Loss of a Fan and a Father

[Southpaw]

I’ve been debating creating this thread for a few days now. On Sunday, August 12, 2007 jdlea and I lost our father at the relatively young age of 50. He had been battling lung cancer for over a year and was actually told that he was cancer free a few months back. However he had received so much chemo and radiation that his body was weak, and he had to deal with several infections as a result. His heart was weak because of the numerous infections, and he eventually suffered a heart attack due to his body trying to fight them all off.

I didn’t create this thread for pity or to invoke sadness, but as a tribute to one of the most passionate Redskin fans I’ve ever known. Being born in the DC area, our father was a Redskins fan all his life. He lived in San Diego for four years while in the navy. While there, he was unable to watch many Redskins games(no NFL Sunday Ticket), and developed a soft spot for the Dan Fouts led Chargers, but as soon as he returned to the DC area, he once again devoted his football love to the Redskins.

I entered the picture in the 1978 and jdlea followed in 1984; the beginning and the prime of the Redskins glory days, so as you can imagine, it was Redskins mania in our house when we were little kids. My parents didn’t go to a lot of games, but my father was in the stands when Joe Theismann’s leg was broken and a few other big games over the last 20 years. We always made a big deal about opening day, and it was treated like a holiday in our house. The Superbowls were treated the same way, but they occasionally included a big celebration with the entire extended family as well.

As we got older and as the magic left the Redskins organization, our father became less concerned with watching his language around us, and we were opened up to an entirely new version of our father the Redskins fan. He let the curses fly and screaming at the television became his Sunday trademark. It got to the point that my brother and I had to watch the games in a different room, but as soon as it was clear that Washington was going to win the game, we’d rejoin our father and share in the cries of joy that were just as passionate as the curses of anger. The funny part is, my brother and I would talk about how crazy dad was during the games on Sunday, and over the past few years, I’ve noticed that I’ll react very much the same way during the games as our father did. As controlled and logical as I can be during the week, I’m basically a clone of my father when it’s game time; complete with all the yelling, cursing, and stomping when they lose, and yelling, cheering, and jumping when they win.

My parents moved to Myrtle Beach a couple years ago, and luckily the Redskins were still televised fairly often if the Panthers weren’t playing at the same time. But I do remember how pissed my father would be when they’d be showing a game during the 2005 late season playoff run, and cut off the end of the game because the Panthers were about to kick off.

Our father gave so much more to us and to the world than I am willing to share here, but Redskins football was definitely one of his top two most passionate hobbies(the other being golf). Washington Redskins fandom has lost a great and loyal member, but anyone who watches a game in the presence of my brother and I will see our fathers spirit and influence reflected through us. We love you dad…