With their 21-17 win over the New England Patriots, the New York Giants won their fourth Vince Lombardi Trophy, pulling ahead of the Redskins in the Super Bowl championship sweepstakes. (If we're counting pre-Super Bowl NFL championships, the tally is 8-5 in favor of the New Yorkers.)
That kind of success by a rival is tough to take for fans, even high-powered fans. Fans like former Mayor and current City Councilmember Marion Barry, who took to Twitter during the big game to vent his frustrations with the local team.
You know, the Redskins suck. I'm tired of watching everyone else in the Superbowl. Aint been right since they left DC. #dciswhereskinsbelong
A few minutes later, Barry added this:
Time to bring some pride back to this city.Remember the energy when Doug Williams won the Superbowl? We LOVED our team & they loved us back.
And finally, just for good measure, this:
@shadd15 DAN SYNDER SUCKS.
Now, we can't quarrel with the truth of Barry's remarks (except for maybe the last one, because, frankly, we like not being sued). However, any reasonable person should have realized by now that the City Council would have more luck getting the sun to rise in the west than getting the Redskins to set up any kind of permanent base in the District. RFK Stadium is no longer fit to host an NFL team (especially in comparison to the larger, newer football palaces across America), and the team's Landover lease doesn't expire until 2027, anyway.
There were a few very small noises about building a practice facility next to RFK a few months ago, but one would think that construction of the new practice bubble out at Redskins Park would have put paid to that. Besides, a D.C. practice facility would hardly be convenient for players and coaches, most of who live in Northern Virginia.
So, with all due respect to Mr. Barry, the Redskins will likely be staying in Ashburn for the time being. In the meantime, we'll gladly go out on a limb and guess that if the Redskins ever do turn it around, the location issue will be pushed far to the back burner.