Billy, Riggo and Section 406

Born and raised just outside of Washington, DC, I first started watching and rooting for the Redskins in the Billy Kilmer era. Back then you were either a Billy guy or a Sonny guy, and my dad was a Billy guy. And back then, season tickets were less accessible and more sought after than the Holy Grail. The standard line was, it's not even worth getting on the waiting list, because nobody ever gave them up and they were handed down from generation to generation and the list was already fifty years long.

Well, coaches and owners and players and fans and stadiums have come and gone. Superbowls have been won and lost. Riggo. Mann. Manley. Glory Days. But it all comes rushing back when I walk in a sea of burgundy and gold toward the stadium before kickoff, and I hope along with the sea that maybe this year the Glory will return. And I kid mysellf: if not this year, certainly next.

And now, I found out yesterday, more than thirty years of ups and downs later, and seven years after signing up for the list, I will have my very own season tickets. My own seats, high in section 406, from which to witness the good, the bad and the ugly of the current and next generations of Redskins.

Eagles 21, Skins 19

The forecast for Sunday's Redskins game called for temps in the mid fifties and abundant sunshine. And it was indeed a perfect day, if a little warm for a football game. My wife got four tickets through her work and we brought another couple. The tickets included entry to a pre-game tailgate tent sponsored by the Redskins radio network, featuring plentiful food, drink and cigars. Not wanting to be rude, I sampled all three. Some more than others.

This is the view from our seats. I've sat in a lot of different places for a game but I really liked these seats. We were right next to the band. The Redskins, what can I say, they're just not very good. I still love 'em, but they make me want to sample more liquid products from the concession stands. Anyway, they had a chance to win at the end but they're not a come from behind team any more than they are a stay in the lead team. It's always a lot of fun to be at a game among all the other fans (Philly was well represented in the stands too, though).

I'm starting to wonder if the Redskins problem might be an environmental hazard of some sort. The players and coaches might be exposed to an airborne pathogen or something at the stadium. I'm not a doctor, but I do know this: Every single time I go to FedEx Field, the whole next day I feel like crap.