Becoming a Washington Redskins fan never crossed my mind. Maybe it was that my earliest years as a sports fan were spent in New York. Maybe it was Dan Snyder. Or maybe it was the 300−pound drunk guy screaming "Cheaters never prosper" into my ear after every penalty at FedExField when I was seven years old.
As a D.C. native, though, I still feel a certain obligation to speak up for the nation's capital, to relay the plight of the devout Washingtonian. It has hardly anything to do with any sort of spiritual connection between me and the professional franchises within Washington, but rather this innate desire to see what it all means for my hometown.
The Redskins have always been like a big rock to me — a concrete object that I can examine and analyze, but one that I never actively seek out for comfort. They're just there. Lately though, Washington's been winning at the same time.
Much will be said about Donovan McNabb's hyped return to Philadelphia and how he heroically beat his old team on the road. We'll talk about Michael Vick's injury and how the Eagles don't stand a chance with the tentative Kevin Kolb under center. Most won't discuss this from a Washingtonian perspective, how a Week 1 win over the Cowboys and now another divisional victory against the Eagles could represent another drastic step forward for Mike Shanahan's new squad.
As sports fans, all we really need is hope. That one shimmering beacon of light for future success can get even the most suffering diehards — hey, Chicago! — through pain. Whether or not Eagles fans want to claim a metaphorical, intangible victory over the Redskins is moot; Washington gets one tick in the win column, and that's all that matters.
Situations like this can resonate with any fan, which makes it so easy to talk about from an outsider's perspective. Hope is one of the only emotions that everyone — black or white, male or female, pro− or anti−Favre — can empathize with. It transcends cultural and physical boundaries in sports. It's something we all possess, whether we're seeking just one win or a repeat championship.
Any holes that will be poked in the Redskins' 2−2 start will be ameliorated by a bright future. Had Vick not gotten knocked out of the game with a rib injury, the Eagles might have stolen this one. Kolb had a meager 76.0 rating, fumbled twice — though Philadelphia recovered both — and threw the game−ending interception on first down at the Washington 32−yard line. For Eagles fans, their squad lost the game. Redskins faithful should say theirs won it.
Washington is rapidly — albeit quietly — becoming a team that no star offensive player should want to face. In Week 1 against the Cowboys, Jason Witten went down, as did the Texans' Andre Johnson in Week 2. Week 3 saw Steven Jackson of the Rams fall victim to the Redskins' physical style of play, just before Vick was removed on Sunday.
But Washington simply can't count on dumb luck to carry it for the rest of the season. The NFC East is simply too good to allow that to happen. Forget that in the season opener, Dallas committed 12 penalties for 81 yards, missed a 34−yard field goal and ended the game with the winning touchdown getting wiped out by a holding call. Forget that Washington lost by 14 points to St. Louis (a difficult task, I know).
It's not about what happened in isolated moments. It's about the end result, about Washington going into Philadelphia and coming away with another NFC East victory. It's about the possibility of success, the glimmer of hope instantly born out of what will be viewed as a fluke win.
The luck will eventually run out, especially with back−to−back home games against Green Bay and Indianapolis looming. But for now, Washington fans can bask in winning the first two rounds of divisional play by TKO.
---
Alex Prewitt is a junior majoring in English and religion. He can be reached on his blog at livefrommudville.blogspot.com or followed on Twitter at @Alex_Prewitt.
