Redskins Getting Record Hometown Support

Remember 1999, the eve of the new millennium and the Y2K bug?  1999 was also the last season the Washington Redskins won the coveted NFC East title.  In the last 11 seasons the other three teams in the division have traded the title back and forth:  New York won the title in 2000,2005, and 2008; Dallas won in 2007 and 2009; Philadelphia has won the most,  with titles in 2001,2002,2003,2004,2006, and 2010.

After over a decade of poor play on the field and questionable front office moves (big money contracts to aging free agents, poor drafts, disastrous coaching hires, Albert Haynesworth), the Redskins may have finally turned the corner and become a contender in the ultra competitive NFC East.  Not only has the play on the field improved, but fan support has returned.  Preseason TV ratings in the Washington, DC market are setting records every week.  The opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers was the highest rated preseason game in the DC metro area in 20 years, with a 16.3 rating.  The Steelers record was short lived, as the Baltimore Ravens game set the new all-time record with an 18.1 rating.  Through the first 3 preseason games the team is averaging a 16.1 rating, which is the highest preseason average in Redskins history and equates to nearly 370,000 television viewers.

To compare the Redskins with the very successful Washington Capitals, the Capital highest rated game on Comcast Sportnet was Game 7 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs versus Montreal which garnered an 8.10 rating.  Only time will tell as the season progresses if the team on the field is the real deal and winning games or if the preseason fan support was merely a curiosity.