From Redskins to Commanders.
I was born in 1972, the year the Washington Redskins adopted their famous logo.
It was designed by a member of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana, Walter ‘Blackie’ Wetzel, a former Blackfeet Nation tribal chairman.
His image was of John Two Guns White Calf whose face was also the face on the Indian head nickel, an iconic coin in America.
I started being interested in the NFL when it was first televised in the UK by Channel 4 in November 1982 – back when I was an impressionable and wide eyed 10-year-old.
The Channel 4 programme only featured highlights of games, but famously featured slow motion montage scenes, set to the iconic sounds of the Frankie Goes to Hollywood track Two Tribes. The union of the great music, and the larger-than-life slow-motion footage was captivating.
The first televised Super Bowl in the UK was Super Bowl XVII, in which the Washington Redskins came from behind to beat the Miami Dolphins 27-17.
The turning point in the game came with 10:10 remaining.
Trailing 17–13, and facing 4th & 1 at the Dolphins’ 43-yard line, Washington running back John Riggins broke through the Miami defense and ran into the end zone for a touchdown to take the lead.
It is a run which stands as perhaps the greatest moment in Washington history, and forever endeared Riggins to the fans.
Hidden complexities
There are many reasons I fell in love the NFL. The scale, the drama, the colours, the logos, the uniforms, the helmets. It looked amazing, even if it was baffling.
I subscribed to fan magazines like Touchdown and learnt the language, the rules, and the referees’ signals from those. I learned about the stars, the teams, and the history of the NFL.
The more I studied the game the more I realised that its violent appearance belied a deep complexity, and it is that complexity which has kept it interesting.
The ‘Redskins’ are in the NFC East, a division which could be considered the greatest in the NFL. With 13 Super Bowl winners and 22 appearances, the NFC East is the most successful division in the NFL on both counts.
From that first year watching in 1982, I watched Washington go on to win the Super Bowl in 1983 and lose the following year to the Raiders.
They won another two Super Bowls in 1988 and 1992. With four appearances and three wins in a 10-year span they had proven themselves a dynasty on a par with the other greats.
However, sadly, that turned out to be the end of the dynasty. Despite the successes of New York and Dallas in the 90s, Washington never made it to another Super Bowl after 1992, in part due to the retirement of their legendary coach Joe Gibbs in 1993.
