Washingtonians are revving up for a high-stakes Monday night showdown between a newly invigorated Redskins team and their longtime rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. “We’re going to win. I can feel it,” 31-year-old Mike Robertson, of Northwest D.C., said, staring wistfully into his half-full glass of beer at a bar in Dupont on Sunday. Looking up abruptly, he slapped the wooden table where he sat and declared, “This is our year.”
Robertson and other Redskins fans, after more than a decade mired in football mediocrity, have been waiting a long time for a formidable team. Now in the third week of the season, with two wins behind them and the coveted Monday night spotlight on the Washington team’s storied rivalry with the Cowboys, this might be the moment that the Redskins turn it all around.
“I hope the Cowboys go down in flames,” said Redskins fan Josh Silverstone, 27, of Rockville.
The Redskins have instilled new hope in many fans this year after winning their first two games. The Redskins won 28-14 in their matchup against the New York Giants and beat the Arizona Cardinals 22-21.
Some fans say its too early in the season to judge the team, however.
Silverstone, wearing the jersey of Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss, said the team needs more time under the direction of head coach Mike Shanahan to pick up momentum.
“I don’t expect much of them this year,” Silverstone said. “But I like the direction we’re going, and that’s all that matters.”
Shanahan, in his second season coaching the Redskins, says his team is “boring, in a good way.”
“Most of the time, I’ve been around boring teams,” he told reporters. “That’s what you like. You like guys taking care of business, and I guess compared to the first year, it is kind of boring.”
The Cowboys may have even more at stake than the Redskins on Monday night. The Dallas team has already lost one game against the New York Jets, making them 1-2 if they lose on Monday.
