Riggo's Rag
FanSided

A tribute to Washington Redskins reporter Rich Tandler

By Ian Cummings

BALTIMORE, MD - OCTOBER 9: A Washington Redskins helmet sits on the field prior to the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on October 9, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - OCTOBER 9: A Washington Redskins helmet sits on the field prior to the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on October 9, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

While the Redskins football team has been inconsistent in recent years, its football reporting has functioned as the gold standard for the league.

It’s something I noticed right away when I started writing here at Riggo’s Rag. As a writer, you need to have the right information on a timely basis, and with reliability.

Of course, being a college kid in Michigan writing about the Washington Redskins, you’re never going to be a primary source. And so, I took to Twitter, and quickly acclimated myself with the team’s local reporters. Figures such as J.P. Finlay, John Keim, Ben Standig, Diane Cheeseborough, and Rich Tandler.

Earlier today, it was revealed by Chick Hernandez that Rich Tandler passed away overnight.

For a wannabe writer searching for the utmost timeliness, reliability, accuracy, and depth, Rich Tandler gave me that, and so much more than I could have bargained for.

There was a certain grace with how he went about informing the masses. He had a position higher than that of the fans, and he had information that others didn’t, but he never acted like he was bigger than they were. When presented with questions, rather than passing off the fanbase as an inferior body, Tandler obliged, and shared what he knew. He interacted with them. He made their days better.

There were times when it felt like Tandler, who’d worked for NBC Sports Mid-Atlantic for a long time (I’m unsure of an exact figure) was one of the fans himself, experiencing the swells and troughs of the game itself. The way he integrated his own expertise into the experience of the fans made everyone feel more included.

The outpouring of support has already begun. Many of those who have provided words of remembrance never even knew Tandler in person. When the death of someone you never knew personally impacts you so tremendously, you know he didn’t just do his job well; he lived well.

Here at Riggo’s Rag, our thoughts are with Tandler, his family, and his NBC Sports family that worked with him for so long. He will not be forgotten.

Home/Commanders News