The Burgundy Revolution won, but is the struggle still ongoing?
The fan revolt wanted change from the Washington Redskins. The empty seats, angry T-shirts and snarky signs were the largest revolt by die-hard supporters since the team’s resurgence in 1969.
It wasn’t the years of mediocrity, soaring prices and clueless player acquisitions that broke the fan base. It was arrogance from the owner’s box that finally drove many fans to quit attending games and buying team merchandise.
Dan Snyder finally heard them. The owner forced out vice president Vinny Cerrato and fired coach Jim Zorn. Snyder then hired a two-time Super Bowl winning coach Mike Shanahan and installed a real general manager in Bruce Allen, son of late great Redskins coach George Allen. When Allen mentions “The Redskins Way” he knows what he’s talking about rather than Cerrato’s nonsense.
I called a handful of die-hards who stopped going to games after a decade or more and swore they wouldn’t return. Did Snyder do enough to regain their loyalty? Would they renew their season tickets?
Surprisingly, all five said no.
These guys spent thousands of dollars and sometimes drove hours to games for many years. It wasn’t about the economy tanking or the long game days that forced their breakup. They took Snyder’s past actions as personal and aren’t ready to make up.
Taking Snyder’s side, I asked what more could the owner have done than taking a back seat to two proven football men? Short of selling the team, which isn’t happening, Snyder did all he was asked. And, Snyder will still spend money on top players; he’ll just let them be chosen by Shanahan and Allen.
It came down to broken trust for these die-hards. They feel betrayed by Snyder’s past actions and will be slow to offer their loyalty, much less money, once more.
That’s understandable; maybe it’s too soon for healing. The Burgundy Revolution has won, but doesn’t know what to do with its peace-time spoils.
Redskins Park will be quiet until March 1 when free agency begins. There’s Capitals hockey and lots of basketball to watch plus the NFL playoffs. But, these are just offseason diversions.
Season ticket renewal notices will come soon enough. These die-hards will throw the letter on the kitchen counter, but the paper somehow won’t make it into the trash. Love letters don’t get discarded easily.
Come March, when free agents arrive and draft talk increases, many die-hards will sign their checks and look forward to training camp once more.
And, the Burgundy Revolution will cheer once more.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or
e-mail [email protected].
