The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

Rights Of Possession

Having read, literally, thousands of posts from fellow Washington Redskins fans within the last several days here at TheHogs.net, the following thoughts occurred to me:

The Washington Redskins NFL franchise is majority-owned by, and partner managed by Daniel Snyder, entitling he and his partners to financial right of possession. Money still talks even if the almighty dollar isn’t the loudest voice in the currency exchange room these days.

Joe Gibbs and his coaching staff have each agreed, by contract, to the terms and conditions of attempting to build a winning franchise through drafts, trades, free-agency signings and other means at their collective disposal. Contractual right of possession by contractual obligation.

The media, whether televised, printed, orally reported, or otherwise disseminated are granted an inalienable right of possession by the 2nd Amendment of the United States Constitution. Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the Press.

In each of the above cases, rights of possession directly correlate with financial motives. This is not necessarily so for us, the collective fans of the Washington Redskins. In order for financial gain to be a consideration, we must spend money by some form of betting to even be eligible to make money. And we have no ownership stake, no written contracts, no rights granted by Federal law.

So, exactly where does the right of possession for a Washington Redskins football fan derive? Most of us, at one time or another has referred to the Redskins as “my team”. Many of us have posted comments to the effect of, “We should do this, that, or the other.” Sometimes I find myself screaming at the television at the top of my voice with expletives, such as, “What in the are we doing? Trying to lose this game?”

What gives each of us, the fans of the Washington Redskins, the right to claim this professional football franchise as our own? Some may say heritage. If a person claims Washington, D.C. or surrounding area as their birthplace, they may feel that entitles a right of possession. Some may say location. If a person lives in a particular area for an extended period of time they may choose to adopt the local NFL franchise as their own. If someone dislikes an opposing franchise enough, they may support the Washington Redskins simply as a way of opposing a rival franchise.

My thoughts are these: As we, the fans of the Washington Redskins take each game as though we had played in or coached the game our self, our right of possession is one of choice. We have no obligation to subject ourselves to the agony of each defeat, nor to celebrate with the team in the thrill of each victory. Each of us ultimately does this because we want to. We want to experience the gut-wrenching, heart-stopping moments along with our team. We want to celebrate victory, and, yes, we even want to agonize in defeat. We want to celebrate and commiserate together.

Legally speaking, possession is nine-tenths of the law. Speaking as a 35 years and counting Washington Redskins fan, possession is ten-tenths of the law. Every time we celebrate together, commiserate together, or discuss the past, the present, or the future of the Washington Redskins, we are making an oral contract with ourselves that clearly states to anyone who would listen:
Hail To The Redskins

well I managed to screw this up, the double posts are my fault

No more drunk posting!!!!

Kidding...

I will say this falls under the "don't post every thought" category. Just because we don't grant everyone a blog doesn't mean people should use Hog Wash for that instead.

I actually like what he said. It was a well thought out, intelligent article. Thanks for posting it.

650 posts in 24 days???


you, my friend, have entirely too much time to spare

h0g$t@r wrote::shock: 650 posts in 24 days???


you, my friend, have entirely too much time to spare

I was thinking the same thing. Boy, that's a hell of a lot of posts for such a short period of time. I've been here since o4, and that's six times my amount of entries, But then I have other things to do other than sit at the computer. I love the Redskins, but not quite that much.

h0g$t@r wrote::shock: 650 posts in 24 days???


you, my friend, have entirely too much time to spare

I think he's a lawyer... if it prevents a single spurious lawsuit, it has served it's purpose...

The team belongs to the fans because without us, it couldn't exist. Snyder's just there to sign the paychecks.

Countertrey wrote:

h0g$t@r wrote::shock: 650 posts in 24 days???


you, my friend, have entirely too much time to spare

I think he's a lawyer... if it prevents a single spurious lawsuit, it has served it's purpose...

That's slander... I'm suing you!