It had been miserable in DC during football season for a long time. A really long time. If we’re being honest, about three decades, punctuated by very brief interludes of joy: Joe Gibbs’ return, RG3’s magical rookie season. Otherwise, it was essentially a master class in how to mentally traumatize a fanbase, orchestrated by a pathetic, insecure, tyrant of a man.
But Dan Snyder’s gone now, and he’s been gone for over a year, and the football landscape is healing. An energetic new owner hired one of the best rising minds in the general management pipeline, and that GM hired a coach who has the complete buy-in of his players. He also drafted a franchise quarterback, and he’s done it all in his first rodeo.
The regular season is nearly half over, and it has already been magical, and a lot of fans are aboard the bandwagon. But many still aren’t. They’ve been hurt too many times before, and they refuse to let their guard down until the reality of Washington’s situation is completely undeniable.
The point, if there is one, of this piece, is to encourage those folks to drop their defenses and to take this experience in completely – now. Not to wait until the team tallies up 4 or 5 more wins, or makes the playoffs, or wins a playoff game. Now.
Back to 1991
I was fortunate enough to grow up during the Redskins’ glory days. I remember all three Super Bowl wins, some better than others, but there’s no denying – for me, at least – that Washington’s 1991 was its most special.
Joe Gibbs was already coaching royalty by that point, and the Redskins had spent the lion’s share of the prior decade establishing their dominance over most of the rest of the league (only San Francisco had been more successful). By 1991, the team was a well-oiled machine, and the prior season had gone 10-6, losing in the Divisional Round in a battle against the 49ers.
As the 1991 season began, they were considered among the favorites to win it all. That certainly made it easier to be all-in from the outset. Well, that and the fact that they absolutely railroaded the Barry Sanders-led Lions 45-0 out of the gate. It was clear, from Week 1, that that team was special, and not just a good team, but a team that would grind unwary opponents into dust on both sides of the ball.
And, heaven forbid a team – like Jerry Glanville’s Atlanta Falcons – would get high on their own supply and taunt the Redskins, twice. Those teams would get brutalized.
But how is that relevant to this season?
When I think back to that 1991 season, one of my most powerful associations is having loved – and absorbed – every minute of it. From that initial trouncing of Detroit, to the beat down of the Bills in Minneapolis during the Super Bowl, I was fully immersed, and vulnerable.
That initial loss against the hated Cowboys in week 13 stung, but it was quickly forgotten as the team dusted themselves off and beat their next three opponents 81 to 37.
Would I now feel the same way had Washington not won the Super Bowl? It’s impossible to tell, but it’s certainly possible I might not. But at the time, that team felt like a team of destiny, and I can honestly say I haven’t felt that way about Washington’s squad since until earlier this season, when I’ve felt pangs of it occasionally, watching Jayden Daniels operate with the poise of a seasoned veteran as he and his teammates dismantle the opposition.
I’m certainly not saying Washington will win the Super Bowl this year – though I acknowledge it’s possible, which is somewhat miraculous in its own right – but I expect them to make the playoffs, and to be competitive in the playoffs. And, once you’ve crossed that bar, anything can happen. They will surely have their ups and downs, though I don’t see another concerning game on the regular season schedule, but I intend to throw myself fully into absorbing this team’s joy. I’d encourage you to do so as well.
I’m not interested in policing anyone’s fandom. And, I’d never say the team is beyond criticism. Ultimately, everyone can celebrate, or commiserate, however they see fit. I’d just like to put in a word for soaking every moment of this season in for as long as it lasts. There’s no guarantee at all that there will be another one like it, or that even if there is, that any one of us will be around to enjoy it.