Redskins Potential Move to Louden

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There is potential the Washington Redskins are lying to you. Just by saying their name. The Washington Redskins are known as the Capital’s team. Their accomplishments mark some of DC’s most historic moments- yet the organization is in decline and under fire.

Many people, including Governor Terry McAuffile, support a move of the Redskins stadium to the suburbs of Virginia. The main reason being that the current Redskins stadium, FedEx field, is located in Landover, Maryland, while the majority of Redskins fans line in the Commonwealth. In fact, almost all the players on the team live in Virginia. In that sense, the Redskins organization has almost nothing to do with Washington- and everything to do with Virginia.

Even some Maryland fans right on the outskirts of DC have nothing to do with the Redskins. The Baltimore Ravens are taking root in the Maryland area outside DC due to the Redskins football-related failures over the past 20 years, and the Skins’ only faithful support seems to come from Virginia.

With all these convenience issues and area identification concerns, it is logical for the team to move to Virginia. The suburbs are the prime spot the organization could settle, with its available open land. But which area of the suburbs do they settle in? With so many choices which is best? That’s where Loudon comes in.

Loudon County is a prime location for the state of Virginia to accomplish its goals of bringing the organization closer to its most faithful supporters. With the Redskins practice facility in Ashburn, located in Loudon County, it makes sense for the team’s stadium to be located in the same area. And anticipating the completion of Metro’s Silver Line in 2018, convenient, mass transportation of fans could be simply arranged to draw a large fan base.

Naturally, many people are opposed to the move. It would destroy the “DC Spirit”.

Famously, after winning the Super Bowl and during the ensuing Super Bowl parade, legendary Redskins Coach, Joe Gibbs said, “No other fans in the world would come out on a day like this except in Washington, DC.”

Although small, this quote reinforces the connection and spirit fans feel to the DC team, which could be diminished if they moved.

Even with some support for the move, a large wave of skeptics question the reasons for such a big change. It seems like only Governor Terry McAuffile, and those with economic interests related to the move, seem to be fully committed to the idea.

“The Redskins moving closer to their true fan base is probably for the best, but something about just getting rid of the Redskin’s history so unceremoniously isn’t right, ”says Varsity running back and Junior Timmy Swiers.

How will the organization deal with the Redskins rich history when it is being virtually eliminated? Teams that have had the successes the Redskins have had in the past don’t move locations that often.

“I don’t think the Redskins history will be hurt at all.  Think about it, since they are currently playing their games in Maryland, just moving to Virginia isn’t going to change their name-affiliation with DC. The big issue would be if they moved very far away, which would then remove the name and take the Redskin’s DC history with it,” says Junior Jared Tewodros.

For now, it seems like Redskins fans can rest easy with the assurance that their team’s history isn’t going anywhere.