Hail to the Fans

For 10 years, my grandmother and I watched Redskins games together. For the majority of those seasons, the Skins weren't all that great. But they were our team. So we watched together, 16 Sundays out of the year. She'd buy the snacks and provide the color commentary. After the game, I'd be charged with getting the pizza.

I thought a lot about this ritual after she died on August 3. For weeks, I just kept thinking about it. During the exhibition games, I couldn't help but notice how different things were about to become. I decided to keep a journal, a games-with-out Nana journal.

Eventually, I decided to write about my game-watching experiences with her as well as the games I was now watching without her. The big draw for me was that I knew thousands of Redskins fans have rituals just like mine. They watch with family. They organized the snacks. They yell at the TV.

One family I met assigns each family member a game to host and organize. Each Sunday, the games are at a different family member's house. It was a pretty intricate operation. When I used to go to the games at RFK, I'd see the same families, dressed in their gear, shouting until they were hoarse. It's just this thing we all do. It's our responsibility.

Here is my story on my own family's Redskins ritual. Feel free to post a comment and share your own stories. I'm sure you all have many.

Washington City Paper, Home Games