Texans love Dale Earnhardt Jr., but do they know how much he loves the Redskins?
By Mac Engel
One of the most famous, and God knows loyal, fans of the Washington Redskins refuses to say he hates the Dallas Cowboys, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. will concede the following:
“They did build an incredible stadium, which I hear great things about but I won’t go in it because I’m a Redskins fan,” he said. “It’s been tough being a Redskins fan but I’m invested. I’ve been there for all of those years and I’m here. I don’t care if they lose another 20 years, I’m a Redskins fan.”
In a recent interview with the retired NASCAR champion, I asked the driver famously known as Junior about his deep affection for the Redskins. Specifically why, if he loves the Redskins, does this automatically mean he hates the Dallas Cowboys?
“I just don’t pay a lot of attention to the Cowboys, but I don’t want to say, ‘I hate the Cowboys,’” he said. “You just, if you’re a Redskins fan, you just don’t like the Cowboys.”
With decreasing exceptions, no fan base has been kicked around more by their favorite team than the Cowboys. Multiple generations of Cowboys fans can now sadly proclaim they have no idea what it’s like to watch their team compete for a Super Bowl, and their allegiance is born from of geography, or family ties, more than success.
Dale Jr. is in the same spot, as is every Redskins fan. As badly as the Cowboys have been for multiple decades, the Redskins can say, “Hold my Johnny Walker Blue.”
So which is the harder life: Being a fan of the Cowboys, or the Redskins?
“Right now it’s probably harder to be a Cowboys fan because of the inconsistency of the team,” Junior said. “The Redskins are trending in the right direction for me.”
Note that this interview was conducted before the Redskins lost a good portion of their offensive line to injury, and starting quarterback Alex Smith to a season-ending injury on Sunday.
The last time the Redskins won the Super Bowl was 1991; that was the last time they reached an NFC title game.
The Cowboys will host the Redskins on Thanksgiving Day with first place in the NFC East available for one of these two bumbling franchises to grab. Considering the history of these two teams, don’t be surprised if the game ends in tie.
The birth of a Redskins fan
Dale Jr’s affection for the team began in 1981, and he cannot remember his life without being a Redskins fan.
“My mom and dad divorced in ’78, I was born in ’74,” he said. “I was living with my mom in ’81 and our house caught fire, and we really didn’t watch a lot of TV. We didn’t know a lot about football. She had to give up custody and she moved to Norfolk and Chesapeake Bay. I went with my dad, and he watched games and playoffs. The first one I remember was the Super Bowl between the Redskins and Miami in 1982.”
After that, Junior was sucked in to the perils, and joys, of being a fan. At the time, the Redskins were enjoying the greatest era of their existence under coach Joe Gibbs and owner Jack Kent Cooke.
“I would go to see my mom when she was living in Virginia, and it was just Redskins stuff everywhere,” Junior said. “She started buying me all of this Redskins stuff; helmets, and jerseys. I’ve been collecting stuff ever since. I’m a huge Redskins fan for so long, regardless of the results. It’s fun to be a part of something like that.”
Dan Snyder’s friend
As angry and disgusted as Cowboys fans have been, and likely still are, at Jerry Jones, Redskins fans can say to this, “Hold my keg.”
Because Earnhardt Jr. was a successful NASCAR driver whose late father is one of the most famous names in the history of the sport, he has special access most fans will never enjoy. In his case, he’s friends with Snyder.
Despite Junior’s affection for his favorite team, his relationship with the owner makes it hard for him to behave like a normal fan at a team that has one playoff win since 1992. A normal fan would crucify their team with this sort of track record.
“It is tough because I do like Dan Snyder,” Junior said. “He’s been incredibly nice to me and invited me to games and so forth. He’s a nice person, too. I just feel like it’s taken him awhile to understand his role as an owner and how he needs to trust people underneath him to be tasked with a job of putting the team together to win games.
“He meddled for so long and you could see that in free agency and the salaries of these over-the-hill guys. He wanted to win so badly.
“We have some stability now with the coaching staff. We have a really good defense. We have done good things with the offensive and defensive lines. I don’t know how involved Dan is in those decisions, but I do like what I see in this team. We’re really talented.”
For Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Redskins are a “We.”
And they always will be ... no matter how much they lose.
