The Washington Football Team

I make no excuses for calling them the Redskins in the early part of this post as that is what I have always known the ‘Burgundy and Gold’ as.  I fully accept that things must evolve and sometimes change is necessary, but even though I have adapted to us being the Washington Football Team, the side I grew to love and have followed passionately since the early ‘80’s was the Washington Redskins.

I have a vague recollection of Super Bowl highlights being shown on a Saturday afternoon (World of Sport maybe), but it was only when Channel 4 started their weekly highlights show in 1982 that the fire was lit.  Joe Gibbs, Superbowl XVII – Redskins vs Dolphins, The Hogs, Riggins, Theismann, and Monk captivated me, and it has remained that way to this day.  Let’s be honest if there was ever a decade to pick to become a fan of a team then this was it.  Super Bowls, superstars, and a legendary head coach.  I loved it!

These were the times of First Down newspaper, and the crackling, static filled, long-wave Armed Forces Network Radio coverage, whereas these days I can watch every minute, of every game live. Many things have changed dramatically in the last 40 years and NFL coverage is something that is significantly better. For decades I wouldn’t have had much insight into team issues outside of the games, but these days I can name the current long-snapper and intelligently debate whether it is worth the team using a 6th round draft pick to select his replacement.

My fascination with the Washington Football Team led to me becoming a founder member of the Bury Pumas American Football Team and although I played very badly at wide receiver, I enjoyed everything about it.  The training was hard and demanding as we gradually came to terms with the complexities of this fantastic sport.  The physicality was undeniable, but the cognitive aspect was something that really surprised me.  There was no doubt which number I wanted plastered onto the back of my black mesh shirt though, it had to be 84.  Gary Clark was an inspiration and that Monday night game in 1985 against the New York Giants was something I felt I needed to celebrate. 

I’m not going to deny that following the team since 1992 has become progressively more difficult as, despite the brief excitement of 2012, everything else has been a long slow spiral downwards.  However, Coach Rivera’s appearance last year has brought with it a hint of sunshine and hope for the future.

The 2021 schedule has been announced and the countdown clock is ticking down towards the season opener against the Chargers in September.  This will no doubt be the start of a complicated few months as I juggle watching the games live, a day later, or sometimes the only option available is a bleary eyed early Monday morning start to watch everything unfold before going into work. To add to the difficulties, if I have a delayed start to watching the game, the result will pop up in my twitter and instagram feed, podcasts will automatically download and notifications will reveal the score, and well-meaning sports news updates will tantalisingly prod at me. It’s not an easy task to achieve, but I seem to be getting quite adept at getting to the start of the game without knowing the score beforehand.

I finally got to DC in 2016 and watched the game against the Cowboys at FedEx field in early January before watching them again against the Bengals at Wembley later that year.  It’s bizarre that UK fans got to witness one of the rare tied games that the Team has had since 1932, but I would much rather that Hopkins had simply converted the field goal chances that he had.

The Washington Football Team and it’s fan base have helped me to get through this COVID dominated year and hopefully, as we all emerge in 2021, they will harness all that positivity and a post-season run will have me getting up at 3am late in January 2022. #HTTWFT