Does DC's mood still revolve around the Redskins?

[RichmondRedskin88]

After watching the Redskins DVD for like the 1 billionth time and some videos of Americas game on Hulu I had a interesting question. Past players on the Redskins DVD talked about how on game day everyone forgot about everything except that game and about the city's mood after a loss

" If we lose on Sunday you can't get a taxi because the driver doesn't feel like driving and the buses were sluggish. Its the God honest truth"

"When we loss we hurt our fans and their the last ones we wanted to hurt"

I don't know if that still applies with the Redskins now after being down for so long.

The question: Do you believe the city's mood revolves around the Redskins like it use to?

[Hoyaparanoia]

I think it still does. Winning would help improve it even more but I feel the mood is still there in the city.

[Skins4Life6388]

on mondays or tuesdays mine does haha

[Hoyaparanoia]

on mondays or tuesdays mine does haha
amen to that

[Mr. Sinister]

I think so, although last season definitely took a lot out of everyone. I know tons of people who live and die with the B&G. This is still a football town through and through, but if we get a few more seasons like '09, I don't know how long that will last.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

Yes... No matter how much I love Ovie and John wall... The Skins will be number one and they always determine my mood for Mondays lol

[hoskins]

It's not the same as it used to be. That's a good thing actually, or else this would be a metro area full of borderline suicidal people since Snyder took over!

Plus most kids are not Redskins fans any more. And that makes a big difference also.

[Sticksboi05]

Yes, but now the other teams hold a higher stake. Football is once a week. The Skins lose, the next week sucks at least Monday and Tuesday. They win, it's great.

[Warhead36]

It does in our house.

[stevemcqueen1]

Not as much for me. I'm way more excited about where the other DC teams are headed. I've never been this excited about the Wizards and Nationals before and the Capitals certainly are easy to root for. I'm far more excited about the start of college football and the NBA season than the upcoming NFL season.

[joeknows]

i dont even live there and my friends knew last year to not even mention football to me until at least wednesday!

[Skinsfan1311]

on mondays or tuesdays mine does haha

....and Sunday, Saturday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.......


It does in our house.

Same here.......

[#98QBKiller]

Sure does. Redskins are still #1 here. People are excited over the Caps, Strasburg and John Wall but the Redskins still rule sports for the DC area. Even after so many years of hard times.

[Burgold]

I think coping mechanisms have developed. We can't be as dependent on the Redskins for our highs and lows, because they have disappointed for too long. It's been twenty years of mostly downs. I find that my emotional hangover after a loss is much shorter now than it used to be. Maybe a few hours. It used to last for days. Maybe that's because I'm older, but I think it's also because the team has reshaped my expectations. Heck, there have been games that we lost in the last few years where I felt pretty good about the skins even though they lost because of the kind of fight and competitiveness they showed. On its surface, that's a depressing thought because it's an admission that I don't expect us to be top dog, but it's also an acknowledgement of reality that has kept me and the city kind of sane.

So, no DC no longer revolves around the 'skins although it wouldn't be hard to ressussitate that feeling.

[DGREENHULK]

I think it does to a degree but I know it takes me to about Thursday afternoon after a loss to get pumped back up for the next game if we lost the week before. So in the last 2 years Zorn ruined 20 weeks of my life. :silly:

[Probos]

Overall I think so, but it's not the same since the teams decline over the past 10 years. They've lost a bit of their effect.

[mdpell]

It's pretty clear to see that this city is ready to rally around a contender. The Capitals are a perfect example of this. I knew maybe one or two real Capitals fans a few years ago. Now, with an (underachieving) championship contender the Caps have gained a HUUGE overnight following. My 85 year old Grandma (a diehard Skins fan btw) who never watched a hockey game in her life was watching Caps games and cheering for Ovie.

If the Skins catch lightning in a bottle like the Caps did this city would be reenergized on a massive scale. The entire feel of the city would be different.

[skinsfan1523]

It can't be to the same level. We have sucked for pretty much the last 19 years, D.C. would be a dreadful place to live if that was still the case. But if we start putting some good seasons together CONSECUTIVELY then I think that feeling will come back.

[kappaluvacee]

amen to that

I second that emotion. My family kinda stays away after a close loss. Even ym three year old kinds knows if we won or lost based on my mood after the game.

[honejc]

not at all. the dc metropolitan area stopped caring about the redskins 10 years ago. theere is no celebrations when we win, no tears shed when we lose, by the city.

now... if we start winning again, MAYBE the spirit comes back but i doubt that

but as individuals, once ur a skins fan always a skins fan. and i def take those losses and bad games to heart.

[ntotoro]

It's nowhere near the same level as my childhood and teenage years, especially with the emergence of Alex Ovechkin. As good Caps teams as we've had in the past (despite Abe Pollin's attempts to basically just use them to bankroll the Bullets/Wizards), it was Ovechkin who really brought popularity to a new level.

The Redskins will likely always be #1 in this town, but it won't be by much. We would have to do a decade like the 1980's all over again to come close to re-establishing that, especially among the younger fans.

[ACW]

Hell, I'd give as much credit to Boudreau as :gap:
It was only really when we started WINNING.

[ACW]

Double post.

[RichmondRedskin88]

I myself believe that a fair amount do care but I wouldn't say to the amount of where every person in DC is only thinking about the game. However, I do believe that a lot to do with that is the fact the team hasn't been in Super Bowl contention for a long time. Washington became a city that began to expect being in contention for a SB a lot. Sadly the last one was almost 20 years ago. However, Washington will always be a football town no matter what.

[endzone_dave]

If I wear my Redskins hat, I get more people laughing at me than I get "Go Redskins". Pretty sad what this franchise has become.

[Dukes and Skins]

Surely I'm going to be biased in my saying about this because I was born and I grew up in the era after the Golden Years. I think that DC does still depend a lot on the Redskins but it's not the same as it used to be now we now have a legitimate Stanley Cup team in the Caps, John Wall has arrived and the Nats have Strasburg

It still does occur but its not the same level as it used to be

[Morningside Skins]

The Skins are still definitely #1. What other team has the folks form the rural areas outside the beltway, the burbs inside the beltway, and the inner city in their cheering section? DC is just starving for a winner because its been nearly 20 years since we've won a title. While I think the city will get behind whichever team has a shot a winning (see the caps this year), the celebration for the Skins bringing home the Lombardi will be much larger than anything for the caps, wiz, or nats.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

I think it still impacts the city but not as much as in the 1980s and 1990s. It's been obvious even during our brief glimpses of success since the glory days. In late-1999/early-2000 the city was buzzing with that home playoff game. Also, during those magical runs of 2005/2007, the same happened.

If we ever have back-to-back playoff seasons (not to mention any sustained success that stretches out over several years), the city will live and die on Redskins Sundays again. There's just way too much loyalty and history for any other answer.

[bikie]

it used to but over the years I don't think there's anywhere near the same expectation or investment in the team by the people in the city...

[Hail_Skins]

Down in NC you can find a lot of DIEHARD fans, they all could care less about the panthers. It's kinda nice because you have a lot in common with someone you don't even know.

Here your expected to like either the Skins or ****birds, so no big deal when you see someone sporting some Skins gear. Hell, last week I was at the Dulles Air and Space Museum, and one of the mall cops said "any Redskins gear must be thrown in the trash". I'm in N. VA! I would expect a joke like that anywhere else but in N. VA.? I expected more support for the team when I came back for the summer, but I don't know where it is. I suppose it left with the fairweather fans on the bandwagon.

[thebluefood]

I remember when I was kid in NOVA, I'd always get a lot of flack for being a Redskins. In the middle of 'Skins territory! I sure hope things have changed since then.

[SonOfWashington]

Mine sure does. My initials and nickname are DC, so I'm going to say yes. :ols:

[bulldog]

It hasn't been the same since the Redskins left DC. The team belongs downtown in a stadium in the city.

FedEx is in the middle of nowhere. When games are over it takes forever to be able to get to any after parties or for people to congregate on the streets in G'Town like they did in the 1980's.

The spirit is still there but there is no way to see it as visibly as before.

And you can thank the DC politicians for the Redskins leaving.

These boneheads wanted everything from Cooke to change the name of the team to the organization's guarantee that a certain percentage of vendor/contractors used for construction and maintenance were going to be off a list the City wanted to give preferences to.

No business is going to go along with those kinds of restrictions.