I am a lifelong fan of the Washington Redskins. I have watched virtually every game they have played since the early 1970s.

I have stuck with them through thick and thin and it hasn’t always been easy. I have sworn off them more times than I can remember after a heartbreaking loss – particularly a loss to the evil Dallas Cowboys – only to return the following week. The flush I feel after a big win can last well into the following week, as can the gloom from a loss.

I mention all this because I am seriously considering not tuning in to watch my beloved Redskins give the no-good New York Giants a well-deserved whuppin’ this Saturday night.


The game is being produced and distributed by NFL Network, the National Football League’s greedy new cable network, which is currently locked up in a battle with some equally greedy cable companies.

We laid out the details of this extortion contest in a blog entry last week, which you can read here. You can see a pretty good New York Times article on the whole situation by clicking here.

Last week the dispute meant millions of fans of the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings were unable to watch what very well may have been the last home game ever played by legendary Packer Quarterback Brett Favre.

The executives at the NFL Network appear to be counting on the blind love of fans like me for their teams, with an emphasis on the blind part. They are counting on us to berate the cable companies into including the NFL Network in their basic subscription packages. That would mean more viewers for the network, which would it to charge higher advertising rates.

Some of the country’s biggest cable companies, including Time Warner and Charter Communications, have thus far refused to include the NFL Network in their basic packages, arguing that would mean all subscribers would be forced to pay for the network. The cable companies have made the compelling argument that it is unfair to ask non-football fans to pay for programming they will never watch.

That argument would actually be noble was it not for the fact the cable companies want to include the NFL Network in “take-it-all” premium sports packages. That means pro football fans would have to pay for all kinds of programming such as the Golf Channel just to watch the games on NFL Network.

Both sides need to knock off the game playing.

The NFL Network should stop misusing loyal fans who just want to watch the game to muscle its way onto basic cable.

In turn, the cable companies should offer the NFL Network as a stand-alone option, not part of an expensive, take-it-or-leave-it package.

We have set up a web site where you can send your thoughts about all this to the Federal Communications Commission, should you so desire.

All you Giants fans might want to do this during the game Saturday night. It will be a lot more fun than watching my Redskins mop the field with your Giants.