Burgundy and Gold

I never understood why most guys were so enamored with sports, a team or a player. I always said why bother rooting for a guy that makes hundreds of thousands to play a game while I bust my ass to make ends meet. I would watch a baseball game here and there with my dad. Whenever a big fight was on, I would watch it. I've been to a couple of NBA games when I scored free tickets. I never wore a jersey, bet on a game or cried about the outcome of a game or the well-being of a player.


I was always thought of as a Yankees fan because of my fitted hats. I think I wore them more because of Biggie than Derek Jeter. Football was never a big deal for me. Over the years I would watch the Super Bowl, mostly because of the commercials. I didn't even have a team.

A few years back I decided to catch a few games, because "It's what guys do" Then about two years ago I started hanging out with some old buddies. Turns out they were Redskin's fans. Die hard Redskin's fans. One Sunday I ended up at their place. First game of the season. A bunch of guys of guys in burgundy and gold jerseys and a lot of beer. It was great. I began watching more games, until I realized that the Redskins were doomed. I didn't really consider myself a fan.

Last season I watched a good majority of the games, with a constant air of disappointment. On the other end of the Baltimore Washington Parkway the Ravens were building steam towards another playoff. Being as I work in Baltimore, every Friday I came closer and closer to buying a purple shirt. With my crew being Raven's fans I admired their love for their team. Until the day that someone asked me who my team was.

My family and I moved to the States in 1981. We landed in North East Washington DC. I always live in and around DC. When someone asked who my team was, there was only one answer. I grew up in the Metro area. I like Go Go music. I listened to WPGC 95.5 as a kid. I remember the riot in Mount Pleasant. I watched Mayor Barry smoke crack on the news. I had no other choice than being a Redskin's fan. I now know why some people choose to root for out of town teams but then I was puzzled why there were so many Dallas fans in the area. I felt the home team was the way to go and learned quickly that Redskin's fans stay loyal no matter how bad the season turns out.

A while back I decided that I was ready to buy a jersey. The problem was, which one to get. Another problem is I'm on a budget, I never justify spending too much on myself. I looked up some jerseys online and quickly realized it would be a while before I could splurge on myself. I did however noticed while at the thrift store that they had used jerseys for sale. I started the hunt. I was always having trouble with finding my size, and if it fit, it was destroyed. Until one day I found a jersey that fit and was in decent condition. Since then I bought two more jerseys one used and one new. Two were of retired players and one is on injured reserve.

Even though I had finally admitted to the world that I was Redskin's fan, I still didn't have a favorite player. I did like Arrington back in the day and Orakpo lately. Over the summer I started hearing more and more about RG III or Robert Griffin the 3rd. I think it took me a while to put two and two together but I did manage to figure out that he was a big deal in this year's draft. When he went to training camp I still didn't get the magnitude of him possibly being our quarterback. Game one is always great because they always look great and win. After three games I knew that things were going to get interesting.

The last four games have been the highlight of the season for me so far. When I saw they were going to play the Eagles, I immediately had flashbacks of the ass whooping that Vick gave us last season. Then the Cowboys, which of course they have to win. The Giants on Monday night had me nervous. I was still sore from the last minute touchdown from the last game. I also have a strong distaste for Manning and Victor Cruz. Then came "The Battle of the Beltway" The Ravens were coming to FedEx field. This one was close to home because I spend a lot of my day in Baltimore surrounded my Raven's fans.

We were down 8 points. There were minutes left of the clock. Not only did hey need a touchdown but a 2 point conversion to tie the game and go into OT to have a chance to win. My mind began to relive every game that ended like this. Close but no cigar. I knew that it would be a hard Monday morning at work. My heart was pounding with every down as they inched closer to the Ravens end zone. Then RG III gets hit. He gets checked out and limps back to the line of scrimmage. After the very next play you see him wince and fall to his knees. He was done. I realized how committed he was to his team and his fans, that he would go as far as risking injury to win.

They start warming up Kirk Cousins. Another rookie quarterback. Griffin was out. I really lost hope then. Cousins comes out. He looked composed and when he threw the touchdown pass all this emotion rushed to my face. I don't know if it was combination of wanting to see them win, seeing RG III in pain or a inkling of hope of seeing them triumph, I began to sob. I couldn't help it. All they could do now was to go for the 2 point conversion. Cousins pulls a page out the RG III playbook and ran the ball and tied the game.

I felt short of breath as I rushed upstairs. I see my wife and tell her what was happening with the game and begin crying. She didn't get why I was crying over a football game. In 10 years she hasn't seen me cry much. I think that with all the stress I carry on my shoulders with all my responsibilities and seeing this team that seems to have no luck, pushing to change the minds of it's detractors I felt their pain and a huge amount of pride to seeing them win (although they had just tied the game they had to other option but to win after all they did to get to this moment) and it materialized in the way of tears. For a guy like me that has settled for being the eternal underdog and never winning, it was inspiring to see things turning around for these guys. It gave me hope that I had the chance to win one day.