Burgundy & Gold Column: I've Been Waiting My Whole Life For This

As a lifelong Redskins/Commanders fan, 2024 was truly a fairy tale. I had to endure so many years of Dan Snyder's rule as owner of the franchise and saw him run it down into the ground. Apathy was being developed and I even saw myself paying more attention to the Bengals considering I moved to Cincinnati nine years ago. I never not cared, it just became sad to invest in the Commanders like I had used to. While 2023 brought in new hope, I knew the team was a long ways from competing. Well, I was wrong about one thing and boy, I'm glad I was, as the Commanders are contenders right now. 2024 helped me renew my love for the club. There was hope, excitement, and joy, something that I had rarely experienced being a fan.

Under Snyder, it started off with incompetence. He kept going after players who were well past their prime and expected a playoff berth which clearly did not work out. Then the scandals occurred and it was clear that Snyder was holding the team under hostage until he was finally forced to sell. The Commanders being sold to Josh Harris and Magic Johnson was the best thing that could've ever happened to the team.

What we all saw last season was the building of a foundation for something that a lot of fans have not seen ever or since the Joe Gibbs teams in the 80's and early 90's, a winning culture and contention. I wish I was kidding, but this past season was the first time in my lifetime that I saw the team win more than 10 games in a campaign. I'm 35 if that gives you any sort of idea of the misery that not only I had to endure, but we all collectively had to go through.

Jayden Daniels showed that he is a franchise quarterback. Daniels' arm strength, mobility, speed, and composure that was on display in his first season showed how much that he was the real deal. Probably the best in franchise history since Joe Theismann. Whether or not by the end of Daniels' career that he'll be in the hall of fame let alone even being with the team at that point, he at least gives this fanbase hope and a chance to see a Super Bowl championship right now, something we have not experienced in a long time or for some of us, ever.

Harris and Johnson have also made all the right personnel moves in order to build a contender. Adam Peters helped San Francisco into a contender and looks to make the Commanders a formidable side for years to come as the general manager. Dan Quinn, while not even the first choice at head coach, is the guy who built the culture that is in that locker room right now and has a bunch of players who love playing for him. It seems like everyone is on the same page and when that is the case it usually means great things are coming for a franchise.

It's hard to believe that it took until 2024 for someone like me to see my favorite football team do this well. Most fans of different teams have at least seen some sort of success one way or another. Even as dysfunctional of a franchise like the Chicago Bears have at least made two conference championships and a Super Bowl during that span. It's mind-boggling to think about. That's how badly run this team was. And to think that the franchise was looked at as a model of what a well run organization looked like as back in the Redskins era, pre-Dan Snyder, they were a consistent playoff contending side. I used to hear stories from my mother about how great those Joe Gibbs teams were and honestly it made me envious of what the previous generations were able to watch.

Now, I don't have to be envious. While it isn't the pinnacle of success, it's certainly on the right track. Bigger and better things for the Commanders are going to happen. All I've ever wanted to see is an organization where there isn't any dysfunction and football operations makes competent decisions. We've already seen how great things are with the new stadium announcement, so any way possible to get back into the community and to revive the fanbase to what it once was. It's still a long ways to go, but Harris and Johnson have made tremendous progress in just the last two years. Now, we wait for that Super Bowl parade in our Nation's Capital.