The Best Fans in the NFL?
Lawrence Bates, SkinsGridiron.com, Sept. 9, 2004

Ashburn - When Joe Gibbs arrived at Redskins Park on Jan. 8, 2004, to officially announce his return as head coach of the Washington Redskins, he was greeted by a marching band playing "Hail to the Redskins." The band was accompanied by hundreds of Redskins fans singing along. It was a fanfare this nation's capitol hasn't seen in years.

At the press conference, Gibbs said, "It's going to take a great team effort" to be successful, and added "we've got one crucial part covered, and that's the fans." With those words, Gibbs unwittingly provided an example of just how much had changed since he last coached the Burgundy and Gold.

Redskins fans have been called the best fans in the NFL by some, mostly by Redskins management, players and other Redskins fans. Casual observers watching the games on TV would likely disagree. The majority of fans at FedEx Field tend to be very quiet. They generally show up late for the games and leave early.

Redskins fans have been milking a reputation earned a long time ago. At that Jan. 8 press conference, Gibbs said repeatedly that "the past doesn't buy us much. We've got to prove ourselves all over again." Well, coach, that goes for the fans, too.

And we, as fans, get a chance to reestablish our reputation as the best in the NFL this Sunday.

We need to set the tone for the rest of the season before the game even kicks off. When the Coach Gibbs and his team run out of the tunnel Sunday, let's welcome them with a deafening roar. Let's drown out the public address announcer as he delivers the starting lineups.

It's obvious that 91,665 people can make more noise than 75,000 people, so if you are one of the people lucky enough to have tickets for Gibbs' first game back as head coach, then get there in time to see him out of the tunnel for the first time since 1992.

It irks me to see tens of thousands of empty seats at kickoff, so here's some advice: If your seats are in the upper level then don't be surprised if it takes 45 minutes from the time you leave your tailgate to the time you get to your seat-plan accordingly! It's going to take time to get through security and then walk up those ramps. If you're worried about cutting your tailgate short then start tailgating earlier. The parking lots open at 9 a.m.

Don't let up during the game, either. Scream your head off when Tampa has the ball. It doesn't matter if we're up by three or down by three touchdowns…YELL! FedEx Field can get loud. It was loud for the lone home playoff game we had against the Lions and it was loud for the Virginia Tech vs. Southern Cal game last month. We need a similar atmosphere for all Redskins home games.

Bottom line: If we can talk on Monday morning then we haven't done our job. If the Bucs don't call at least two timeouts because of the crowd noise then we haven't done our job.

LaVar Arrington has issued a challenge: "I think about RFK. You hear all the stories about the stands shaking. It was a horrible place for teams to come in and play. I think this is the year the fans really need to be a part of it. If you don't want to come, give your tickets to somebody else."

We need to return the home field advantage to FedEx Field. Let's make FedEx a "horrible place for teams to come in and play." Let's show the football world that Redskins fans deserve to be the best fans in the NFL once again.