The Washington Commanders: A 23-year road away from fandom
Joe Glorioso | All-Pro Reels | Credit: @allproreels
Update: And the Commanders lose to the Eagles by a metric ton. Crap. Still, it’s going to be fun with Jayden in the years ahead.
My fandom of an NFL team ended in one shocking moment.
On Jan. 13, 2002, Daniel Snyder – who up to that point I regarded as probably a lesser owner of the Washington [redacted]* than predecessor Jack Kent Cooke but hadn’t really given much thought to – hired Steve Spurrier as the team’s head coach.
If you know Washington’s history, you know Spurrier was a lesser light in the long list of coaches this team has had. Certainly lesser than Joe Gibbs, George Allen or even Vince Lombardi (who coached a previously poor team to a 7-5-2 record in 1970 in his final season before his death).
Photo by Jeff Kern via Flickr.
But for me, this was the end – perhaps the final straw. Maybe Snyder had done a few little things that annoyed me prior to this, but I don’t remember. What I do remember, and what I couldn’t stand, is that Snyder hired the guy that I, as a University of Georgia grad and unabashed Bulldogs fan, considered Public Enemy No. 1.
See, Spurrier was not only the head coach of the Florida Gators from 1990 to 2001 in one of that team’s most successful stretches (at the same time the Bulldogs were fairly struggling). No, there was the WAY he handled himself. He loved to play the heel. He loved to antagonize.
And while maybe it might’ve been fun to see if he could translate that attitude to the NFL and annoy the living you-know-what out of the Cowboys, Giants and Eagles, I wasn’t interested.
I had already left the D.C. area – by then, I was living in Florida myself – so being away from [redacted] Central meant not having a community of fans constantly discussing the team. (A community which, by the way, I never experienced with the Miami Dolphins, probably because I live too far north in Palm Beach County.)
So, as a result, I dropped my team.
Over the years, I feel like I was vindicated – Snyder’s horrific behavior grew and grew as time went on, and even after Spurrier was fired after the 2004 season, I didn’t return to the fan base.
I never actually took on another team. I flirted with ideas here and there: the Dolphins, Bucs, Jaguars, Panthers, Bears, Ravens. But nothing fit.
Joe Glorioso | All-Pro Reels | Credit: @allproreels
I also never stopped watching football. I would find matchups that interested me. I played fantasy and rooted for my players. But I never went back to a “tribe” of fans.
As I’ve said before on this blog, I have this love-hate relationship with football, but even without a team (in the NFL), I always come back.
23 years later, the return!
Flash-forward a few years – Snyder’s bad behavior and financial problems finally forced him to sell the team, now called the Commanders (after briefly being called the Football Team, which actually wasn’t bad).
The new ownership group, led by Josh Harris, slowly began bringing in positive changes. After years of stagnation, in came general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn.
And then came quarterback Jayden Daniels. He had an amazing season at LSU in 2023, culminating in a Heisman Trophy, and the Commanders – fresh off a 4-13 season – decided to take him No. 2 overall.
Joe Glorioso | Credit: Joe Glorioso | All-Pro Reels
Rookies start at quarterback often these days – usually, it takes some time for them to catch their stride. Daniels almost immediately showed he belonged. And the Commanders turned it around – they finished 12-5 and made the playoffs as a wild card.
And now, they stand one step from the Super Bowl. With only the hated Philadelphia Eagles in the way.
I think many Washington fans would list the Eagles as their second-most-hated team, right behind the Cowboys. Sometimes, it’s 2A-2B, along with the New York Giants.
Whatever your preference, I sit here today, at least for a few hours, a Commanders fan once more.
Daniels and this team have awakened the fan after a 23-year hibernation.
Will it stick? Time will tell. But for today? Let’s go Commanders!
*The Commanders’ old name was, in fact, an ethnic slur. Not going to give it air time here.