With the arrival of Jim Zorn, some things have changed about the Washington Redskins’ training camp, while other things have remained the same.
One change is that camp is no longer built by Home Depot; instead, it will be presented by RE/MAX (properly typed in all caps and with the front slash).
Instead of an area where kids could be amused by playing on workbenches with toy hammers, maybe there will be a place where they can fill out sub-prime mortgage applications.
One thing that won’t change is that Redskins' fans will have very limited opportunities to see the team in camp. Here’s the complete schedule of practices that will be open to the public (don’t blink, you might miss it):
Sunday, July 20
Open Practice, Morning
8:30 AM EST
Monday, July 21
Open Practice, Morning
8:30 AM EST
Tuesday, July 22
Open Practice, Morning
8:30 AM EST
Wednesday, July 23
Open Practice, Morning
8:30 AM EST
Thursday, July 24
Open Practice, Morning
8:30 AM EST
Friday, July 25
Open Practice, Morning
8:30 AM EST
Saturday, July 26
Includes Intra-Squad Scrimmage
Individual Drills begin at 1:20 PM EST
Scrimmage begins at 2 PM EST
Sunday, July 27
Open Practice, Morning
8:30 AM EST
Monday, July 28
Open Practice, Morning
8:30 AM EST
That’s it. Nine practices in nine days, and no more than one in any single day. That makes the Redskins among the least fan-friendly teams in the NFL in this respect.
Not all teams have their camp schedules out yet, but I pulled up a few at random.
Between July 25 and August 20, the Buffalo Bills will have 20 practices open to their fans, including two days where both practices are open. The San Diego Chargers will have 15 open practices between July 25 and August 14.
The Packers have a reputation for being one of the most fan friendly organizations in the league, and they back that up with 24 open practices in 32 days. Their fans can go see them up until 10 days before the season opens.
For the past several years, the Redskins have had fewer than 10 open practices at each camp. I always thought it was a Gibbs thing, but the practice has outlasted his tenure.
I’ve stepped up onto my virtual soapbox in the past, and I’ve gone on about how such limited availability isn’t doing right by the fans and is hurting the team in the long term. Training camp is the only opportunity many kids who may or may not be future fans have to see the team in person.
But nobody else seems to care, so, while I still feel the same way, no rant is following here. Apparently, the Redskins believe that this is the best thing for the team, despite the fact that most other teams think that more is better.
But Dan Snyder, Vinny Cerrato, and the company don’t tend to do things the way the rest of the crowd does them. That has served them well in some instances—especially when it comes to making money—and not so well in others.
comments (2) write a comment »
write a new comment
3 months ago
Another great article Rick about stuff that escapes mainstream notice but is of concern to Redskins fans nonetheless...like the backup center article.
I love the Skins but I am so sick and tired of them jacking up prices for everything to the point where I have to take out a loan just to buy a jersey (priced around 119.99 on their site!!!). Add on to that the fact that the only free thing they offer, a chance to watch practice, is still so low, its just horrible.
I have been to the training camps open to the public and I know how much fun it is just to watch players run sprints or do simple walk-throughs of plays and trust me, it affects my fan morale knowing that these opportunities are few and far between.
3 months ago
Interesting. Didn't know that open practices before the season were such a huge deal among NFL fans. But then again I'm usually watching the MLB until NFL season, and sometimes into it if the Braves are doing well.
write a new comment