Redskins fans' autumn of discontent

October 29, 2:28 PMWashington Redskins ExaminerMark Newgent

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Anti-Cerrato T-shirt at the Oct. 18 game vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Mark Newgent

I watched Monday night’s loss to the Eagles from the stands at FedEx Field. The crowd was not as apathetic as it was against the Chiefs, and although there were plenty of Eagles fans there was no repeat of the terrible towel fiasco from last year’s Monday night game against the Steelers.

Despite all the angst among the fan base, they turned out for this game—88,241 official attendance according to the NFL. They showed up because they wanted to cheer for their team. They bleed burgundy and gold and still care deeply about their beloved Redskins in this autumn of discontent. And, for a brief moment, there was something to cheer. But alas, a muffed punt and one blown over-the-top coverage later the FedEx crowd stood lifeless and deflated.

I sat next to a young man and his mother, who have been coming to games for years dating back to RFK Stadium. We were sitting in those pricey club seats that fans sign long team contracts to purchase. He and his family live on my side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, on the eastern shore of Maryland, a good distance to travel for home games. The kid was probably in his late teens/early twenties. His frustration was palpable, and shared among the fans seated around us. See Youtube Video below. Every time Jason Campbell was sacked or Clinton Portis was stuffed behind the line of scrimmage, he would say “It’s not your fault, Jason. It’s not your fault Clinton.” His point is that they bear no responsibility for the lack of pass protection and run blocking from a patchwork offensive line. This kid, like so many other fans place the blame for this debacle of a season squarely on the shoulders of Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato and their failure to address the offensive line. The very issue they themselves admitted in an internal review led to the 2-6 collapse in 2008.

A decade of losing and futility is enough for the fans. They’ve watched other franchises turn their fortunes with proven strategies for success, while Snyder and Cerrato have thrown good money after bad grasping at free agent straws in the vain hope that one year they would get a winner. It hasn’t worked and the fans know it, which is why the Burgundy Revolution and the attendant sign-bearing, T-shirt wearing protests have popped up all over Redskins Nation.

However, Dan Snyder through his proxies David Donovan and Vinny Cerrato, are pushing back. More on that in the next post.