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When we first started our Revolution column, we laid out a letter to Dan Snyder that asked a few very important things. Among those requests we made back in October:
We asked that the front office be held responsible for the current state of the franchise.
We asked for accountability from the ownership of the team.
We asked for a state-of-the-art video screen at FedEx (this was one I even included in my repeated emails and phone conversations with David Donovan.)
Since that time, I have received countless emails and comments from people out there who have embraced the core principles of this Revolution, which continue to be:
We do not boo our team or wear bags on our heads;
We understand and accept that if this team is going to get better, it will be on Dan Snyder's watch, so we are best-served to try and work with him as opposed to working against him;
We see the possibility that we, the fans, are capable of being part of the solution and can work with the team to positively influence real change.
In that vein, we have kept beating the drum. We have not been alone, of course. I am not so naive as to think Dan Snyder reads Hogs Haven and says, "By God, we have to do something!" But I do know that we have been received well inside those walls, and from my ongoing discussions with people who have voices that matter in that organization, I can assure you all that our concerns have been considered. The "Revolution"-ary rhetoric may have grown tiresome to some over at Redskins Park, but they are also getting it from all sides. What sets us apart is our fundamental love of our team and our desire to put that at the forefront (there were more than a few folks out there dedicated to being over-the-top negative.)
So where do we stand now? We have a newly designed front office, with a general manager who seems to be the guy in charge. In fact, when Shanahan was brought in, it was not lost on us that it was Bruce Allen who introduced him, and not Dan Snyder. The power to run this franchise appears to have shifted to two very experienced men (Allen and Shanahan), and away from an owner who at times let his zeal to control his favorite team get in the way of sound management decisions.
And we will be watching a state-of-the-art HD screen (thanks to Matt Terl and his blog for the above referenced pic...click here to read his post introducing the big board, and click the image itself to see it blown up.)
I can't tell you how many times I have dropped that request on anyone who would listen over at Redskins Park. We all have. They have been hearing about it for years. In our opening letter to Dan Snyder, we mentioned that gameday amenities don't overcome a poor on-field product. That said, the upgrade to HD screens is a HUGE improvement to the gameday experience. Add to that the very real possibility that the on-field product is in the process of being improved as well, and we have a lot to be thankful for today.
And that is what we should be: thankful. Regardless of whether or not Dan Snyder is making these changes because they make sense or if he is making them just to shut us up, the moves he is making are ones we can sink our teeth into. As Dan Steinberg said in his post about the changes that seem to be taking shape in Redskins Nation, "If you demand something, and then it happens, you can hardly complain that it only happened because you demanded it."
Is there still more work to do? Oh yeah. A lot of heavy lifting for this franchise remains, and The Revolutionwill remain an active voice this offseason as we tackle those issues. But you won't hear any complaining from us today.
Long Live The Revolution!