Game Girl

The offense is moving the ball. The defense is getting a pass rush. Special teams are actually covering kicks. The whole team is looking sharp. And it's only half-way through preseason, WITHOUT our star quarterback. What does it all mean? How do we read the tea leaves here? Could it be that we're actually starting to really come together as a team? Is it possible that all the hard work since Shanahan took over is starting to pay off?

I'm almost afraid to say it out loud, but I'm NOT a superstitious person by nature, so I will: The Redskins look like they're going to be a pretty good team. No, I didn't say Superbowl contenders (at least, not yet!) I didn't say they're the best, or awesome, or anything crazy like that. I just think that for once, finally, after years of missteps and miscues, draft mistakes and game day debacles, we might really be heading in the right direction. I love the solid team atmosphere Shanahan has built.

I love the camaraderie of the players, the focused attention of the coaches, and the dedicated commitment to winning he seems to finally have been able to instill here. I even dig that new "Hail To The Redskins" signage on the stadium field -- did you catch that last night? VERY classy. Whoever Snyder paid to design that stuff did a pretty good job. How cool is that Jon Gruden was getting so fired up about our pass rushers last night? I mean, he was totally gushing. That says something, at least to me (and yes, I KNOW I'm biased because of that whole "crush on Jon Gruden" thing I've got going on, but let's put that aside for a minute). National attention is national attention, and when it isn't focused on how great RGIII is (which he is, obviously, but again, let's stay on track here) and the national media pundits are going on and on about our defense, doesn't that say something?

I think Shanahan has been able to move the needle on the Skins, and finally been able to bring back legitimate respectability to the hapless teams of years' past. OK, so what, you're thinking...who cares? It's just preseason. I know. But how much more fun is it to turn on the TV and watch a team getting it done, instead of a bunch of dudes collecting a paycheck and phoning it in? I'll take this bunch any day!

It's nearly time. You know what I'm talking about. Don't pretend you aren't as excited as I am, even if you aren't a Skins fan. Because I KNOW you are. Yeah, I said it...I just KNOW you can't wait. And neither can I. Now that school's out, camps are in session, vacations are underway and the 4th of July is behind us, it can only mean ONE thing, and one thing only. Only 16 more days until my absolute, all-time favorite summer right-of-passage arrives.

Not sure what I'm referring to? Has the summer heat fried your brain or lulled you into a false sense of sports laziness where baseball reigns supreme?

Let me help you out here. I've got two words for you: Training. Camp. Ah, yes. Training camp! I'll say it again, just to savor the sound of the words rolling off my tongue. Training camp. It really doesn't get much better than that, now does it?

Training camp - a time when "all things football" begin anew. Old wounds have healed, last season's bitterness has been wiped away. It's time for a new football storyline to be written. New players, new coaches, new enthusiasm. And in our case, a brand-spanking new training facility to watch our beloved players strap on the pads and start playing our favorite game again.

God, I love training camp. Those who follow my blog probably remember my obsession with this annual summer ritual from years past. But that won't deter me from revisiting my passions again here, so indulge me if you will. I absolutely LOVE training camp. I love the sweat, the heat, the excitement. I love rookie players suiting up for the first time (I don't really count mini-camp as the "real" thing), I love wanna-be players trying out for the practice squad, I love veteran players hitting the sleds in the sizzling summer heat. I love fans schlepping out to watch practice as the sun rises, then lining up for player autographs afterwards. I love the comraderie of communing with my fellow die-hard fans ('cause only crazy fans actually show up for this stuff in the first place). I love shelling out money for a few pieces of brand-new Skins merchandise to add to my growing collection of fan crap. I love taking my kids to see the players up close and personal (even though those traitor children of mine have moved to the dark side and become Ravens fans).

Doesn't matter - training camp is a rite of passage I simply refuse to miss, surly pre-teen Raven fan children aside. On July 25th, I'll eagerly tune in to the local sports newscasts to watch the first Skins practice of the 2013 season, which reminds me of another thing I absolutely LOVE: those local media tents where sporstcasters like Dan Hellie broadcast live from the practice facility sporting sunburns and sunvisors and sweaty hair.

Sigh. I'm getting giddy just thinking about it all. So, 16 days and football will begin and all will be right with the world. Take a deep breath, because the long stretch between Superbowl Sunday and the beginning of football season is about to come to a close.

We are ALMOST there.

It's so exciting, isn't it?  Another Superbowl set...two teams, and two regions, ready to celebrate.  Two fan bases ready to showcase their community pride to the nation and the world.  And two new sets of fans poised to experience incredible memories that will endure for a lifetime.  This is how life-long fan bases are built.  This is how fans become fans, through thick and thin. This is when memories are created, and then passed down from generation to generation.

My kids - both Ravens fans - are going to have that opportunity now, and I'm thrilled for them!  Yes, of course, I'm a Redskin fan.  Always will be.  And so many people ask me, time and time again, WHY are you a fan of that (insert curse word of choice here) team??  THIS is why.

Because when I was a kid growing up in Northern Virginia, the Redskins were good.  Great, even.  They won 3 Superbowls between my 4th grade and college senior years, and those wins -- and the entire experience -- made quite an impression on me that endures to this day.  The pride of knowing the team from your local region is now on the national stage.  The joy of watching the players you've supported take their game to the highest level.  The excitement of celebrating with your neighbors, your friends, the folks from your church, the kids at your school.  It is something that, as a kid, you never forget, and it binds you to your team forever. 

This new generation of local kids here in our area (and out in California, too) is going to have that same opportunity now.  What a thrill!  My kids will remember this moment forever, and they will most likely remain Ravens fans now no matter what happens.  No matter where they live, or where they go in the future, they'll never forget this moment in time.  When they grow up, head off to college, move away to start their lives, they will take a part of this experience and their civic Ravens pride with them.  I am so excited they will have that experience.

The NFL should never forget that THIS is where true fan bases are built -- at the grassroots level, family to family, community to community, over time.  I heard on the radio the other day that a kid who grew up as a Redskin fan was finally able to understand what its like to experience true pride in his team after watching RG3 play so well this past season and take the "legend" of Redskins fan-dom that he grew up hearing about from his parents and watch it be transformed into real-life experience.

My kids aren't going to have to wait that long, and for that, I say, Go Ravens. 

Ok so your time in 4th grade may seem like any other grade but have you ever wondered what a other 4rth grade glass is like? Well it all depends on what kind of kids you have in your class. In my class the girls and boys all get along great, some things we have in common are: we all like sports, we all like World Record Books, and we all like to talk. Also we do not have a lot of girly-girls. The girls mostly all play the same sports and watch the same shows; same with the boys. Well, there you have it a view of another 4th grade class.

That's all she wrote, folks.  After an incredible season, lead by an amazing quarterback and a team who fought like hell to get to the playoffs, it all ended in a woeful, agonizing loss to the Seahawks yeterday.  And I, for one, am just plain sad.

Yes, it was a great ride, and an unexpected season most of us fans never expected we'd see, at least not this year.  We all hoped RG3 wasn't going to be a bust after all the pre-season and post-draft hype surrounding him.  And it turned out that he not only WASN'T a bust...he was the unquestioned leader -- dare I say a legend-in-the-making -- for this team, right out of the gate.  And then they DID get to the playoffs, and won the NFC East title for the first time in more than a decade to boot.  So it seemed logical, I suppose, that they would come out yesterday, knock off the Hawks, and keep the magic flowing.

But it was not to be.  Instead, we watched RG3 hobble around (thanks A LOT, Haloti Ngata!), watched our receivers drop pass after pass, and saw our Superbowl hopes go up in smoke.  Damn, I hate losing.

Yes, I know.  We finally have hope now.  We have a team we can build on for the future, with a quarterback who, unless he's severely injured, is going to be the foundation of this team for years to come.  We have a good coaching staff, a good draft class, good depth at many positions.  I know.

But it still stings, doesn't it?  I was starting to get giddy just thinking of the notion that we might hit pay-dirt this year and go all the way to New Orleans.  Who can blame me?  Didn't YOU feel that way, too?  Our team caught lightning in a bottle, and I, for one, was ready to believe it could take us all the way.

But the Seahawks had other plans (and let me just say, THAT team is starting to piss me off after knocking us out of the playoffs for the third time), and I guess it just wasn't our year.  The playoffs will go on, but they won't be the same.  We'll have to endure weeks of endless speculation about Griffin's knee.  Listen to a bunch of nonsense about what Shanahan knew and when he knew it (or didn't).  Watch endless replay footage of that ridiculous Dr. James Andrews wearing his silly Redskins hat with the pom-pom on it while staring at Griffin writhing in pain on the field after yet another vicious hit. 

What we won't be watching, unfortunately, is our team competing for the Superbowl.  And in the end, that's all that matters.  For those who say "there's always next year", keep your opinion to yourself, please, and let me wallow for a while in my misery.

Hail to the Redskins. 

Admit it.  You thought it was crazy when the Skins drafted Kirk Cousins in the fourth round last April.  I mean, like wacky-crazy.

You did.  I know it. 

Let's review:  we drafted RG3 number two overall, and in the process, gave away nearly all of our draft collateral for the forseeable future.  We bet the farm on this guy.  Mortgaged our team's future.  Left us without a first-round pick till my oldest daughter hits middle school.  So, during the draft, just for kicks and giggles, weren't you thinking, "Hey, we couldn't at least grab a corner, a lineman or a safety in one of the late rounds, just to be safe?"

If you are like me, surely you thought the Shanahans, and Bruce Allen, had gone a little nuts during the draft.  Like maybe all the excitment of picking so high up had rendered them temporarily insane.  Seemed a bit Vinny Cerrato-like, actually.  (Ugh, remember him?)

Well, they all look like draft geniuses now, don't they?  Wow.  Think about it.  Kirk Cousins comes off the bench in the final minutes of a close game -- in what was shaping up to be a classic Beltway showdown -- and with ice water in his veins, the dude puts us into overtime!

Then, Richard Crawford does what our old pal Brandon Banks has seemed incapable of all season.  He runs a punt back for a big-time gain in overtime.  Nearly scores a touchdown all by himself.  (Thank goodness, because I was beginning to think the days of decent punt returns were gone forever.)

And the hits kept coming. Jordan Pugh let loose on a safety blitz that set up a Flacco sack.  Other seeming no-name draft picks were pressed into service, under pressure and with the game and a possible play-off berth looming down the road, and kicked it into high-gear. 

As far as I'm concerned, the depth of our bench suddenly looks pretty impressive.  Hell, our new kicker is still a perfect 13-0 since we brought him in!

All of this with a number of serious injuries, suspensions, and other issues that have sidelined a number of our best players.  The big men in charge managed to keep things intact despite having guys like Orakpo and Carriker out for the year, which tells me they have at least somewhat of a clue about what it takes to build an organization. 

Finally.  And without any Snyder-vention to mess things up.

With RG3's health in doubt for Sunday's upcoming game, I'm suddenly feeling like things might turn out OK for this team.  Aren't you? 

Yeah, uh, Vinny...I think we've got things under control now, buddy.

He did it during the draft.  During mini camp, training camp, and the preseason.  During our first few games this fall.  Against the Giants back in October.  And most recently, on a nationally-televised stage on Thanskgiving Day against the Dallas Cowboys, in one of the most revered and storied NFL rivalry games.

RG3.  Exceeding expectations.  Staring down the pressure under the glare of the national spotlight.  Succeeding in ever-impressive ways.  And tonight, on Monday Night Football, my bold (or maybe not-so-bold, considering his recent history) prediction is he will do it again.

He will rise to the occasion.  Facing a hated division rival on Monday Night Football, under the watchful eyes of Jon Gruden, Al Michaels, and an entire nation eager to see if he's for real, RG3 will do what he's consistently done since he was drafted last April (and really, since his football career began in his youth):  He will stay poised, calm, confident, and in control.  And most likely, he'll win.

He will answer the call.  Despite the pressure, or maybe because of it, he will continue to impress.  Against a formidable Giant's defense, he'll scramble, escape, maybe throw an unlikely bomb to an unlikely receiver like Santana Moss.

He will do it with grace.  With style.  With confidence. With leadership.  And unlike so many players in the league today, he WON'T need to toot his own horn while showcasing his talent.  His athleticism, his leadership, and his talent will speak for themselves.

After the Gruden interviews, the pre-game media hype, the unyielding scrutiny, he'll do what he always does tonight.

He will just get it done.