I'm Just Saying...

By: Autumn Jones

Posted: 2/2/10

The Washington Redskins are the worst sporting franchise in the country. This declaration has nothing to do with the team's dismal 3-5 record, nor the fact that I am a die-hard Eagles fan. I have no reason to "hate on" the Redskins; they've never posed much of a threat to my team's conference standings (at least not in recent memory).

My issue with the team is in the owner's box.

The worst thing that ever happened to the 'Skins was the death of Jack Kent Cooke, and the subsequent decision by his family to sell the team to the highest bidder, rather than maintain the family legacy.

Enter Daniel Snyder.

In 1999, in what was the most expensive sporting transaction in history to that point, Snyder purchased the team and Jack Kent Cooke stadium from the Cooke family for $800million.

Sure the team's worth is up $100 million in ten years, and the team is the second-highest grossing team in the NFL. Profitability notwithstanding, Snyder is a crappy owner. The every day, bread and butter fans are treated like crap under Snyder's reign.

When Snyder first bought the team, he attempted to force stadium-goers to pay for parking at his lots by barring them from walking across the street on game days. The city of Landover quickly put a stop to that.

He took out regular seats and put in more suites and club boxes. Ticket prices are outrageous (though, to be fair, that is a truth shared by tickets at ALL Washington, DC professional sporting events of late).

When the recession hit and some season ticket holders were no longer able to honor their contracts, instead of extending mercy and understanding, Snyder slapped them with lawsuits, claiming breach of contract and forcing grandmothers into bankruptcy (literally) despite the fact that there was a long waiting list of people still wanting season tickets.

When new seats opened up, Snyder turned the tickets over to scalpers and third-party agents, as opposed to opening those seats up to fans on the ticket waiting list. AFTER suing fans for not keeping their agreements!

There have been piss-poor personnel decisions: five head coaches in ten years, an incompetent GM, questionable signings. Snyder cares nothing about the fans, as evidenced in all of his past behavior, and even more so in his most recent gaffe.

Even Skins fans are sick of Snyder. FedEx Field security personnel have been ordered to snatch, seize, and stomp any signs protesting Snyder's ownership. So much for freedom of speech!

Daniel Snyder is the George Bush of American sports.