Riggo's Rag
FanSided

Washington Football Team’s rebuild parallels Rams’ rise to success

By Tim Meek

LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 22: Dwayne Haskins #7 of the Washington Football Team scrambles with the ball in the first half against the New York Giants at FedExField on December 22, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 22: Dwayne Haskins #7 of the Washington Football Team scrambles with the ball in the first half against the New York Giants at FedExField on December 22, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 22: Dwayne Haskins #7 of the Washington Football Team scrambles with the ball in the first half against the New York Giants at FedExField on December 22, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 22: Dwayne Haskins #7 of the Washington Football Team scrambles with the ball in the first half against the New York Giants at FedExField on December 22, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

There’s a reason to be excited about the Washington Football Team in 2020.

The NFL season is finally upon us and Washington Football returns in a few days. Not sure I’ve been this excited for a season since, well…since last year! But this year truly has a different feel.

Change will typically bring with it a newfound excitement. When you replace something that wasn’t working, it’s natural to expect the new product to be better. In football we’ve seen change be good for some teams, but in Washington prior change has failed to produce better results.

So what’s different this year?  What has me feeling even more enthusiastic for the season then years past? For me there are two things.

More from Riggo's Rag

First and foremost is the positive change of culture that has started at the top of the Washington Football Team. This organization finally has the feel of an operation equipped with professionals capable of returning this team to prominence.

Second, I’m simply excited to be watching football.  There’s no doubt that 2020 has been a tough year for most of us. As recently as a few weeks ago there were doubts the NFL would be able to have a season, let alone start it on time. We’ve got a new regime and a season to play, I’m going to appreciate every second of it.

Like most years, the days leading up to kick-off consist of season win/loss predictions and questions on what a successful season will be or involve.  What end result will leave the majority of the fan base happy?

I’m often asked these questions, as are many of you. It’s normal water cooler conversation. It’s all over sports talk radio, we see it on TV.

My answer: I’m just going to enjoy the ride. The good, the bad, and the ugly. When you get consumed by wins/losses it’s easy to lose sight of the moment.

Right now we are in the beginning stages of a process. We’ve all experienced some level of success at some point in our life. The end result is awesome, it’s great to celebrate. But what you appreciate and remember is the blood, sweat and tears of the journey.

I can only speak for myself, but this is exciting. The thrill of witnessing the rebuild of an entire organization gets my adrenaline flowing, And my small part in all of this is to be a fan and show support. I find it easy to support the team because being a fan is supposed to be fun.

Don’t get me wrong, I dislike losing. It’s even more exhausting when the losses start piling up during a season and continue for decades. But winning is out of my control. Kyle Smith doesn’t call me for personnel decisions and Coach Rivera has yet to Zoom call me to game plan for an opponent. So I control what I can and that’s to be a fan.

But for those holding on to their fandom by a thread and needing more than words of encouragement to stay on board, let me offer one very recent comparison and reason for hope.

Home/Commanders News