What Has Happened to the Redskins' Fan Base?

Some of it may be because of the Dan Syder assembles his teams, big money, not much production, guys with off the field problems, and I also think when Jack Kent Cooke pasted ,RIP, that a lot of fans drifted away, because he was a cool owner who was around Redskins park with that little dog he had.

Ah, yes. I believe Coco was the dog's name.

Ah, yes. I believe Coco was the dog's name.

It was hilarious seeing an old dude with that little dog, made everything seem kinda down to earth.

It was hilarious seeing an old dude with that little dog, made everything seem kinda down to earth.

You actually remember this?

Wow you sure got replies on this site as compared to the same thread on Redskinsheads.

I wonder if that is because KB24 put quotation marks around the word knowledgeable in the original post.That is what it says under the site name."Discussion for the knowledgeable fan ".That could have made it feel like a personal attack to the mods and others.I know when I read that part of the post it made me wonder if we were being called idiots on this site.

I was also going to say the internet happened.

The internet has enabled stupid people worldwide to be noticed.

Some of the content in this thread is kinda off the wall (The first few pages are solid), but I'll throw my opinion in the ring.

I don't think this "decaying fanbase" phenomenon is exclusive to the Redskins. I think it's going in all of sports and much of society, but I'm not trying to be a sociologist here. IMO a few factors are responsible for what a lot of people perceive to be a less intelligent, less genuine group of football fans:

As Buster and several others pointed out, the internet is responsible for a lot. The blogosphere is massive nowadays. Anyone with internet access and an opinion can be heard- i.e. the "trolls" we refer to on this site.

Also, I think as technology has advanced, so has the "on demand" concept that is evident in every industry and every aspect of life. Everything is about bigger, better, faster, and what can rake in the most $$. We want what we want when we want it, and technology has made it easier to cater to this mindset. So in general people have become more critical, more impatient, and less thoughtful. One immediate way to equate this to football is how quickly we on this site want to jump on every free agent available. And as far as the Redskins, the way Danny in the past has tried to buy every good player available. We're also very fast to criticize.

Couple all of this with The Danny's commercialization of the Redskins brand, and more losses than wins during his ownership, and whammo. You get what appears to be a "dumbed down" fan base. Like I said though, I think you'll find this with a lot of fans in a lot of sports. It ain't just the Skins.

I wonder if that is because KB24 put quotation marks around the word knowledgeable in the original post.That is what it says under the site name."Discussion for the knowledgeable fan ".That could have made it feel like a personal attack to the mods and others.I know when I read that part of the post it made me wonder if we were being called idiots on this site.

Believe me when I say that wasn't my intent, at all!

I hear you.After I read the entire post that feeling had gone away.I figured it was just a coincidence.

As for the fans at fedex, I personally have never been told to sit down or shut up.Granted I dont sit in every seat or go to every game but I just have never seen that at the game.By the way,If I had seen someone spit on a little girl,Redskin fan or not,That guys getting a haymaker upside his head.I am not a violent person but some things you just dont do.

Poor Matty. Here we all are basically saying he's largely responsible for the demise of the sports fan :)

Way to go MK!

You actually remember this?

Yep, when I was a few years old they used to show him on TV, going around with his dog.

Yep, when I was a few years old they used to show him on TV, going around with his dog.

Wow. That's impressive. I mean you couldn't have been any older than 4 years old. I'm like twice your age and I hardly remember the dog. Old age :)