In late summer, the Washington Post conducted a poll asking area sports fans their feelings on the local franchises and the local team owners. In what should come as no surprise, the Washington Redskins and owner Dan Snyder generated some strong opinions, on both sides of the aisle. Via Dan Steinberg of the Post, fans' feelings on the local football franchise and their diminutive dictator:
Among all area sports fans, 34 percent express unfavorable views about the Redskins, compared with 26 percent for the Wizards, 12 percent for the Nationals and low single digits for the Capitals and D.C. United. Among avid sports fans, 14 percent have a "strongly" unfavorable view toward the Redskins. Among the other teams, only the Wizards, at 10 percent, have a strongly unfavorable score in double-digits.
D.C. fans direct considerable ire toward the man who owns the team. A majority of all D.C. area sports fans hold unfavorable views of Snyder, with more than one in three having "strongly" negative impressions, according to the poll. The owners of the other major teams, Ted Leonsis and Ted Lerner, are far less-known than Snyder but generate dramatically fewer negative reviews. Just 3 percent express strongly negative views toward Lerner; less than 1 percent express this view toward Leonsis.
It should be noted that this poll was taken before the Redskins impressive Week 1 victory over the division rival Giants. Optimism is high going into a Week 2 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals, and Redskins fans are cautiously optimistic the team has turned a corner. Perhaps if the Post conducts this poll midseason, area fans would be singing a different tune.
Full details on the survey methodology, as well as detailed results, can be found here.