111 Days of Disappointment

What were you doing 111 days ago? Probably can’t remember. Well, I can remember in vivid detail what I was doing 111 days ago. I ordered a pizza. I put on my Clinton Portis jersey. I got situated in front of the TV. I settled in to watch the Redskins take on the Vikings on Monday Night Football. I was on pins and needles anticipating what I truly believed would be the first victory for the Redskins on the road to Super Bowl XLI. Ever since the Redskins had lost to Seattle in the playoffs the year before, I had looked forward to this moment. It had finally arrived. Then, the game started…..

My dreams of our first championship since 1991 began dissolving into a nightmare in the first quarter of that first game. It was clear something was wrong. This was not the team that ended 2005 on a five game winning streak. It was not the team that won a playoff game in Tampa Bay. It was not the team I had expected. I held out hope throughout the season that a turnaround was possible, but the passion, energy, and excitement that fueled me all off-season was missing from that point forward.

The 2005 Redskins were a mess. The reasons are too excruciating and insignificant at this point to detail. In the end, all that matters is that this season will go down as one of the most disappointing in Redskins history (and that is saying a mouthful). It almost seems as if this season never even started, and yet, it’s over already. From the standpoint of a lifelong fan, that’s what hits home the hardest: It’s over. Again. 111 days down the tubes with few, if any, memorable moments.

Luckily, the NFL is set-up for teams to go from dreadful to dreamy from one season to the next. Just ask the New Orleans Saints, who went from 4-12 to legitimate Super Bowl contenders. And the Redskins may have finally found a young quarterback to lead them into the future. Jason Campbell emerged late this season to shed some light on a dark year. So, I am not without hope. A few tweaks, a few philosophical changes, and some good luck could land the Redskins right back in the thick of things in 2007—that’s just the way the NFL works these days.

But none of that seems to matter much right now. Right now, it doesn’t feel like the beginning of 2007. It feels like the end of 2006. It doesn’t feel good. Maybe things will be better next year? After all, kickoff is only 252 days away.