Washington Winners

The most integrated hour of the week in autumnal Washington is 11 o’clock Sunday morning. At that shining moment Washingtonians of every race, creed, and sexual preference come together for the celebration of a sacred rite: the hoisting of the first Bloody Mary before the Redskins game. Later that afternoon, when the Skins take the field at RFK Stadium, resplendent in burgundy and gold, the notion is reaffirmed that the only organized religion in the nation’s capital is Redskins football.

Fanaticism is the right word for it. Washingtonians from just north of Richmond to just south of Baltimore follow the Redskins with inexhaustible fervor. The papers pause in their blanket coverage of the team only on Tuesday when they have picked clean the bones of Sunday’s game, but by Wednesday they are turning with renewed vigor to the prospects for the following week. Local television stations compete feverishly with each other, first in previews of The Game, then in updates on the progress of The Game, and then, stretching the patience even of the hard-core addict, in running highlights of The Game.

About the Author

Neal B. Freeman

Neal B. Freeman, businessman and journalist, was a director of National Review Inc. for 38 years.

The most integrated hour of the week in autumnal Washington is 11 o’clock Sunday morning. At that shining moment Washingtonians of every race, creed, and sexual preference come together for the celebration of a sacred rite: the hoisting of the first Bloody Mary before the Redskins game. Later that afternoon, when the Skins take the field at RFK Stadium, resplendent in burgundy and gold, the notion is reaffirmed that the only organized religion in the nation’s capital is Redskins football.

Fanaticism is the right word for it. Washingtonians from just north of Richmond to just south of Baltimore follow the Redskins with inexhaustible fervor. The papers pause in their blanket coverage of the team only on Tuesday when they have picked clean the bones of Sunday’s game, but by Wednesday they are turning with renewed vigor to the prospects for the following week. Local television stations compete feverishly with each other, first in previews of The Game, then in updates on the progress of The Game, and then, stretching the patience even of the hard-core addict, in running highlights of The Game.