To all the faithful Redskins fans out there, welcome to Day 16 of The Revolution. Beyond a few very broad brush strokes painted two weeks ago, we have spent little time on what it is. That ends today of course--I lay out our great cause in an open letter to Daniel Snyder. Do I expect an immediate response? Of course not. But they will know the measure of our resolve because this will not be a one time thing. We will not go away, and we do hope this becomes something very big--not for Kevin and I, but for the fans of this team that deserve more than they are getting today. The Revolution really begins after the jump...
Dear Daniel Snyder,
I write to you today to voice the displeasure of myself and countless others who have stood by and watched this proud franchise continue down a misguided path. I have been a lifelong fan, and I am joined by like-minded individuals who feel marginalized and ignored right now. There are few things as undeniable as the culture of mediocrity and underachievement that permeates this organization right now. You may think it's foolish to begin a letter that has as its primary purpose an intention to reach out to you in a positive way in this fashion, but our belief is that nobody else seems to be telling you this, otherwise we are confident you would have gotten that message.
We have formed this coaltion of the faithful out of the age-old promise that when like-minded, intelligent people are ignored and marginalized by the powers that be, a Revolution is necessary, proper, and productive.
Here are some of our core principles:
1) We will never abandon our team.
2) Even in a rotten economy, we believe in financially supporting our favorite teams, but we must be given the hope and promise of a team worthy of the impact to our individual bottom lines. Our bank accounts are not boundless and in the current world we live in, watching the game at home or with friends at other establishments is competitive with the gameday experience at FedEx Field. Stadium amenities do not overcome a poor product on the field.
3) We believe that the current ownership needs to take ownership of the mismanagement of this franchise and admit there is a problem.
4) We expect to be heard and acknowledged. We are not simply a collective group of wallets to be milked for every cent possible. Our financial and emotional investments are the primary reasons this franchise exists and enjoys the success it does. We demand to be treated with the respect and dignity that comes with this level of commitment and support.
5) We do believe the current ownership desperately wants to win.
Here are our current requests of you:
1) Hold the Front Office responsible for the direction and current climate of this franchise.
2) Admit that the "Waiting List" is not at all what you claim it to be.
3) We want an audience with you Mr. Snyder. We want to be heard and acknowledged.
We consider ourselves to be your most important fans. And by that I don't mean the ones willing to shell out top-dollar for a skybox. We refuse to abandon our team, and we refuse to join the cacophony of hating that is occurring on almost every media outlet (especially the ones not currently owned or operated by you.) We are not building a coalition of fans calling for you to leave town or sell the team. We are building a coalition of fans that wants you to reach out to us, positively interact with us and even work with us in the coming years.I don't believe you like losing any more than we do. The problem is that it appears lessons are not being learned inside the Redskins organization. I think you would be wise to consider additional perspectives rather than just whatever is taking place behind those doors.
Those of us who continue to come to games each week do so with nothing but winning on our minds. You won't find us wearing bags on our heads, and you won't hear us booing the home team. We hit our respective tailgates with nothing but positive thoughts. We embrace the best possible outcome of each upcoming game at the crack of dawn and celebrate it as if it had already happened. We provide the positive vibration that brings the Sunday game experience to life, both at the park as well as the homes and other places we enjoy watching the games.
Mr. Snyder, you are lucky to have us. Make us lucky to have you.
Sincerely,
The Revolution
Tomorrow, we follow up this letter to Daniel Snyder with our thoughts and ideas for the next crucial steps forward and how every willing fan can take part.