- Joined
- Sep 13, 2004
- Messages
- 30,681
- Reaction score
- 23,358
As you say, the team cannot be perennial cellar dwellers and noncompetitive, else he risks losing lots of money.
A franchise quarterback is important to Snyder and yes, even to Shanny.
The skins were 4-12 last year, seemingly a wakeup call for Snyder. The skins are in a competitive, tough division. Staying competitive in that division is very difficult indeed. Arguably, there are FOUR top nfl franchises in that division. Obviously, they all cannot be playoff teams in any given year. So, Snyder has taken the approach of boom or bust, with some success every few years. That seems enough to keep the fans coming back for more.
"So, Snyder has taken the approach of boom or bust, with some success every few years."
That is a very, very kind spin.
Here are the facts:
Since he bought the team in May 1999, 3 of the 12 seasons (25%) have seen a winning record. They are 2-3 in the playoffs with 2 wildcard wins. Now, take out the very first season (started four months in, so he hadn't a chance to srew everything up yet), and they've had 2 out of 11 winning seasons, a 1-2 playoff record, with one wildcard victory.
I bet 75% of the teams in the NFL can boast better success over that time period.
After all, yesterday you were comparing the consumer value of Snyder's tickets to those of Kraft's.
When you finish with "That seems enough to keep the fans coming back for more", you expose your total lack of any knowledge about the DC/MD/VA fanbase for the Redskins. If Snyder trotted out Bin Laden, Jeffrey Dahmer and Pol Pot and suited them up in Redksins unis, those characters would be wildly cheered and their jerseys sought by kaleidiscope-eyed desperadoes in Bethesda and Alexandria.
He's a flim-flam marketer, not an actual product manufacturer or builder like Kraft. The other difference is in the fanbases. Kraft has to perform and have substance to his product because the market is not as captive. Boston/New England actually has 3 teams in the other major sports who are competitive. DC has one - - the Caps, and that's in the least popular of the major sports.
Basically, Snyder is the slum lord/pusher and the Redskin fanbase is the desperate junkie.
Last edited: