Stadiums
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Stadiums
I have to say being at the Eagles stadium last night made me pretty jealous of them. That place is awesome - the seats are comfy, the site lines are great, the jumbo trons are increadible, the concessions are better and cheaper, the corridors are bigger and easy to walk. There are more escalators, the parking is not as bad, and the sound system was way better.
Fedex field is really crappy compared to the Linc and it really should not be. In a couple of years we will have the worst stadium in the division with Dallas and the Giants getting new stadiums. If I was The Danny I would build me a new one and build houses where Fedex field is.
Fedex field is really crappy compared to the Linc and it really should not be. In a couple of years we will have the worst stadium in the division with Dallas and the Giants getting new stadiums. If I was The Danny I would build me a new one and build houses where Fedex field is.
Drinking the Kool-Aid again...
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I would be very surprised if there is not a lot going on already behind closed doors about a new stadium for the Redskins - The Redskins recently have indicated that they are interested and with what has happened recently with ttiT's stadium, I would think our boy is probably already checking to see how quickly he can get a new stadium - of course there will be a price and we all know who will pay for most of any new stadium "deal"
There is an old saying - "be careful of what you wish for" - a new stadium is going to mean an even more expensive "outing" to watch our Redskins play
then again it is not getting any less expensive to watch them now and that "experience" leaves a lot to be desired as far as the sound and the video screens are concerned - to name only a couple of issues at FedEx.

There is an old saying - "be careful of what you wish for" - a new stadium is going to mean an even more expensive "outing" to watch our Redskins play

Until recently, Snyder & Allen have made a lot of really bad decisions - nobody with any sense believes this franchise will get better under their guidance
Snyder's W/L record = 45% (80-96) - Snyder/Allen = 41% (59-84-1)
Snyder's W/L record = 45% (80-96) - Snyder/Allen = 41% (59-84-1)
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SkinsJock wrote:I would be very surprised if there is not a lot going on already behind closed doors about a new stadium for the Redskins - The Redskins recently have indicated that they are interested and with what has happened recently with ttiT's stadium, I would think our boy is probably already checking to see how quickly he can get a new stadium - of course there will be a price and we all know who will pay for most of any new stadium "deal"![]()
There is an old saying - "be careful of what you wish for" - a new stadium is going to mean an even more expensive "outing" to watch our Redskins playthen again it is not getting any less expensive to watch them now and that "experience" leaves a lot to be desired as far as the sound and the video screens are concerned - to name only a couple of issues at FedEx.
You already have to basically put costs aside to go to games. For me, I try to sell unused tickets to get money back but it is basically a pretty signifigant portion of my family budget. I am willing to do it because I love to go and it is a fun event for my kids and wife and me. But, if The Danny wants me to pay $5 for a bottle of water I want a Jumbotron that works and seats that are comfortable. I was amazed in Philly every single concession was a dollar or two less expensive.
Drinking the Kool-Aid again...
You're absolutely right cleg! Funny how their team also looked like it was worth a little less too 

Until recently, Snyder & Allen have made a lot of really bad decisions - nobody with any sense believes this franchise will get better under their guidance
Snyder's W/L record = 45% (80-96) - Snyder/Allen = 41% (59-84-1)
Snyder's W/L record = 45% (80-96) - Snyder/Allen = 41% (59-84-1)
Hold on, wait! Isn't their a perfectly good stadium in The District, sitting beside a Metro stop...a stadium that just lost their principle tenant to a new baseball-only place.
Doesn't this existing stadium have great seats, although fewer than Jack Kent Cooke's self-built memorial? Doesn't this older stadium have far more Redskin wins, and Redskin playoff wins, than JKC?
Didn't Troy Aikman, while broadcasting the recent Giant game, say that he thought the Redskins had given up a distinct advantage when they moved out of the older stadium? Didn't Aikman saythat having the fans "right on top of you", with the baseball roof (shade for day games) reflecting sounds back to the field, with the waving movable stands, gave the Skins an edge?
Hasn't there been some discussion that the extra 30,000 people at JKC are about 29,000 drunks who want to be seen at a Skins game, rather than the devoted fans that "owned" RFK? I believe that Wilbon said as much.
So there's my suggestion:
- tear down Jack Kent Cooke/FedEx field.
- move back to RFK, where the Redskins won five NFC championships, and more playoff games than I have patience to count.
(OK, I can wish, can't I?)
Doesn't this existing stadium have great seats, although fewer than Jack Kent Cooke's self-built memorial? Doesn't this older stadium have far more Redskin wins, and Redskin playoff wins, than JKC?
Didn't Troy Aikman, while broadcasting the recent Giant game, say that he thought the Redskins had given up a distinct advantage when they moved out of the older stadium? Didn't Aikman saythat having the fans "right on top of you", with the baseball roof (shade for day games) reflecting sounds back to the field, with the waving movable stands, gave the Skins an edge?
Hasn't there been some discussion that the extra 30,000 people at JKC are about 29,000 drunks who want to be seen at a Skins game, rather than the devoted fans that "owned" RFK? I believe that Wilbon said as much.
So there's my suggestion:
- tear down Jack Kent Cooke/FedEx field.
- move back to RFK, where the Redskins won five NFC championships, and more playoff games than I have patience to count.

(OK, I can wish, can't I?)
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On my recent trip to DC, I took a metro ride out to RFK. I'd never seen the team play there, and just wanted to make a sentimental journey, almost a pilgrimage.
I have to say I was disappointed. From what I saw, it was somewhat run down, and I didn't even bother to walk up to touch the masonry. But I thought that was part of the legend of RFK anyway - it was a comparitively small, uncomfortable (certainly for the visitors) stadium, lacking the infrastructure to accommodate the tastes of the modern fan. Of course, it also lacked the seats that would enable the owner to rake in the ticket revenues and to generate the huge signing bonuses that the Redskins can now afford.
I won't second guess the concept of building a new stadium for the Redskins. But, having been to Fedex now, I have to say that they got this one wrong. I was comfortable, and I had a great view of the action, but I didn't get the sense of the 12th man really being a factor in the game. The atmosphere didn't hit me in the same way that RFK did, even though I only sampled that atmosphere over the radio or on the TV. It's an owner's stadium, not a fans stadium. In the words of Roy Keane, legendary former captain of Manchester United, the stadium contains too many members of the "prawn sandwich brigade".
I would not be surprised at all if a new stadium is built, but I pray that the lessons of both Fedex and RFK are taken to heart.
I have to say I was disappointed. From what I saw, it was somewhat run down, and I didn't even bother to walk up to touch the masonry. But I thought that was part of the legend of RFK anyway - it was a comparitively small, uncomfortable (certainly for the visitors) stadium, lacking the infrastructure to accommodate the tastes of the modern fan. Of course, it also lacked the seats that would enable the owner to rake in the ticket revenues and to generate the huge signing bonuses that the Redskins can now afford.
I won't second guess the concept of building a new stadium for the Redskins. But, having been to Fedex now, I have to say that they got this one wrong. I was comfortable, and I had a great view of the action, but I didn't get the sense of the 12th man really being a factor in the game. The atmosphere didn't hit me in the same way that RFK did, even though I only sampled that atmosphere over the radio or on the TV. It's an owner's stadium, not a fans stadium. In the words of Roy Keane, legendary former captain of Manchester United, the stadium contains too many members of the "prawn sandwich brigade".
I would not be surprised at all if a new stadium is built, but I pray that the lessons of both Fedex and RFK are taken to heart.
Also available on Twitter @UKSkinsFan
Our friend from Uk wrote
You needed to see a game there...a baseball game would have been fine.
The District let RFK run down after the Redskins left, hoping, I think, that it would fall down and save them the expense of tearing it down. You shouldn't judge RFK after the neglect it has suffered.
You need to walk inside and see that field for the first time. I remember seeing it when I was about 14 and DC Stadium was just opened. Every seat had a view of the field, a big improvement over old Griffith Stadium. The roof, with the soar and dip to cover the extra rows at mid-field, had a lift that made you feel like you could fly from one corner to the other, from the right-field foul pole to left field when configured for baseball. Whe the paint was fresh and the bulding was cared for, it was one of the few pieces of modern architecture that were actually beautiful.
I've been to White Hart Lane (confession: one live game made me a Spurs and English football fan)...and there I could see an older implementation of the same principles that made RFK so great. The non-stop roof over the upper deck; the seats close to the field (OK, "pitch"); the upper deck that hangs over as close as possible so at RFK you could see the lanes that offensive linemen carved out for the runner, and at WHL I could follow three zig-zag passes that led to a Teddy Sheringham shot (hit the bar).
Ah, well.
I have to say I was disappointed. From what I saw, it was somewhat run down, and I didn't even bother to walk up to touch the masonry. But I thought that was part of the legend of RFK anyway - it was a comparitively small, uncomfortable (certainly for the visitors) stadium, lacking the infrastructure to accommodate the tastes of the modern fan. Of course, it also lacked the seats that would enable the owner to rake in the ticket revenues and to generate the huge signing bonuses that the Redskins can now afford.
You needed to see a game there...a baseball game would have been fine.
The District let RFK run down after the Redskins left, hoping, I think, that it would fall down and save them the expense of tearing it down. You shouldn't judge RFK after the neglect it has suffered.
You need to walk inside and see that field for the first time. I remember seeing it when I was about 14 and DC Stadium was just opened. Every seat had a view of the field, a big improvement over old Griffith Stadium. The roof, with the soar and dip to cover the extra rows at mid-field, had a lift that made you feel like you could fly from one corner to the other, from the right-field foul pole to left field when configured for baseball. Whe the paint was fresh and the bulding was cared for, it was one of the few pieces of modern architecture that were actually beautiful.
I've been to White Hart Lane (confession: one live game made me a Spurs and English football fan)...and there I could see an older implementation of the same principles that made RFK so great. The non-stop roof over the upper deck; the seats close to the field (OK, "pitch"); the upper deck that hangs over as close as possible so at RFK you could see the lanes that offensive linemen carved out for the runner, and at WHL I could follow three zig-zag passes that led to a Teddy Sheringham shot (hit the bar).
Ah, well.
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You needed to see a game there...a baseball game would have been fine.
Perhaps... but there was nothing like sitting (standing) in the end-zone seats during a big Redskins game, bouncing up and down 12 inches, while making as much noise as possible...
Nothing.
Well... sitting behind the Senators dug-out to watch Frank Howard scare the pants off an opposing pitcher with a speed-of-sound-line-drive right at his head was pretty cool, too...
"That's a clown question, bro"
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"But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
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Countertrey wrote:You needed to see a game there...a baseball game would have been fine.
Perhaps... but there was nothing like sitting (standing) in the end-zone seats during a big Redskins game, bouncing up and down 12 inches, while making as much noise as possible...
Nothing.
Well... sitting behind the Senators dug-out to watch Frank Howard scare the pants off an opposing pitcher with a speed-of-sound-line-drive right at his head was pretty cool, too...
Since you mentined Frank Howard, do you recall the game when he hit the ball so hard it went right through the third baseman's webbing and over the outfield wall? I've never seen anyone hit a ball that hard before or since.
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I really believe that pitchers were terrified of the big guy... and, then, there was the Hondo shift...
do you remember towards the end of his career, when his main objective was just to have fun? Laying down bunts, stealing bases... smiling the whole time... He was a riot doing those Mutt and Jeff type interviews with Warner Wolf... who might be 5 ft 4 inches tall...
do you remember towards the end of his career, when his main objective was just to have fun? Laying down bunts, stealing bases... smiling the whole time... He was a riot doing those Mutt and Jeff type interviews with Warner Wolf... who might be 5 ft 4 inches tall...
"That's a clown question, bro"
- - - - - - - - - - Bryce Harper, DC Statesman
"But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn't, didn't already have"
- - - - - - - - - - Dewey Bunnell, America
- - - - - - - - - - Bryce Harper, DC Statesman
"But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn't, didn't already have"
- - - - - - - - - - Dewey Bunnell, America
Countertrey wrote:I really believe that pitchers were terrified of the big guy... and, then, there was the Hondo shift...
do you remember towards the end of his career, when his main objective was just to have fun? Laying down bunts, stealing bases... smiling the whole time... He was a riot doing those Mutt and Jeff type interviews with Warner Wolf... who might be 5 ft 4 inches tall...
5'4".

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welch wrote:You needed to see a game there...a baseball game would have been fine.
The District let RFK run down after the Redskins left, hoping, I think, that it would fall down and save them the expense of tearing it down. You shouldn't judge RFK after the neglect it has suffered.
You need to walk inside and see that field for the first time. I remember seeing it when I was about 14 and DC Stadium was just opened. Every seat had a view of the field, a big improvement over old Griffith Stadium. The roof, with the soar and dip to cover the extra rows at mid-field, had a lift that made you feel like you could fly from one corner to the other, from the right-field foul pole to left field when configured for baseball. Whe the paint was fresh and the bulding was cared for, it was one of the few pieces of modern architecture that were actually beautiful.
I should clarify what I meant by saying that it was the condition of the stadium that I was disappointed by. As for its form, nobody can tell me that it isn't a beautiful piece of municipal architecture.
Also available on Twitter @UKSkinsFan
Probably boring to read me write "agree" and "agree" and "agree", but I agree with all three of you.
- in '97, took "Redskin Dan v1978" to a DC United game and I was staggered at how shabby the "new" stadium had become. Couldn't understand the loudpeaker (squawk, buzz, screech). Food? No. Nothing worked. Light-bulbs were out. Scoreboard was nearly dead. Peeling paint. Rust. As if RFK had been turned into a junk-yard.
- A few months later, we went to the MLS Cup, the US pro soccer championship, and saw the place jam full. Beautiful seat in the upper deck, about the second or third row from the rail...about where I had sat once to see the Redskins. "Every seat a perfect view", we used to say back in the Sonny/Charley/Bobby/Jerry days. Even with a soggy and worn-down "pitch", the stadium had a roar like no place else.
- below us, the "Screaming Eagles" and "Barra Brava" had their stands waving, as CT describes. Above us and to the left, I pointed to the exit where Frank Howard hit his 500 foot home run. See picture at:
http://www.bigbruno.com/senators/fhoward.html
- last year, I saw the Father's Day game when the Nats came back to beat the Yankees on Ryan Zimmerman's home-run in the 9th. Packed stadium, a day game, ferocious noise when the ball cleared the fence. It looked like the place had been given a quick coat of paint. The "left-field" football/soccer stands had been rolled away. The grass was back, and I had that same gasp as always when I walked up the runway and saw the field.
- Much better looking this year. Walked my daughter around the stands behind home plate, pointed to the areas where Frank Howard homered. "Yes," I said, he really did hit about two dozen home runs up there".
- I remember the Frank Howard line drive that was about 10 feet off the ground and still climbing when it hit. Can't remember where it was hit -- college friend "Dave from Oxon Hill" said it was dead center in old Comiskey, and that it made a "clunk" that echoed throughout the park. Would have killed the pitcher if he hadn't ducked. I've also read accounts that say it went past the shortstop, who said he'd have been pulled half-way to the center-fielder if he'd stuck a glove out to stop the ball. So Frank Howard gets bigger every year.
Anyhow, UKSF, RFK is in "semi-retirement" again. Sorry you couldn't see it from the inside, with people cheering and some of the stands shaking, maybe just after Darryl Grant had intercepted a Cowboys pass to make certain that the Redskins would win Gibbs's first NFC Championship, or ten years earlier, when Bill Kilmer kept completing long passes to Charley Taylor to choke the Cowboys in an earlier NFC Championship, or just an "ordinary" game under George Allen or Joe Gibbs when the team played hundreds of consecutive games to sellout crowds. I doubt we will have another field as good, or even close, but we had RFK and we loved it.
(And who wants glassed-in luxury boxes, except for owners?)
- in '97, took "Redskin Dan v1978" to a DC United game and I was staggered at how shabby the "new" stadium had become. Couldn't understand the loudpeaker (squawk, buzz, screech). Food? No. Nothing worked. Light-bulbs were out. Scoreboard was nearly dead. Peeling paint. Rust. As if RFK had been turned into a junk-yard.
- A few months later, we went to the MLS Cup, the US pro soccer championship, and saw the place jam full. Beautiful seat in the upper deck, about the second or third row from the rail...about where I had sat once to see the Redskins. "Every seat a perfect view", we used to say back in the Sonny/Charley/Bobby/Jerry days. Even with a soggy and worn-down "pitch", the stadium had a roar like no place else.
- below us, the "Screaming Eagles" and "Barra Brava" had their stands waving, as CT describes. Above us and to the left, I pointed to the exit where Frank Howard hit his 500 foot home run. See picture at:
http://www.bigbruno.com/senators/fhoward.html
- last year, I saw the Father's Day game when the Nats came back to beat the Yankees on Ryan Zimmerman's home-run in the 9th. Packed stadium, a day game, ferocious noise when the ball cleared the fence. It looked like the place had been given a quick coat of paint. The "left-field" football/soccer stands had been rolled away. The grass was back, and I had that same gasp as always when I walked up the runway and saw the field.
- Much better looking this year. Walked my daughter around the stands behind home plate, pointed to the areas where Frank Howard homered. "Yes," I said, he really did hit about two dozen home runs up there".
- I remember the Frank Howard line drive that was about 10 feet off the ground and still climbing when it hit. Can't remember where it was hit -- college friend "Dave from Oxon Hill" said it was dead center in old Comiskey, and that it made a "clunk" that echoed throughout the park. Would have killed the pitcher if he hadn't ducked. I've also read accounts that say it went past the shortstop, who said he'd have been pulled half-way to the center-fielder if he'd stuck a glove out to stop the ball. So Frank Howard gets bigger every year.
Anyhow, UKSF, RFK is in "semi-retirement" again. Sorry you couldn't see it from the inside, with people cheering and some of the stands shaking, maybe just after Darryl Grant had intercepted a Cowboys pass to make certain that the Redskins would win Gibbs's first NFC Championship, or ten years earlier, when Bill Kilmer kept completing long passes to Charley Taylor to choke the Cowboys in an earlier NFC Championship, or just an "ordinary" game under George Allen or Joe Gibbs when the team played hundreds of consecutive games to sellout crowds. I doubt we will have another field as good, or even close, but we had RFK and we loved it.
(And who wants glassed-in luxury boxes, except for owners?)
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Much better looking this year. Walked my daughter around the stands behind home plate, pointed to the areas where Frank Howard homered. "Yes," I said, he really did hit about two dozen home runs up there".
The seats where Howard's homers landed in the upper deck used to be painted white... I think the standard color in that area was red... they sure stood out. It was impressive.
"That's a clown question, bro"
- - - - - - - - - - Bryce Harper, DC Statesman
"But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn't, didn't already have"
- - - - - - - - - - Dewey Bunnell, America
- - - - - - - - - - Bryce Harper, DC Statesman
"But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn't, didn't already have"
- - - - - - - - - - Dewey Bunnell, America
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Sorry you couldn't see it from the inside, with people cheering and some of the stands shaking, maybe just after Darryl Grant had intercepted a Cowboys pass to make certain that the Redskins would win Gibbs's first NFC Championship, or ten years earlier, when Bill Kilmer kept completing long passes to Charley Taylor to choke the Cowboys in an earlier NFC Championship, or just an "ordinary" game under George Allen or Joe Gibbs when the team played hundreds of consecutive games to sellout crowds. I doubt we will have another field as good, or even close, but we had RFK and we loved it.
r
No place like it. I remember, a drenching rainy Sunday in November, during that first strike shortened season (Gibbs seemed to love strike shortened seasons, heh, heh, heh...) playing Philly at home... bouncing and screaming in the end zone stands, while Mike Nelms worked us up to a frenzy while waiting for a kick off... didn't even notice the rain.... just screaming and bouncing! What a blast. What a noise.
Last edited by Countertrey on Fri Sep 28, 2007 7:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"That's a clown question, bro"
- - - - - - - - - - Bryce Harper, DC Statesman
"But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn't, didn't already have"
- - - - - - - - - - Dewey Bunnell, America
- - - - - - - - - - Bryce Harper, DC Statesman
"But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn't, didn't already have"
- - - - - - - - - - Dewey Bunnell, America
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Last week I drove down from Philly and went to the baseball game at RFK for the first 6 innings then went over to the Skins game. I had not been at RFK since 1991 for a Grateful Dead concert so needless to say I don't recall all the details. But, as a kid growing up I only got to go to one Skins game. It was the 1988 season after they won the Superbowl. If I recall I think they went 9-7 or 7-9 that year and the game I saw was a loss to the Browns with Ernest Byner running an 80 yard TD (before he was a Skin). When I went into RFK the other day it was very sad but I would have prefered to stay there for the Skins game than the dump that is Fedex Field. Fedex just lacks any personality, it was poorly designed and is uncomfortable. I really hope The Danny builds a new stadium where RFK is now - Skins fans deserve better than the soon to be worst stadium in the NFC East.
Drinking the Kool-Aid again...