A limey goes to Washington…
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:43 pm
I flipped a coin to decide which forum to post this in, since there is some Redskins stuff, and some non-Redskins stuff. It came down "tails", so I'll put it here...
Well, as some of you know, last Sunday was my first ever trip to Washington to see the Redskins. It took me 23 years to get there, from the day when I first knew that the Redskins were my team, and the trip was always going to be a dream holiday. The trip was enriched by the opportunity to meet a few of the people that spend time on this site (yes, some of them are real people), and the chance to see a few of the sights of Washington DC.
No need for me to bore you all with every detail of the trip, but let me share just a few things that I know now, that I didn’t know before I left London Heathrow last Friday (in no particular order)
•Washington DC is actually a great city and very easy to get around. I was able to walk from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument, and then up to the White House before walking a further two blocks to my hotel. A walk that might induce oxygen deficiency in many car-dependent Americans (sorry, that’s a cheap shot) provided no difficulties to the eager British tourist. A similar walk from the Capitol to the Monument and the White House, via several of the Smithsonian museums wrapped up many of the “must see” locations, without much trouble. And the metro is air conditioned! You guys probably take that for granted. The tube system in London is one of our greatest achievements, but no air conditioning makes it a hellish place at times. On the other hand, buying a decent rack of ribs is more challenging in DC...
•Fios is the same intelligent and cheerful individual in real life as he appears on line. I also discovered that those hands/flippers are indeed capable of grasping pint glasses, and the straw has adequate capacity for the intake of multiple beers.
•No matter how old you are, you really do need ID to get a drink in some places. Strange, especially when I’m allowed to sit down and drink myself into a stupor, as long I am buying food at the same time. In the land of the free, this seems a little daft.
•Fedex Field needs a roof. Not to turn it into an indoor arena, but simply to cover the crowds. In addition to protecting the paying public from the elements, it would keep in the crowd noise and make the place a whole lot more intimidating for visiting teams. 90,000 people should be able to make this into a living hell for any visiting team, and I’m not sure that’s the case right now. A better team would help, which brings me to…
•Laron Landry and Rocky McIntosh are the real deal. Seeing these guys play was a revelation. More than once, Laron in particular said “hello” to opposing players with some less than friendly physical contact. If his contribution was nothing more than to bring the best out of #21, then he’d be worth the money. But he’s going to bring so much more than that to the table. He’s a stud. And Rocky has really turned a corner this season – he might be our best linebacker by next season.
•Jason Campbell really is an exciting prospect. In the 23 years that I’ve followed the Redskins, I’ve never seen a QB that we had realistic hopes of being “the man” for the next ten years, but Campbell really could be it. He’s obviously nowhere near the finished product – witness that interception on his first throw of the game, but that’s part of the excitement. He’s exciting right now, and in a year or two, he could be all-pro.
•And while Campbell is developing, let’s keep giving the ball to Portis and Betts. As good a one-two punch as we’ve seen for a while, these guys can carry the load for this team. They’re both good, they’re both tough, and they’re both team guys. Some of what Portis says makes you think he is a “me me me” kind of guy, but everything he does on the field is about the team. He does everything he’s asked to do out there. And when he needs the rest, Betts just takes over, and we don’t miss a beat.
•On the down side, it’s going to be a really tough season if we don’t get more pressure on opposing QB’s than we did on Sunday. There may have been two sacks, but Green often had way too much time, and the team needs to step it up in this area. It’s one of the same faults we had last year, and it might not have been fixed yet.
All in all, my trip was a great one, and I left Washington feeling more positive about our team than when I arrived. Hail to the Redskins indeed!
Well, as some of you know, last Sunday was my first ever trip to Washington to see the Redskins. It took me 23 years to get there, from the day when I first knew that the Redskins were my team, and the trip was always going to be a dream holiday. The trip was enriched by the opportunity to meet a few of the people that spend time on this site (yes, some of them are real people), and the chance to see a few of the sights of Washington DC.
No need for me to bore you all with every detail of the trip, but let me share just a few things that I know now, that I didn’t know before I left London Heathrow last Friday (in no particular order)
•Washington DC is actually a great city and very easy to get around. I was able to walk from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument, and then up to the White House before walking a further two blocks to my hotel. A walk that might induce oxygen deficiency in many car-dependent Americans (sorry, that’s a cheap shot) provided no difficulties to the eager British tourist. A similar walk from the Capitol to the Monument and the White House, via several of the Smithsonian museums wrapped up many of the “must see” locations, without much trouble. And the metro is air conditioned! You guys probably take that for granted. The tube system in London is one of our greatest achievements, but no air conditioning makes it a hellish place at times. On the other hand, buying a decent rack of ribs is more challenging in DC...
•Fios is the same intelligent and cheerful individual in real life as he appears on line. I also discovered that those hands/flippers are indeed capable of grasping pint glasses, and the straw has adequate capacity for the intake of multiple beers.
•No matter how old you are, you really do need ID to get a drink in some places. Strange, especially when I’m allowed to sit down and drink myself into a stupor, as long I am buying food at the same time. In the land of the free, this seems a little daft.
•Fedex Field needs a roof. Not to turn it into an indoor arena, but simply to cover the crowds. In addition to protecting the paying public from the elements, it would keep in the crowd noise and make the place a whole lot more intimidating for visiting teams. 90,000 people should be able to make this into a living hell for any visiting team, and I’m not sure that’s the case right now. A better team would help, which brings me to…
•Laron Landry and Rocky McIntosh are the real deal. Seeing these guys play was a revelation. More than once, Laron in particular said “hello” to opposing players with some less than friendly physical contact. If his contribution was nothing more than to bring the best out of #21, then he’d be worth the money. But he’s going to bring so much more than that to the table. He’s a stud. And Rocky has really turned a corner this season – he might be our best linebacker by next season.
•Jason Campbell really is an exciting prospect. In the 23 years that I’ve followed the Redskins, I’ve never seen a QB that we had realistic hopes of being “the man” for the next ten years, but Campbell really could be it. He’s obviously nowhere near the finished product – witness that interception on his first throw of the game, but that’s part of the excitement. He’s exciting right now, and in a year or two, he could be all-pro.
•And while Campbell is developing, let’s keep giving the ball to Portis and Betts. As good a one-two punch as we’ve seen for a while, these guys can carry the load for this team. They’re both good, they’re both tough, and they’re both team guys. Some of what Portis says makes you think he is a “me me me” kind of guy, but everything he does on the field is about the team. He does everything he’s asked to do out there. And when he needs the rest, Betts just takes over, and we don’t miss a beat.
•On the down side, it’s going to be a really tough season if we don’t get more pressure on opposing QB’s than we did on Sunday. There may have been two sacks, but Green often had way too much time, and the team needs to step it up in this area. It’s one of the same faults we had last year, and it might not have been fixed yet.
All in all, my trip was a great one, and I left Washington feeling more positive about our team than when I arrived. Hail to the Redskins indeed!
I'm glad that you had a good time.
) but, where I come from, we're used to paying the price that somebody tells us. In restaurants, I remember to tip, because I get time to think about it. But in bars and taxis, I'm hopeless, and can only apologise for any offence I have caused across North America over recent years. 
