Nov
27
Sean Taylor tribute
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After a happy Thanksgiving, today takes a somber tone for Redskins fans. Two years ago, Redskins safety Sean Taylor was shot and murdered in his Miami home while protecting his wife and daughter from intruders. He was 24 years old.
On the anniversary of his death, Washington fans still remember the safety for his skill, athleticism and hard hits. Though at some points in his career he was at the center of scandal, from a criminal charge to an ejection from a game after spitting at an opponent, he will be remembered for the shining talent that made him a Pro Bowl player and the dedication to his daughter and fiance that turned his personal life around before his life was tragically cut short. Today, officials set up a special area outside FedEx Field as a memorial for fans.
Here is one of my favorite multimedia tributes, “Every Given Sunday,” a song created by a local DJ in honor of Taylor.
Nov
20
With a Redskins win, the Burgundy Revolution’s at a loss
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The Washington Redskins beat the Denver Broncos 27-17 on Sunday. After the team’s first win in more than a month, and an impressive one at that, you would think the victory-starved fans driving the Burgundy Revolution would have plenty to say. Or at least mention it.
But one of the main presences behind the protest of the team and owner Dan Snyder, the Hate the Owner, Love the Team blog, has not had a post since Nov. 12, three days before the Skins win. Snyder Sucks hasn’t had a new entry since the day before that. Impeach Dan Snyder? Last post Oct. 22. Sell the Team Dan? Oct. 30.
John Riggins has posted new videos on his YouTube account this week, but it’s just been a three-part interview with former Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington. After bashing the team repeatedly for weeks, he can’t find time to acknowledge their win?
And last Sunday brought not just a win for the team, but Snyder’s reversal of the policy barring signs from FedEx Field, which was a major point of contention among the revolutionaries. Still, silence.
I understand that the team is not magically fixed thanks to the win, and a 3-6 record does not a winning season make. But I’m not asking the online community to become optimistic or to predict that the Redskins will win the rest of their games. I’m not even asking them to stop their often well-deserved criticism of the owner and team management. But acknowledge the progress, the small victories you have gained. Certainly, the blogosphere’s overwhelmingly negative reaction to the sign ban influenced the change; why not give yourself and the team some credit?
You must be as willing to acknowledge the good as the bad. If you’re not fair, if you only focus on the negative, if you only slam Dan Snyder, you seem like a conflict-monger, not someone who wants the best for the team.
D.C. Sports Bog acknowledged the advances this week, as did newer Burgundy Revolution blog Dan Snyder Must Go. The site Fan Exodus included a blog post following the victory saying the Skins played “with heart and as a team” and even posted positive buzz from The Washington Post.
Maybe the others were simply too busy celebrating a win and chanting “WE WANT DALLAS!” in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Redskins’ archrivals the Dallas Cowboys. If they pull out a win this week, though, will be no excuse for holding out on praise where praise is due.
Nov
13
Hypothetical new Redskins helmet: Technology v. taste
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Graphic designer Ken Carbone redesigned what he saw as the NFL’s three worst helmets and blogged about it on Fast Company magazine’s Web site. And the Washington Redskins are one of the teams, along with the Buccaneers and Patriots, who earned the makeover treatment.
I think it’s an interesting undertaking to use available design technology to make possible changes, showing your audience the possibilities and backing up your point. Solid visuals can improve any article and any argument, and in this case the story would be incomplete without them, one of the major advantages to multimedia journalism.
Looking at the helmets of the Cincinnati Bengals and St. Louis Rams compared to the headgear of the Redskins and Bucs hits home his point that the logos on the latter two are two complicated and detailed to look good on television. And seeing his rough sketches become “real” helmets through digital retouching is pretty amazing.
However, even cool technology has its limits. And for me, this is it:
For me, all the nifty technology and nice visuals in the world can’t save you if this is your end result. Does he really believe those feathers will look less muddled on television? I liked the idea to simplify the design, but just use the feathers already in the logo. Or go back to the old school arrowhead. (And I don’t like his other redesigns too much, either.)
The online community is split. Mark Newgent of the Examiner didn’t like that Carbone ditched the “iconic Indian head logo” and hates the New England “mess,” but he praises the changed Tampa Bay helmet. On NBCWashington.com, a reader poll said locals are 42 percent furious and 28 percent laughing, not exactly a ringing endorsement. But the Uni Watch blog, while critical of the Bucs and Pats designs, loves the Redskins one, as does Matt Terl from the Official Redskins Blog. I think we’ll all have to agree to disagree on this one.
What are your thoughts on the new helmets?
Nov
6
Redskins fans turn to Kapipal to fund protest efforts
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Angry Redskins fans have found a new medium for their protest besides the typical tweets and blogs: Kapipal.
If it looks like a nonsense word, that’s because it is. A mix of “capital” (not like the nation’s capital, but like venture capital) and “pal.” So I can only presume it is pronounced “KAP-i-PAL,” not “kuh-pip-ul,” as I have been pronouncing/butchering it.
But however you say it, on the free fundraising Web site, you can create a “Kapipal,” setting a name for your cause, a goal amount, and a time period to reach it, and then people can donate money to you online directly to your PayPal account. Each “Kapipal” has its own site with a graph to track the money that has been received, a reminder of the number of days left to contribute, and a space for the user or “Kapipalist” to put up a note and for contributors to the cause can leave comments back. It even comes with an inspiring slogan, “Raise Money for Your Dreams.” (Apparently, this is for those ambitious Skins fans whose dreams have not yet been crushed.)
Many of the fundraising efforts are private, so the user sends the URL to those they want to ask for donations (their “pals,” presumably). They can also be made public, allowing the site to be visible on search engines so you can spread your cause. Using the public option, Skins fans are trying to use the site to fund their protesting efforts.
But despite the burgeoning online presence of the Burgundy Revolution, Kapipal has not been very successful so far for Redskins revolutionaries. The quest for 2,000 balloons has not been up for long, but only $36 of the $300 total have been raised with four days to go. “Sell OUR Team Danny Boy” could be a success, with $1,471 raised as of Friday and two weeks left to donate, but that is still 17.8 percent of their $8,250 goal.
Part of the problem is that the “Kapipalist” must generate interest and support on their own; Kapipal is really just a tool. But “Sell Our Team Danny Boy has Twitter and Facebook presences and has received significant local play, including on Fox local news, and still is significantly short of its desired total. Those who might support the causes could be reluctant to donate through an unfamiliar Web site, no matter how legitimate it looks. And you also cannot verify the identities behind the fundraising efforts, which could make people even more skeptical. The site also is not geared toward large projects such as “Sell OUR Team Danny Boy” — just more than $62,000 has been raised on the site overall.
Fans, too, might just be hesitant to give money to these causes, instead turning toward other methods of dissent. For example, asking the Redskins nation to save their money with boycotts of the team and Snyder instead of giving it to certain causes seems to be the best bet for would-be organizers; a Fan Card pledging to boycott has received more than 26,000 page views on ExtremeSkins.com.
“Sell OUR Team Danny Boy” began their drive for donations on Kapipal a little over two weeks ago in an attempt to purchase 10 ads addressing owner Dan Syder to run on the outside of D.C. Metro buses as well as a $500 donation to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. And “2k ‘Boycott Snyder’ Balloons for the Denver Game” is pretty self-explanatory; the “Kapipalist” behind it wants to sneak in 2,000 deflated “Boycott Snyder” balloons into the Redskins game on Nov. 15.
Nov
6
Redskins Links of the Week
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The Redskins may have had a bye week, but news about the team’s woes did not take any time off.
- There’s a rapper on local radio and YouTube spinning sad rhymes about his favorite team.
- Defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth defended oft-criticized owner Dan Snyder.
- John Riggins ranted — again — about Snyder, this time on “Inside the NFL,” calling the owner e by John Riggins about the “bad guy” “with the mindset of a child.” At what point do these rants cease to be entertaining and newsworthy and start being bitter and tiresome? Oh wait, I think they just did.
- One restaurant got creative, running a newspaper ad “thanking” Snyder for the Skins’ performance this season.
- Even KidsPost gave Snyder an “F” on their midterm Redskins report card. (Then again, which news outlet — local or national — hasn’t taken a shot at the team’s management?)
Obviously, there was love to spare for the team this week, even without a loss fan the flames.
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