These fans ain’t loyal: How the treatment of RGIII shows Redskins fans aren’t as loyal as they claim to be

Yesterday afternoon, I logged onto Facebook and saw a post from the official Redskins page that showed Robert Griffin III at a Super Bowl party with his wife and a few sports legends. It looked like a really cool collection of photos, so I clicked on each one, looked at them, and then scrolled down to read some of the comments. Here’s what I saw:

On a photo of Griffin with Usain Bolt…

On a photo of Griffin with Derek Jeter…

And on a photo of Griffin with Michael Jordan…

Let’s stop for a brief moment and recap what was said. Redskins fans…

1) Think being at a Super Bowl party and taking a picture with Usain Bolt means RGIII isn’t taking the offseason seriously,

2) Think RGIII is now throwing up gang signs,

3) Think RGIII needs to start dressing up to their standards,

4) Think RGIII isn’t classy, and

5) Insulted RGIII’s wife multiple times.

Pretty nice showing from “Redskins Nation,” huh?

Look, I know the internet has more than its fair share of online trolls, and the Redskins Facebook page is no exception. But I think this goes beyond the normal joking around that takes place and crosses the line into a territory that’s disturbing to me. These comments went too far.

It’s safe to say that I’m sick and tired of the anti-RGIII movement. I’m perfectly fine if you think he’s a terrible quarterback or think he’s immature; that’s okay and I have no issue with fans who say those things. But comments like these go past that. So many Redskins fans nowadays treat RGIII like crap, ridicule his every move, and insult him every chance they get. It’s really pathetic, really sad, and I can’t stand it anymore.

Wait, is that Robert Griffin III at a Super Bowl Party? What the hell, why isn’t he in the gym working out? He needs to be working on his game EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY.

Hold on, is that a green shirt I see him wearing? Oh my god, what is he thinking? Why didn’t he wear blue, is he an idiot?

Hey, is that his wife? Why is she so ugly? Is that the best RGIII can do?

The same people that were worshipping Griffin two and a half years ago, who were flocking to the team store to pick up his #10 jersey, and who chanted his name after each and every jaw dropping play he made for us are now dissecting his every move, looking for a flaw to call out or a reason to attack him. Redskins fans like to say they are one of the most loyal fan bases in sports. Is that what loyalty looks like?

I’m not here to debate with you whether Griffin should be the team’s starting quarterback or not. I’m not here to argue whether he’ll become a pocket passer. I’m writing this simply to show many of you “fans” how hypocritical and stupid you look.

A few weeks ago, I did a survey of 50 local fans and asked them various questions about the last ten years of DC sports. When I asked them to name the best rookie they’ve seen during that time, 30 out of 50 said RGIII. When I asked them to name the best game they’ve seen during that time, 28 of them mentioned games that RGIII was a part of. And when I asked them to name the best team they’ve seen during that time, 20 of them said the 2012 Redskins, who wouldn’t have even been relevant without RGIII. All of that leads me to ask this question: How can a fan base as “loyal” and “dedicated” as the Redskins turn their back on the man who gave them so much joy and so many memories so quickly?

Seriously, we’ve gone from adoring Griffin to hating on his every single move in a little over 30 months. Awesome.

I think one of my Twitter followers said it best yesterday when I first started talking about the way Griffin has been treated. He said, “It is stuff like this that makes me think Redskins fans deserve the sh*t we get. I hope when we let him walk, he beats our ass.” I would absolutely agree with that sentiment. Throughout the past couple of years, I’ve constantly said that us fans “deserve better” than what we’ve gotten from the team. But then things like yesterday happen, which cause me to stop and consider whether we’re actually getting exactly what we deserve.

All RGIII has done in his time here is win Rookie of the Year, bring the city a division title, rush himself back from a devastating injury, try to mold himself to a new coach’s philosophy that clearly doesn’t play to his strengths, and rush himself back from ANOTHER tough injury. Sure, he pays too much attention to social media, isn’t great in his interviews, and really didn’t play well last year. Still, with all that being said, you would hope that a group of people who was given so much by one man would stand by that man’s side when things went south.

But as a lot of fans have shown in the way they’ve treated RGIII, maybe Redskins nation isn’t as loyal as we’d like to think.

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Absolutely agree or vehemently disagree? Let me know on Twitter @BarelyIn. You should also like the blog’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/barelyinbounds), because it will make me really happy, but more importantly, because I can relate to the struggles that you’re going through, DC sports fan