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The Redskins Deflate Fan Base on Thanksgiving by Christopher Johnson

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(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Being a Redskins fan is like being in an abusive relationship. No matter how much you love them they always find a way to let you down, time and time again and I think fans have hit a breaking point.

Even with the team tied for first place in the division there is little to no enthusiasm for the team’s chances this year. Players have gone on record talking about FedEx field and low attendance. Worse than just not showing up, fans will sell their season tickets to the opposing teams’ fans which eliminates the home field advantage for the Skins.

As someone whose family owned season tickets for over 50 years, I can personally attest to that. During big home games the fans could be 50/50. Why is this you ask? It’s not because Alex Smith broke his leg and is out for the season. It’s not for any football reason. It’s the culture. The Redskins, except for 3 or 4 seasons (mostly with Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs), have been terrible. The last Redskins Super Bowl was 1991.  I was born in 1990. For about 25 of my 28 years of living, the Skins were a laughing stock.

When you lose so consistently it can really take the wind out of your sails, especially when it comes to exciting your fan base.  Then came 2012 the year of Robert Griffin III, also known as RG3.  It was the most exciting season I can ever remember as a Redskins fan. Fast forward 2 years and all of that hope was crushed following the mismanagement of RG3, which likely ruined his promising career. More recently instead of considering Colin Kaepernick to save their season after Alex Smith’s gruesome leg injury, they bring in “Butt Fumble” Mark Sanchez. What is a move like that saying to your fan base? Anyone with two working eyes knows that Mark Sanchez has been a bum for a long time – since his first couple of seasons with the Jets. These kinds of decisions have plagued the Redskins for years. Not to mention “Albert Haynesworth-less”, and the drama he caused.  Then there was the team getting swindled into trading for an aging Donovan McNabb.  Or how about spending big money on players like Brandon Lloyd or Adam Archuleta. I can go on for days.

How do we fix this? I would start fresh, and I don’t just mean fire the coach. Ideally, I would want Dan Snyder to sell the team, but since that won’t happen, I want to see the team and culture rebranded. Change the name. Change the logo. Renovate the stadium experience and make it better for fans. I know that Snyder said he will never change the name, but I think rebranding and getting rid of some of that negative energy surrounding the team would be welcome. It’s not being PC to stop offending a large group of people; it’s just decent. Just end the controversy and use it as an opportunity to sell a bunch of new merchandise.  Change the name and logo to just move on from almost 30 years of disappointment.

Christopher Johnson also known as “C. J.” is the youngest columnist on this website.  He started interviewing celebrities when he was 10-years old.  Chris comments on sports, politics, current events and he writes movie reviews.  In his spare time he is the Lead Guitarist for a band called The Courtland ExperimentClick here to visit his Archives Page to see more videos with Harold Bell and to read his commentaries and movie reviews. You can also follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

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