After living in DC for 17 years, thanks to Melanie and Derek, I attended my first Washington Redskins football game. Now, I am not a fan of big crowds of people, so when I saw this mob of people pushing their way into the stadium, I started to think that it would be a long afternoon. Surprisingly, we got in pretty quickly and were making our way to our seats when the game started.
The seats were great; 7 rows from the field on the end zone. We were sitting behind three brave Cleveland Brown's fans, who were taunting and being taunted by all of the Redskin fans. Lot's of talking smack; from "Shut up, at least we beat the Giants" to "Oh please, it is one of your two wins v. one of our two losses. Go back to Cleveland."
I was obsessed with the fan in the Native American headgear, who was constantly getting the crowd riled up. I also found it quite strange that while the Redskins were on offense, the announcer would "Shhhhh" the crowd and the screens would flash, "Be Quiet for Redskins' offense." I understand that the players need to hear the quarterback, but it was a bit unsettling.
Although the crowd was really into the game, the first half was rather boring. Both teams struggled offensively and the game was scoreless going into halftime. Good thing Derek rented a portable DirectTV console so we could watch other NFL games to keep us engaged.
We stayed and watched the halftime show, which consisted of hundreds of "junior cheerleaders" dancing with the Redskins' cheerleaders. I can only imagine how thrilled all those girls were to be dancing at FedEX Field.
For the second half, we went to the Club Level to watch the game in a bar, on television screens. Now, I understand the reason for this. The stadium stops serving alcohol to the peasants in the seats at the end of the 3rd quarter, and the club level does not stop until 90 minutes after the game ends.
But, as I drove Rich to the game, I was not able to participate fully in all of the drinking going on in the club level. Plus, the game actually got exciting in the second half, with a last second field goal attempt by the Browns, which would have tied the game. They missed.
I hung out a bit with some former Redskins' cheerleaders. The two to the left are thinking about dressing as Sarah Palin and Katie Couric for Halloween. To the right of me is Melanie, who gave me the ticket to the game. She has helped me a lot recently, by telling me to get "Goo Gone" to remove the glue from my fingernails.
When the game ended, I looked out of the stadium and saw that the traffic in the parking lot was not moving very quickly. That is when I was introduced to the "Fifth Quarter."
The Fifth Quarter goes on for 90 minutes in the club level after the game ends. It is a nice way to spend you time, instead of being frustrated in the traffic jam. You can hang out inside and watch game highlights or other NFL games, or you can go outside and party like you just don't care.
Outside the club level, the "Official Rock Band of the Redskins,"
Love Seed Mama Jump entertained the drinking and cigar smoking crowds of people. The cheerleaders joined them on stage and danced to a few songs. By the time we were ready to go, the traffic had died down a bit, and we made it home much faster than I had anticipated. It was great experience, even though I was slightly offended when Derek asked me if I knew why it was good that the punt went into the end zone.
