2 things that are really bothering me

[SkinsFan4Ever]

I've been a loyal reader of Warpath (the best Fan Site) for a couple years now. I haven't posted until now, but feel the need to speak up for the "fans" at yesterday's game. I was at the game yesterday as a birthday present from my girlfriend. It was a surprise gift that was long since planned, but I just found about Saturday evening. As it turns out it will go down as one of the most emotional games in our beloved franchise and one I will never forget.

I see some generic comments in some of today's threads questioning the actions of the "fans" at yesterday's game especially during the moment of silence. I was there to witness the entire event. There were three people. Count them three people that I heard at game that did not observe the moment of silence. One person from the endzone visitor's side said "We love you Sean Taylor." Another person from behind the home bench said something to the effect of "We miss you Sean". The third person from the endzone lower deck said some long drawn out sentence that made no sense (I suspect this person threw too many back during the tailgate party prior to the game). These were simple comments that I agree were inappropriate during the moment of silence, but came across very clearly throughout the stadium. And why? Because FedEx was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. 90,000+ true Redskins Fans honored Sean with a moment of silence. Please do not lump three people with the collective group of Fans at yesterday's game. In fact millions of tears were shed for Sean yesterday. There weren't many dry eyes in the stadium after the video tribute and the moment of silence. I've been and will always be a die hard Redskins fan forever. We fans were at the game and I'm a firm believer you will not find better fans in the NFL than Redskins fans. It was an emotional day for everyone involved in yesterday's game...not just for the players...not just for the coaching staff...but for the fans as well. We honored Sean yesterday. We did not disrespect him. I was there to witness it.

Of all the images that come to mind from yesterday's game I want to share the one I will take away forever. During the video tribute there was a picture of Sean. Projecting from the jumbotron for all to see it looked like Sean was standing on the side of practice field in his Redskins uniform without his helmet on. Here was one of most fiercest competitors ever to put on a Redskins uniform with the biggest smile on his face looking as happy as one can be standing there holding his 18 month old daughter. He looked very proud. He died trying to protect that same little girl. And for that…from this loyal Redskins Fan…Sean we are proud of you. You will be a Redskin forever.

[rickmmrr]

Originally Posted by SkinsFan4Ever

I've been a loyal reader of Warpath (the best Fan Site) for a couple years now. I haven't posted until now, but feel the need to speak up for the "fans" at yesterday's game. I was at the game yesterday as a birthday present from my girlfriend. It was a surprise gift that was long since planned, but I just found about Saturday evening. As it turns out it will go down as one of the most emotional games in our beloved franchise and one I will never forget.

I see some generic comments in some of today's threads questioning the actions of the "fans" at yesterday's game especially during the moment of silence. I was there to witness the entire event. There were three people. Count them three people that I heard at game that did not observe the moment of silence. One person from the endzone visitor's side said "We love you Sean Taylor." Another person from behind the home bench said something to the effect of "We miss you Sean". The third person from the endzone lower deck said some long drawn out sentence that made no sense (I suspect this person threw too many back during the tailgate party prior to the game). These were simple comments that I agree were inappropriate during the moment of silence, but came across very clearly throughout the stadium. And why? Because FedEx was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. 90,000+ true Redskins Fans honored Sean with a moment of silence. Please do not lump three people with the collective group of Fans at yesterday's game. In fact millions of tears were shed for Sean yesterday. There weren't many dry eyes in the stadium after the video tribute and the moment of silence. I've been and will always be a die hard Redskins fan forever. We fans were at the game and I'm a firm believer you will not find better fans in the NFL than Redskins fans. It was an emotional day for everyone involved in yesterday's game...not just for the players...not just for the coaching staff...but for the fans as well. We honored Sean yesterday. We did not disrespect him. I was there to witness it.

Of all the images that come to mind from yesterday's game I want to share the one I will take away forever. During the video tribute there was a picture of Sean. Projecting from the jumbotron for all to see it looked like Sean was standing on the side of practice field in his Redskins uniform without his helmet on. Here was one of most fiercest competitors ever to put on a Redskins uniform with the biggest smile on his face looking as happy as one can be standing there holding his 18 month old daughter. He looked very proud. He died trying to protect that same little girl. And for that…from this loyal Redskins Fan…Sean we are proud of you. You will be a Redskin forever.

Thanks for clearing that up.

[SmootSmack]

Solid post, SkinsFans4Ever. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree though. I don't care for most Redskins fans. I think they are far from the best...and much closer to being the worst.

[WaldSkins]

i was there and it was more then three people. Yeah people said we love you sean and etc, but there were a bunch of people sitting around me talking among themselves quietly. There was also a loud "Buffalo Bills Suck" yelled out by some fan behind me on the visitors side. Yeah it was also quiet, but the few that yelled is what ruined the moment of silence, its supposed to be quiet, you could of showed your respect by simply being quiet, isnt that how a moment of silence is supposed to be???

[BrunellMVP?]

Re': smootsmack.
Fair enough- no doubt you've polled more people than I have...

As for being closer to the worst....I have many reasons why I think the skins fans at the stadium leave something to be desired- but I think that sentiment has been captured both on this site and in sports illustrated's annual stadium rankings.

They say you never know someone(yourself) until you've seen how they react when a situation is dire, so on those grounds, smootsmack, perhaps you are right.

[WaldSkins]

During the game there were people yelling sit down, and shit to that extent. If people want to sit down, then they can stay there asses home. I think everyone should be standing and cheering when the defense is on the field. It could of been louder.

[Cowell]

I find that somewhat disturbing that Joe didn't know about the 10 men on the field thing. Does our team really lack that much communication?

[Daseal]

During the game there were people yelling sit down, and shit to that extent. If people want to sit down, then they can stay there asses home. I think everyone should be standing and cheering when the defense is on the field. It could of been louder.

This is why I don't even like to go to games anymore. When I go to a game I feel like it's my JOB to stand and cheer, and the last 3-4 times Ive gone I've gotten shit for it all game. It's simply not fun to me to sit there. One guy I even respected besides on 3rd downs Id stand up and cheer for the defense, and he still flipped out. Just upsetting to me, Id love to see someone telling someone to sit down in Arrowhead.

[SmootSmack]

What I've never understood is why there's so much hootin and hollerin when our offense is in the red zone, but virtual silence when the opponent's is. I mean, as Jerry would say, what is the deal?

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Solid post, SkinsFans4Ever. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree though. I don't care for most Redskins fans. I think they are far from the best...and much closer to being the worst.

SS, maybe I'm wrong but I think it's possible that you've, perhaps, lumped some of your recent bad experience(s) together of most Redskins fans.
This season, particularly Gibbs 2.0, has been a tough one to stomach for fans, coaches, and players alike.

First of all, let's be honest, it's really hard to put this subject in its proper context. Here's my reasoning when it comes to Redskins fans and most NFL fans: fans are up and fans are down. But you know what, so are players and so are coaches. And so is the media for that matter. So is the ice cream man. So is the guy next door. So is my plumber. It's all human nature. I'll go a step further too. Now, this is purely speculation on my part, but people that tend to be fiercely loyal to their team..I mean the ones that really drink the so called Kool-Aid, I'll bet they're like that in other areas of their lives and with other relationships.

See, I'm of the opinion that one's fandom is simply an extension of other things and people they relate to on a daily basis. I'll bet some of you on this very website would help me at the drop of hat if I was going through some type of personal crisis. Other's would say, I don't really know 12th. Seems like a cool guy but I don't really know him like that. You can't hate on that, and it doesn't make one person that maybe loaned me $10 better than the other Warpath member that questioned my motives and integrity. It is what it is. (I don't know if I may argument is making much sense at this point)

But I think it's that one single trait about Joe Gibbs that has endeared thousands to him; he's fiercely loyal - almost to a fault. I never realized this until I heard him being interviewed shortly after he accepted the job the second round. You know, the reporter is grilling him. Trying to see what Gibbs' motive "really" was for returning to the Redskins. Then the reporter crossed the line some. He asked if Gibbs ever thought about coaching another team, perhaps the Cowboys even. Without hesitation Gibbs shot right back, and said "it never crossed my mind, I'm a Redskin." I couldn't (Gibbs cackle) imagine wearing anything other than burgundy and gold. Now that's a damn fan if you ask me.

That's why you'll never, ever hear a player publicly bash Gibbs. They know it goes beyond coaching with him. They know he looks at them as 53 sons with the last name Gibbs etched somewhere on their uniform. So to bash him publicly would almost be like bashing their own father. We're so foolish. We always talk about Gibbs being a Hall of Fame coach and how he deserves respect. That's not why Joe Gibbs deserves respect. He deserves and commands respect because he is, in my book, the greatest Redskin fan of all time. I'll bet he'll trade in that bust in Canton in a heartbeat to go down in history as the greatest Redskin fan and he'll trade in all three of those Super Bowl rings for the once in a lifetime opportunity to meet and have some influence on a few Sean Taylors along the way. Now those statements seem completely subjective and opinionated, but that's what I believe. That's how I see it.

To that end that's why it stinks to high heaven to people like you SmootSmack when Gibbs is questioned, ridiculed and scorned. Because the bar is so high and our fans are so human. We quantify success in terms of playoff victories and Super Bowls. Joe Gibbs measures true success by lives touched and changed. The rings and accolades are a result of the latter. So it's an impossible benchmark for most to meet -impossible. But neither is an indictment. I think, and this is the only way I could possibly say this, Gibbs 1.0 we witnessed one of the greatest coaches of all time. Gibbs 2.0 we're seeing a good coach but also the greatest fan of the Washington Redskins.

[SmootSmack]

This goes beyond any questioning of Gibbs. It's ok to question Gibbs. That's not what I have an issue with. I think it's stupid to question him and seemingly never anyone else. But I guess I'll just have to accept that's how it will be so long as he's here.

And I'm not lumping all fans here. I mean when you all rip on the media or ESPN in particular, I know you're not ignorant enough to assume it's every single person in the media or every single person at ESPN.

Honestly, I've been of the opinion for a couple decades now that there are too many "bad fans" Way too many for a proud franchise that claims to have the greatest fans. When I see/hear total silence when we're on defense, loud commotion when we're on offense, chattering during a moment of silence (I dont't give a flying you know what what they were chanting, moment of silence means moment of silence, when I hear people saying after yesterday's game that the team should be ashamed of itself for letting the fans down, when I hear people claim that the only true fans are the ones that find fault at every turn because they're the ones that "really care" and so on, when I read all week about supporting the team during a difficult time and being understanding no matter what the outcome, and then seeing them turn out to be idle words (and then hearing that coaches/players were cursed at and booed)...I just have to wonder how can we claim to be this great community of fans (and has there ever been a longer run-on sentence in the history)

I hope my faith is restored, but some have lost faith in Gibbs and I, for now, have lost faith in the overall fandom.

[12thMan]

Okay, if this goes back decades then I stand corrected. But I will say that this recent thing with fans not filling up the stadium and not responding when the defense is on the field, that's a FedEx thing. RFK would never, ever let the opponent drive the ball in the red zone and remain quiet. People were standing the entire game freezing their asses off too. I do hear you though.

But forget all of that, can I borrow $10 from you is what I really want to know?

[SmootSmack]

No doubt things haven't been the same at FedEx versus RFK.

[WaldSkins]

i stood the whole game, got yelled at for it, and almost got into it with a redskins fan for standing... They should get rid of the seats. Standing only..

[Darrell_Green_28]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

People I spoke to said they definitely saw and heard players getting cursed at and booed.

Im not making excuses or anything, but, are we sure it was redskins fans? and not say bills fans or just football fans that just wanted to be there at a football game?