An interesting story emerged from the Redskins game on Sunday that featured on of the team's biggest and most recognizable fans. The man known as "The Mayor of Fedex Field," who has been to every home game in the past 12 years, was nearly arrested by PG County Police officers for selling an extra parking pass on stadium grounds.
The officers, who claimed that they were acting on an order from Daniel Snyder himself, forced the Mayor to the wet ground, handcuffed him, and gave him a $200 ticket for selling a parking pass that his friend wasn't using. As you can imagine he was upset. The firestorm that followed however, forced him to reconsider his allegiance to the Skins.
The Mayor felt like he should tell his story to everyone who hadn't set up their tailgate in time to see it happen first hand. So he went on ExtremeSkins, a fan forum owned by the team, to vent his frustrations. As they often do, the comments devolved into hatred for the Mayor and the crew he runs with, so the site had to shut the thread down, and even banned the Mayor from the site for a few months. This was obviously not the reaction he was hoping for.
The brief exchange was chronicled by Dave McKenna of the Washington City Paper. At the bottom of his article, McKenna posts a comment left by the Mayor to one of his articles that was negative toward the Skins and their ownership. The Mayor comes off like a total jerk in it, but it really makes you realize the passion he feels for the franchise. I don't think McKenna included this passage to discredit the Mayor, but rather show you just how much he cares about the Skins, and therefore how surprising it would be if he chose to abandon them. This is not the type of fan the Redskins Organization should be chasing away.
But then, on his blog Everybody Hates The Mayor, The Mayor reveled a new chapter in this odd story. Redskins Spokesman Tony Wyllie sought out the Mayor, called him on his cellphone and apologized for the actions taken by the Police Officers; making it clear that they weren't acting on orders from the big boss man. I'm sure he also included some "prizes" for all the trouble, but that is not mentioned. The Mayor reacts as we might expect any die-hard fan who receives a personal phone call from the member of their beloved franchise might.
Two days ago I was considering turning in my "fan card", today, I renewed it for life.This meant a lot to me. That a high ranking member of the Washington Redskins would call me and apologize on behalf of the PG County Police. To call me and reassure me that every Redskin fan was important to the organization, including myself.