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What Motivates You ... ?

Boone

The Commissioner
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I'm just curious...

What motivates you to continue supporting this team and franchise?

By 'support', I'm not just talking about going to games (be it season tickets or just a game or two a year), but also emotionally - rooting for them game in and game out regardless of talent, record, or promise? I'm talking about hanging out on a Redskins fan community. Talking about the Redskins promise, challenges, and successes?

This used to be a question that didn't need to be asked.

But I'm asking it.

I'm usually a 'roll with the punches' kind of a guy. I've weathered a lot of disappointment over the years, as has any Redskins fan. While I often can't sustain my hope and optimism in a given year once it becomes clear things are going off the rails. But I've always entered every offseason and new regular season believing things can be better and hopeful that they will be.

But I feel like I have nothing left in the tank.

Gruden needed to go. And he's gone. But today left me about as angry and frustrated as I've ever been as a Redskins fan. Listening to that vacuous pompous empty suit telling me that the fatal 5 car wreck I'm looking at is really nothing more than a fender bender, all the while refusing to even take the bulk of responsibility for causing it - it was just more than I could take.

Dan Snyder is a coward - plain and simple. In the face of the worst fan morale and most hopeless Redskins season in 20 years (and that's saying something), he doesn't even have the balls to stand up there, take questions, and at least try to provide some answers about where all of this is going and what he's going to do to make it better. Instead, he trots out his smug, intellectually dishonest sycophant to mutter meaningless platitudes and provide non-answers to some of the toughest media questions I've ever heard asked. I'm embarrassed to be a fan of this team, and my hostility towards Allen and Snyder is unhealthy bordering on words I don't like to use in regards to my fellow man.

I really have to ask - why subject oneself to it?

What possible reason is there to be a Redskins fan?

If anyone thinks they can talk me off the ledge, go ahead and give it your best shot. But I'm not sure it's possible.

I'm very close to being done with this team for good.
 
Boone....it's become a habit. I play my golf first. But with nothing else on the radar, I'll still tune in. Of course, duration becomes shorter with each passing Danny year. What are ya gonna do? Switch to the Cowgirls? The Fecals? The Gnats? Then again, tuibng the NFL altogther looks more attractive with each passing season - regardless of the Danny's latest leadership failure.
 
I just separate the team from Snyder and whatever crony is under him and just try to enjoy any of the moments that are enjoyable. That said, it's crystal clear Gruden was a huge problem and this team should be much better than it is. So at the end of the day it's hope. I'll remain hopeful. I can't stop rooting for them and I can't root for anyone else, so I just try to focus on stuff that won't piss me off too much. :) If they're televised, I'll watch until it's a lost cause. Or I'll listen on XM. Some times they win and I rejoice. I do believe that despite Dan and Allen , a decent coaching staff can at least give us winning seasons.
 
As you well know, I have limited my support to a fraction of my former patronage.

To be honest, it reminds me of watching the Walking Dead, I only find myself attracted to the soap opera to see how it turns out...fast-forwarding through the worst parts. The quality of the product dropped off years ago.

In this case, I'm pulled to the light like a moth, awaiting the termination of the worst GM of our lifetime.

If it weren't for you, and the many members of this site, I would bother far less. I simply owe you guys the courtesy of having some semblance of knowledge of this team to discuss things with you. But I cannot watch the games, themselves.
 
My biggest flaw is that I'm loyal to a fault. It's why I'm still and always will be a fan. I love football and there's no other team I'd root for. If I quit watching the Redskins, I quit watching football, and I just don't have it in me to do that. Are they worth rooting for anymore? Absolutely not, but they're still my team and always will be.

Loyalty matters to me, and it's a trait you see less and less of in people, and that's sad to me. It's why I stay friends with people for 30 years even through the bad times, and why I stayed in a 20 year relationship even after it was obviously well past its expiration date. I just don't have it in me to give up on something I care about, whether I should still care or not.
 
John, I'm sorry to see you on the ledge. That's my spot. :)

What motivates me continue to pay attention to the Redskins these days? Two things.

My son is the first. He got hooked during the RG3 season and now he's the Big Fan in the family. I still follow the team loosely because he does, and I need to be able to navigate him through the inevitable disappointment and frustration that comes from being a Redskin fan these days. I also can help him deal with all of the guff he takes from the multitudes of Seahawk, Cowboy and Patriot fans that go to Fairfax County Public middle schools. He takes pride in the fact that he's not a bandwagoner like most 13 year-olds are, but most days that's cold comfort. I'll tell ya, it's bad enough that the Redskins have ruined things for me. What they're doing for my boy ... that really pisses me off. The crap he takes to root for that crap team ... it's not cool. He deserves some reward for his loyalty, but I doubt he'll ever get it.

Anyway, that's the big reason.

The second reason? That's you, John. This board. The Redskins have given you nothing ... NOTHING to work with for years now, and you show up every day, take all of the crap we curmudgeons spout out, and try and find a silver lining. I appreciate that more than I probably tell you. If there's one thing we Redskin fans need right now, it's an optimist to tell to shut the hell up. :) You've been providing that service, thanklessly, for a long time now. Believe it or not, that's worth something. You're a good man. And if the Redskins have finally beaten you down as badly as they have me, well, shame on them. That's a crime.

Like El, I don't watch the games anymore. Not more than a play or two here or there. I don't watch ANY other NFL football. I've grown to truly hate it. I hate the NFL and pretty much everything it does these days. If the Redskins were good, it would be easier to ignore that, but I can't now. The whole business has become fairly unbearable.

But I do still enjoy coming here. If only to howl at the moon with you guys.

Dunno if that helps, but that's what I've got.
 
Thanks guys (and especially for your nice comments Henry) - it helps. It's like my golf game. I look at the negatives. I suck. I'll never be a really good golfer. It's expensive. I don't really have anyone to play with. And it takes a big chunk of time to play. But at least with golf, I'm outside, I'm getting some exercise, and even when it's ugly I still enjoy it.

The Redskins?

They just suck my life, spirit, and optimism out of me.
 
My 80 yr old Dad: Son, I know they're sorry but we can't give up and throw those old Redskins away......

My 12 yr old son: Dad, we can't give up just because times are tough. Can I wear your Riggins jersey? And when do I get a Sean Taylor jersey?

Now my Son, he usually pulls me off the ledge right before I drag out the trunk from the closet to pack all my Redskins apparel in...

Guess that's why I still hang around the Redskins and if I'm gonna commiserate with Redskins fans, might as well do it on the best forum on the net.....
 
I like yelling at clouds, but that's just me.
 
It's just a game. If football disappeared tomorrow it wouldn't affect me. But that being said I'm a diehard redskins fan. We have to take the good with the bad. 2 teams show up to play each week
 
Thanks guys (and especially for your nice comments Henry) - it helps. It's like my golf game. I look at the negatives. I suck. I'll never be a really good golfer. It's expensive. I don't really have anyone to play with. And it takes a big chunk of time to play. But at least with golf, I'm outside, I'm getting some exercise, and even when it's ugly I still enjoy it.

The Redskins?

They just suck my life, spirit, and optimism out of me.

Boone...I have had my challenges with golf. But one can get better at it. And that trumps the Skins. So back off mister!!!

Btw...there is a certain joy in seeing players develop into professionals. Draw your football pleasures where you can. Nothing is permanent. Not even the Danny. The piercing question is "True, but in our lifetimes?"
 
The best, yet most heartbreaking decision I've ever made in my 32 years following this team passionately has been not getting my own two sons hooked on the Redskins. I've refused to pass this obsession onto my own kids. Instead of creating a bond over our love of the Redskins, I've decided that I don't want to put my own two boys through the pain I've suffered through for the majority of those 32 years as a fan. It's just not worth their time.

One can argue that there isn't much left that motivates me. I'm not waiting in anticipation to one day see the smile on my kids' faces when the Skins hoist the Lombardi. I remember as an 11 year old, I prayed for two weeks straight leading up to Super Bowl 26 every night before bed - "please God, make the Redskins play the game of their lives against the Bills!" I will never get a glimpse into my own life as an 11 year old, and see that same level of passion and excitement in my own kids.

In the end, I'm motivated by the people here. You guys helped me validate how special it is to be a Redskins fan. You guys gave my fandom meaning and I can't express how special it is knowing that there are others out there just like me. Growing up in Ontario, Canada, you'd never be able to passionately talk Redskins with anybody in these parts. Extremeskins in the early days, and more importantly, BGO, guided me home to my family. There's major dysfunction in our family, but at the end of the day, we are still family. I want the team to win for you. I want the team to win for us. I want to hug you guys at the top of the mountain, no matter how f****** far away that mountain top is today.
 
I think the relative scarcity is what hooks a lot of people more than anything. The real football season is only five months long (that includes playoffs) and your team plays only once per week during that stretch. I prefer to look at it more as a soap opera than anything these days.

But watching the games is getting exhausting, and that is not just a Redskins problem, but a league one. The flags for borderline hits are one thing, but the broadcasts are annoying with going to the rules expert to explain something far too often.

Nonetheless, I'm sure to be in front of the TV pretty much every Sunday at 1, even if the Skins are the only game I normally watch.
 
I just separate the team from Snyder and whatever crony is under him and just try to enjoy any of the moments that are enjoyable. That said, it's crystal clear Gruden was a huge problem and this team should be much better than it is. So at the end of the day it's hope. I'll remain hopeful. I can't stop rooting for them and I can't root for anyone else, so I just try to focus on stuff that won't piss me off too much. :) If they're televised, I'll watch until it's a lost cause. Or I'll listen on XM. Some times they win and I rejoice. I do believe that despite Dan and Allen , a decent coaching staff can at least give us winning seasons.

I'll agree with this, and leave it at that.
 
As you well know, I have limited my support to a fraction of my former patronage.

To be honest, it reminds me of watching the Walking Dead, I only find myself attracted to the soap opera to see how it turns out...fast-forwarding through the worst parts. The quality of the product dropped off years ago.

In this case, I'm pulled to the light like a moth, awaiting the termination of the worst GM of our lifetime.

If it weren't for you, and the many members of this site, I would bother far less. I simply owe you guys the courtesy of having some semblance of knowledge of this team to discuss things with you. But I cannot watch the games, themselves.

What he said!

I have also become coincidentally busy since their demise has really started to settle in the last 4 to 5 years. I've become so engrossed in coaching soccer that I've started watching a lot more of that as well. My team doesn't suck either so I have to admit spectating for games on that level is a lot better. I love all the extra time I have for other passions or tasks but there's nothing like the camaraderie of a football team. I'll never be able to shift my loyalties to another team but the passion is just gone now. One cure: Hey Bruce, don't let the door hit ya where good Lord split ya!
 
Several reasons I guess...

1. It's a connection to my Dad and my brother, now both gone. It was one of the things we always shared, well, after my brother gave up that silly flirtation with the Dolphins because he liked fish anyway. No matter what else was wrong, we were fans together and we could talk about the game. I miss it horribly and some days I don't want to watch it because I can't talk about it with them on Monday. But in the end, I always come back.

2. You and Mark. Though we have never so much as shaken hands, you guys are friends. I take a certain level of pride at being one of the guys you two wanted to join the grand experiment that was The Noosphere. On my worst day as a Skins fan, I know you and Mark are out there, suffering just like I am. Maybe it's the whole misery loving company, but when I want to walk away, knowing I'm not alone is a help.

3. This place. These people. I wish a few who have left would come back but I appreciate every single person who is still hanging in there with us.

4. Jets fans. If they can do it, by God I can do it too. No way in hell I let a Jets fan outlast me. Sounds flip but it's true.

5. Part of me has always taken the English view of supporting the team. In England, they say you can change your job, you can change your wife, but your football club is for life! They bitch and moan when their club isn't doing well. Most of them live in fear of relegation to a lower division (something no American sports fan gets). They go into every season knowing that unless they are one of six clubs, their odds of winning the lottery are better than those of their club winning a trophy. Yet on match day, there they are. Cheering, singing, decked out in the colors of their club. Their one and only club. I support a Premier League club now and count myself a huge fan, but when it comes to sports in this country, the Redskins are my club. My one and only club.
 
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It is difficult to stay motivated. Nobody in my family is a sports fan, other than my father who lives in Florida, so I am alone in wanting to watch any sports. When the Redskins suck (as they have for the last 20+ years), I can't reasonably find a reason to watch the game when there are many better things I can do with my time. Although, I still watch some (like watching a car wreck, sometimes you can't look away). I find I no longer get bothered when the team loses, and wins mean little (or they used to when we occasionally won a game) because they don't add up to enough to mean anything.

As for my son, initially I was disappointed when he said he was an Eagles fan, but I understood because the Redskins suck, and the Eagles didn't, and his favorite color was green (he was young when he told me this). The pain was lessened though when it became clear that he's not really a football or sports fan at all. In fact I bet if I called him now (he's currently in college), he'd have no idea what the Eagles record is or probably who their starting QB is. So he is spared my pain and suffering.

Perhaps because of my memories of the good old days there is some small flickering hope in the back of my brain that the Redskins will one day return to glory. Admittedly, the candle is burning low and the reality is that if it happens at all, it likely won't be for many years.

The people here and elsewhere that I have met and commiserated with about the Redskins over the years are something worth keeping though.
 
My answer is likely the simplest you'll get. The Redskins are my team, and I'll always root for them. I may want to say the hell with them more often then not these days, but just cant stop watching. My lack of involvement here has nothing to do with the team or this site, just changes in my life, but I'm following as closely as I ever have.
 
Can't help it. I still follow the team, and enjoy this site. I don't get excited or disappointed anymore - Dan has sapped the passion away. But I still follow out of habit, and will get together with the family some games.
 
I'm just curious...

What motivates you to continue supporting this team and franchise?

By 'support', I'm not just talking about going to games (be it season tickets or just a game or two a year), but also emotionally - rooting for them game in and game out regardless of talent, record, or promise? I'm talking about hanging out on a Redskins fan community. Talking about the Redskins promise, challenges, and successes?

This used to be a question that didn't need to be asked.

But I'm asking it.

I'm usually a 'roll with the punches' kind of a guy. I've weathered a lot of disappointment over the years, as has any Redskins fan. While I often can't sustain my hope and optimism in a given year once it becomes clear things are going off the rails. But I've always entered every offseason and new regular season believing things can be better and hopeful that they will be.

But I feel like I have nothing left in the tank.

Gruden needed to go. And he's gone. But today left me about as angry and frustrated as I've ever been as a Redskins fan. Listening to that vacuous pompous empty suit telling me that the fatal 5 car wreck I'm looking at is really nothing more than a fender bender, all the while refusing to even take the bulk of responsibility for causing it - it was just more than I could take.

Dan Snyder is a coward - plain and simple. In the face of the worst fan morale and most hopeless Redskins season in 20 years (and that's saying something), he doesn't even have the balls to stand up there, take questions, and at least try to provide some answers about where all of this is going and what he's going to do to make it better. Instead, he trots out his smug, intellectually dishonest sycophant to mutter meaningless platitudes and provide non-answers to some of the toughest media questions I've ever heard asked. I'm embarrassed to be a fan of this team, and my hostility towards Allen and Snyder is unhealthy bordering on words I don't like to use in regards to my fellow man.

I really have to ask - why subject oneself to it?

What possible reason is there to be a Redskins fan?

If anyone thinks they can talk me off the ledge, go ahead and give it your best shot. But I'm not sure it's possible.

I'm very close to being done with this team for good.


Great thread Boone.

Feels like we support a prison team.
The team plays against other teams around the country, and if the team does well, the corrupt warden takes the credit. We even see him dancing to "Jump around" in his Warden's den.
If they don't do well, the warden is nowhere to be found.


We haven't seen the warden in a while.
A long while.


Gotta find those golf deals in your area!
 

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