling of disappointment that permeates the District, only to be extinguished at the start of the next season. Most psychiatrists would classify this as clinical insanity: the act of repeated dillusion. "I think the Redskins are gonna be good this year!" "I wouldn't be surprised if we make the playoffs!""The Redskins are back!" But, alas, the Redskins as the early 90's fan-base knows them, have not been back in a long time. We've gone through head coaches like Riggins went through D-lines. Our new owner has made a trip to FedEx virtually unafforable for the average family of 4. The Redskins as we know them now are an overpaid, glossy, fancy, behemoth of a franchise with nothing real to show for it in the past 18 years. Why then, would someone remain a fan? Remember the insanity I spoke of earlier? It's because when I watch the Redskins, I sometimes go back to when I was that 6 year old boy. I crave that joy and inspiration again. And I want to shout to everyone on the streets of DC someday that "we did it". I can only hope...