The Washington Post as a front page story today about declining fan support for their hometown team — the Redskins.
In most cities it would not be news that fan enthusiasm is weak for a losing team. But for decades DC natives have been fanatical about the ‘Skins win or lose.
Now, not so much. Even the most die hard supporter might be bummed out. It is not just the record of 2 wins and 4 losses but by the fact that Washington’s defeats included falling to the Detroit Lions (who hadn’t won since 2007 — a run of 19 games) and the Kansas City Chiefs — who are nearly as inept as Detroit.
After the loss to KC, the Redskins stripped head coach Jim Zorn of play calling duties and gave them to someone who has been out of football for several years and whose most recent activity (we are not making this up) was calling bingo games at an old folks home.

So the Washington Post writes that, for the first time in recent memory, there are a lot of vacant seats at the Redskin’s FedEx Field. Not only that, TV ratings are falling and “…the national market for burgundy and gold jerseys, banners and hats has plummeted, down 47 percent in the past month compared with the same period last year, according to sales data.”
FAIL TO THE REDSKINS
So, what is the official response of the Redskins? They’ve found the problem — it is the Washington Post!
“I think the relentless negative coverage in The Washington Post is a real difference from previous years,” David Donovan, the Redskins Chief Operating Officer is quoted as saying. “But in terms of the way our actual fans are behaving, we don’t see any difference.”
FUMBLE! If you have a relentlessly bad team, Mr. Donovan, you should expect coverage to match. Instead of shooting the messenger, how about thanking the fans who have stuck with you during a period of less-than-stellar performances and promise that you are working on putting a better product on the field. Bingo!
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