Friday’s introductory press conference for the Josh Harris new ownership team was humbling for new minority owner Mitchell Rales.
Rales talked of how his family moved to the area when he was age 10. The family started going to Redskins games, and he went to every home game those years growing up in the area.
“This is incredibly humbling. I mean, I wish my parents were here to see this day,” Rales said.
Mitchell Rales introduced…saying “I wish my parents were here to see this” pic.twitter.com/mKIEVqjNIz
— Scott Abraham (@Scott7news) July 21, 2023
He spoke of being chosen to play in a Maryland seniors high school all-star game but having to be matched up often against a lineman much bigger and better. He knew then college football was not for him, and he has known that his respect for players at a higher level has grown immensely over the years.
His candidness was refreshing in that he had the courage to admit the task before the new ownership group is quite the challenge. He is right. The franchise has not won a playoff game since the 2005 season, and only two playoff wins came in the 24 years Daniel Snyder owned and too often interfered with the football operations. Consequently, much of the fan base in the last decade has determined enough was enough. They were not going to give Snyder any more of their money.
“So we’re here to really build this again from the bottom up, the right way, by engaging everybody in a passionate, inspiring way,” Rales said. “And we’re going to need help from everybody here. Not just us. We can’t do it on our own. We’re going to work our butts off, but we need everybody to rally to the occasion.”
Rales appealed to the past, while also acknowledging you can’t live in the past. Rales knows what it was like during those George Allen years when the Redskins, in Allen’s seven years, never had a losing season. During those seven years, the Redskins posted records of 9-4-1 (1971), 11-3 (1972), 10-4 (1973), 10-4 (1974), 8-6 (1975), 10-4 (1976) and 9-5 (1977).
Ask yourself now, how great would it be for you as a fan, for the DMV fan base, if the next seven seasons, the team posted records as good as the Allen teams did?
Even more, the Gibbs teams of (1981-92) were even better, with only one losing season, four Super Bowl games and three Super Bowl championships. Dare we even think if they could be duplicated, how the DMV would respond?
“I remember what it was like, and I want to see those days here again, more for the community building of our fans and our other communities than even myself. So thank you, and I look forward to working with all of you in the time to come.”