- Joined
- Apr 11, 2009
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I get it.
I really do.
It's what bonds us together here. We're 'Redskins' fans. Chances are, our fandom of this team started long, long ago. It may be tied up in our family memories, a legacy of our bond with our father, brother, uncle, or close friends. If we're lucky, our love for the B&G was cemented during the glory days when playoff heroics, dominance, and Super Bowl triumphs were real and life-altering. If we're a little less long in the tooth, we've earned our die hard status by sticking with a team through an unprecedented run of futility, disappointment, and an endless stream of coaches, front office staff, and QBs.
Either way - we've all earned the description. We're Washington Redskins fans.
And now, everything seems on the verge of change. Not just of change. Of 'undoing', of 'undermining', of 'erasure'.
They aren't just 'changing the name' and wiping out a legacy and history most of us have committed significant amounts of time, energy, and passion on - they're doing it while implying, and in some cases outright proclaiming, we've been racist supporters of a derogatory, disrespectful moniker all these years.
It's a bitter pill to swallow.
I have lots of feelings about it all. Anger. Disappointment. Disgust. Fatigue. Dread. I can still call my team 'Redskins' and no one can stop me from doing so. But in a few short weeks or months, they will no longer BE the 'Redskins'. They'll be something else. And that is no little thing. Some will argue 'it's just a name'. But most of us know better. It's not 'just a name'. And being forced to change it is not without its implications, none of which are flattering to lifelong fans of this franchise, more commonly called 'my friends'.
The first instinct of every Redskins fan is obvious. The last great act of defiance, flipping off one's attacker and then walking away forever. That might very well be the most natural and perhaps most satisfying response of all. Those that are imposing the ridiculous change we are witnessing certainly deserve it. But the problem with that response, as I have gradually come to realize, is that walking away over a name change accomplishes nothing positive, for them, or for us. Those that heap scorn on us as backwards, racist fans are not hurt one iota by our departure from Redskins fandom. In fact, if anything, they might relish the idea, because as we now understand, it's not just the name that's been racist all of these years. Driving we racist fans screaming from the NFL would bring nothing but joy and satisfaction to those who've engineered this particular social 'justice'.
Why satisfy them?
We all know that decades of experience, emotion, love, pain, and commitment are tied up in our fandom. Like a man's chest of drawers, we can't start tugging on one item without 4 or 5 other items coming with it. Change the name? It impacts everything we feel, cherish, love, and even hate about our team.
But it's important to remember. The name is not 'our team'. The name is a name. Our team is lead by a 2nd year QB, a new coaching staff, and a bunch of young, promising talent. Our team is on the upswing, conceivably on the verge of something, if not great, at least promising. These players are mostly new to our 'Redskins'. Most don't have a lifetime of baggage associated with the team name. But they do represent Washington, D.C. and the DC-MD-VA area with pride and commitment. They want to win, for themselves, their coaches, and for us.
Are we really going to abandon them now - for reasons not a one of them is responsible for? And if so, to what end? To 'prove a point'? To 'punish' those responsible? To make a 'statement'?
I don't think I can do that.
It won't be easy. The anger and irritation and just the plain weirdness of it all isn't going away, at least not any time soon. But ultimately a 'fan' isn't just a celebrator of things past, or guardian of tradition, or passionate advocate of a franchise's history. The most critical aspect of being a fan is supporting the players carrying our banner and cheering them on to ultimate glory. It's about that struggle every Sunday, and being a part of that challenge for better or worse. No matter what. Will vanquishing Dallas, knocking them out of a playoff run in Week 17, or prevailing over them in post-season play be any less sweet under a different name? I wonder...
I choose to be a part. I can't tell you what to do, and never would presume to. But I think it's important to consider, if you walk away, what if anything will it accomplish, other than robbing you of the opportunity to continue to be a Washington Redskins fan - if not in name, in spirit?
And that's all I have to say about that.
I really do.
It's what bonds us together here. We're 'Redskins' fans. Chances are, our fandom of this team started long, long ago. It may be tied up in our family memories, a legacy of our bond with our father, brother, uncle, or close friends. If we're lucky, our love for the B&G was cemented during the glory days when playoff heroics, dominance, and Super Bowl triumphs were real and life-altering. If we're a little less long in the tooth, we've earned our die hard status by sticking with a team through an unprecedented run of futility, disappointment, and an endless stream of coaches, front office staff, and QBs.
Either way - we've all earned the description. We're Washington Redskins fans.
And now, everything seems on the verge of change. Not just of change. Of 'undoing', of 'undermining', of 'erasure'.
They aren't just 'changing the name' and wiping out a legacy and history most of us have committed significant amounts of time, energy, and passion on - they're doing it while implying, and in some cases outright proclaiming, we've been racist supporters of a derogatory, disrespectful moniker all these years.
It's a bitter pill to swallow.
I have lots of feelings about it all. Anger. Disappointment. Disgust. Fatigue. Dread. I can still call my team 'Redskins' and no one can stop me from doing so. But in a few short weeks or months, they will no longer BE the 'Redskins'. They'll be something else. And that is no little thing. Some will argue 'it's just a name'. But most of us know better. It's not 'just a name'. And being forced to change it is not without its implications, none of which are flattering to lifelong fans of this franchise, more commonly called 'my friends'.
The first instinct of every Redskins fan is obvious. The last great act of defiance, flipping off one's attacker and then walking away forever. That might very well be the most natural and perhaps most satisfying response of all. Those that are imposing the ridiculous change we are witnessing certainly deserve it. But the problem with that response, as I have gradually come to realize, is that walking away over a name change accomplishes nothing positive, for them, or for us. Those that heap scorn on us as backwards, racist fans are not hurt one iota by our departure from Redskins fandom. In fact, if anything, they might relish the idea, because as we now understand, it's not just the name that's been racist all of these years. Driving we racist fans screaming from the NFL would bring nothing but joy and satisfaction to those who've engineered this particular social 'justice'.
Why satisfy them?
We all know that decades of experience, emotion, love, pain, and commitment are tied up in our fandom. Like a man's chest of drawers, we can't start tugging on one item without 4 or 5 other items coming with it. Change the name? It impacts everything we feel, cherish, love, and even hate about our team.
But it's important to remember. The name is not 'our team'. The name is a name. Our team is lead by a 2nd year QB, a new coaching staff, and a bunch of young, promising talent. Our team is on the upswing, conceivably on the verge of something, if not great, at least promising. These players are mostly new to our 'Redskins'. Most don't have a lifetime of baggage associated with the team name. But they do represent Washington, D.C. and the DC-MD-VA area with pride and commitment. They want to win, for themselves, their coaches, and for us.
Are we really going to abandon them now - for reasons not a one of them is responsible for? And if so, to what end? To 'prove a point'? To 'punish' those responsible? To make a 'statement'?
I don't think I can do that.
It won't be easy. The anger and irritation and just the plain weirdness of it all isn't going away, at least not any time soon. But ultimately a 'fan' isn't just a celebrator of things past, or guardian of tradition, or passionate advocate of a franchise's history. The most critical aspect of being a fan is supporting the players carrying our banner and cheering them on to ultimate glory. It's about that struggle every Sunday, and being a part of that challenge for better or worse. No matter what. Will vanquishing Dallas, knocking them out of a playoff run in Week 17, or prevailing over them in post-season play be any less sweet under a different name? I wonder...
I choose to be a part. I can't tell you what to do, and never would presume to. But I think it's important to consider, if you walk away, what if anything will it accomplish, other than robbing you of the opportunity to continue to be a Washington Redskins fan - if not in name, in spirit?
And that's all I have to say about that.
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