How did you become a Redskins fan?

[SmootSmack]

So looking at the member profiles we can see when we all became fans, but not how. I became a fan because my older brother and his friends were fans and I wanted to hang with the big boys.

But I'm curious as to how the rest of you became Redskins fans, especially out of towners like Matty K, CrazyCanuck, etc.

[Gmanc711]

Well for me in 1990, I was a football fanatic and I never had a favoirte team though. I asked my grandfather what team should be my favorite. He said " You should like the Redskins, They're really good. " The rest is history.

[redskinsskickazz]

i first became a redskins fan when i was very young back in there glory days so i guess the reason i chose them is that they were really good and when your 8 years old you just want to root for a winner but ive stuck with them through the last decade of awfullness and im quite sure that my loved ones will put something about the redskins on my gravestone when i pass on because they all know i bleed burgundy and gold of course i hope thats not for a long time im only 28.

[That Guy]

2001 sadly enough... and i can't really tell you why... guess i got out of high school, and sports seemed like a lot more fun when i didn't have to deal with jocks all day.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by That Guy

2001 sadly enough... and i can't really tell you why... guess i got out of high school, and sports seemed like a lot more fun when i didn't have to deal with jocks all day.

Wow, just three years. And you already strike me as a more knowlegeable fan that some of my friends who claim to have been fans for over two decades

[That Guy]

thanks, probably innate geekness showing up again... I apologize, I can't help it

[Hogskin]

Well, I guess I would have to say I was born into it (May 1, 1941). My Dad went to every Redskin game for many years, starting 1937 when they came to town. So I grew up a Redskin fan, and have been my entire life. I lived through 25 straight years without a winning season, cheering for them all the way. I always believed. That REALLY made it sweet when the winning seasons began!!

[joecrisp]

I'm another born and raised Redskins fan. I grew up in Redskins country (Fredericksburg, VA), and my whole family was really into the Redskins. My Dad used to tell me stories about my grandfather taking him to see the Skins play in old Griffith stadium in the 50s. My grandfather was a passionate fan, and he loved to analyze the games and the players. He was actually a bit of a pioneer in the odds-making business, being one of the first people to use computerized bio-rhythms charts to predict the outcomes of Redskins games. I remember his charts being published in the Free Lance-Star back in the early '80s, and I thought it was so cool that an old guy like that could be so productive with a computer (an old Commodore VIC-20, at that!).


Some of my earliest memories of childhood are from the first couple of years of the first Joe Gibbs era; listening to Sonny, Sam and Frank on the radio, and watching John Riggins run roughshod over the Cowboys. In the fall and winter, you would always find me running around in a little Redskins varsity-style jacket, with a Redskins stocking cap on my head (yep, the one with the little fuzzy burgundy-and-gold ball on top!). Like many guys my age, I became a certified Redskin-for-life as I watched Riggo gallop over the Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII. I think I memorized the words to "Hail to the Redskins" before I learned the "Pledge of Allegiance"!

[skinsfanthru&thru]

One of my first memories of when I was around 3 or so was of me sitting on my granddad's lap watching the skins playing. One of my uncles has also been a diehard skins fan for as long as I remember and it was kinda weird for the 3 of us rooting for the skins while jimmy johnson was the cowgirls coach cuz my grandma rooted for the cowpies during his coaching stay. Its hard to root against something or someone your grandma roots for so we weren't as loud about it when she was around .

I don't know why I became a skins fan 4 life instead of the dolphins because both of my parents love the phins. Its always just been one of those things that seemed right for me and while I've liked other teams from other sports, the skins have been and always be the team I cheer for the hardest.

[Skins fan 44]

My dad used to coach high school football and the schools nick names is the Indians. Their decals were the same as the Skins, so I guess some how it stuck. I would say I was probably 4 or 5 when I started to become a fan. I have liked the Broncos in the 70s with the Orange Crush, but my main team has always been the Redskins. I would say If I could only like one team in sports it would be the Redskins.

[Riggo44]

Originally Posted by That Guy

thanks, probably innate geekness showing up again... I apologize, I can't help it

That's good!! Your a funny guy!!


I became a Redskins fan in 1982 on one of our familey trips to Virgina for X-Mas. My Uncles and Grandpa are big fans and I wanted to hang out and watch the games with them. The Skins were getting ready for the playoffs and my Grandpa was really into the games back then. I really didnt like pro sports yet, but I liked haging out with my Uncles. So John Riggins and the Redskins became the frist and only football team I would root for. And the rest is history...

[skinznut]

I've lived in NY since I was a year old and my father is a HUGE Cleveland Browns fan. Back in the early 80s when the Redskins were successful, they were on TV a lot more than the Browns were. My father was a fan of Art Monk because he went to Syracuse and also John Riggins. I got to watch the Redskins on a semi-regular basis and fell in love with the uniform. It didn't take long to become a true fan and follow the team's every move. They obviously got national exposure beating Miami in the Superbowl in '83. I was devastated the following year when Marcus Allen decided to make the Redskins look slow on that amazing touchdown run in Superbowl 18. My best memory was when they beat the Broncos in Superbowl 22. My mother's side of the family was visiting us from the Denver area and they were giving me a lot of crap when the skins were down 10-0. I obviously got the last laugh when the skins rattled off 42 straight points after that. My wife thinks I'm a little obsessed with the skins but she's learned to accept it and I've even converted her from being a Bills fan. Hopefully the next few years will be brighter with Coach back.

[redrock-skins]

I was 8-9 years old when my father rooted for the Skins because Theisman was a Notre Dame Alumnus. I stayed with the Skins (and never became an Eagles or Giants fan despite my proximity to both teams) and my Dad seems to root for whoever has ND players on it, but doesn't seem to have a clear cut favorite. He's more into college than pro football.
A Cowboy hater was born when (correct me if I am wrong) when around 1980 The Skins played Dallas needing a win to get into the playoffs and they were up by 13 with 2 minutes left and Staubach led Dallas back to win by one, eliminating us from the playoffs (also leading to Jack Pardee's firing) and breaking one young 9 year old's heart. And I've been a Dallas HATER since!

[Daseal]

Like many others I grew up in a Redskin family. I used to watch my dad watch it every weekend and couldn't fathom how he could spend hours watching football on Sundays. Now I eclipse him in football watched. I really don't know that much about football, but thanks to the warpath I'm really starting to pick things up. Only been a serious fan since last year.

[Redskins8588]

I was born and raised in a small town in PA, where just about everybody and there brother are Steeler fans. I was 8 years old when the Redskins were led by Doug Williams to defeat the Denver Broncos. That was it. I started to pay more attention to football and have ben a fan ever since.

I also think that when I was little my dad used to take me to the home town football game beteeen the public and catholic school. The Catholic school has the same colors that the Redskins have. So when I was little I would associate them with the Redskins and I thought that they played on tv and stuff like that. Needless to say I did play for the catholic school too.