Has it come to this? Are we at a point where one of the most loyal fan bases in the NFL is on the verge of or already ignited the fires of revolution? Dan Steinberg seems to think so, labeling this burgeoning movement the Burgundy Revolution.
Well if the selling of one’s Redskins fandom on ebay, existential angst over free tickets, and a Twisted Sister themed redress of grievances are the signs of a nascent revolution ready to boil over then as a student of history—radical revolutionaries in particular— I’d like to offer my advice to those sparking the firestorm.
First, any revolution needs a model to emulate, a preexisting blue print to follow. Fortunately for the Burgundy Revolution, a successful revolutionary paradigm for disillusioned NFL fans already exists: in the form of the Who Dey Revolution, a Cincinnati Bengals fan blog, which exists solely to force change in the Bengals front office management. You can read their six point manifesto here. WDR has pulled off some creative and very successful PR stunts to draw attention to their campaign and the plight of the Bengals. Witty ads on billboards outside Paul Brown Stadium, merchandise boycotts, donating tickets to charity, and brilliant game day stunts, of which my favorite was placing urinal cakes in the bathrooms of Paul Brown Stadium. I conducted a lengthy interview with WDR founder Andrew Simon, prior the Redskins-Bengals game last December. Redskins insurgents will find full of useful rules for radicals.
Revolutions do not make themselves. Leaders rise to shape them, give them form and direction—an esprit de corps. The Jacobins has Robespierre, the Bolsheviks had Lenin, and Montgomery County taxpayers have Robin Ficker. The Burgundy Revolution, if it is to succeed, in its goals needs a charismatic leader to rise from its ranks. Ken Meringolo at Hogs Haven is constructing the revolutionary apparatus, but I can think of only one man with the subversive verve to lead the Burgundy Revolution: Ben Folsom, general secretary of the Curly R. Folsom was our John Reed to WDR’s Bolshevik Revolution. See his version of 10 Days that Shook the World, or what he saw at the Who Dey Revolution here. If you are one of the lumpen proles fed up with the capitalist Snyder sucking you dry of both money, and hometown pride, then comrade Folsom is your man to lead you to the sunny uplands of football heaven.
As I mentioned earlier young master Meringolo is crafting the machinery of change. However, like the revolution it furthers, that organization needs a name. Something that succinctly crystallizes the ends it seeks. For the answer we should look to our own American Revolution and the Boston Tea Party. Who dressed as err umm “redskins” and tossed King George’s finest earl grey into Boston Harbor? The Son’s of Liberty.
What is the glaring deficiency of the Redskins organization—a competent general manager. So go forth Son’s of Bobby Beathard and fight for old DC.
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