Twenty years removed from the Redskins' last Super Bowl win, "just more than half of area sports fans say they view the team favorably," according to Steinberg & Clement of the WASHINGTON POST. The poll conducted during the preseason found "more than a third" of area sports fans have negative feelings about the Redskins, and fans "hold even stronger negative views about" Redskins Owner Dan Snyder. Fewer than half of the area's football fans chose the Redskins as their favorite NFL team. But Steinberg & Clement noted "55 percent of fans view the Redskins at least somewhat favorably, with longtime residents particularly supportive." 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," while among the other teams, "only the Wizards, at 10 percent, have a strongly unfavorable score in double digits." Meanwhile, more than "two-thirds of fans who grew up in D.C., Maryland or Virginia hold favorable views of the Redskins; it's barely four in 10 among those who grew up elsewhere." The poll also found a "majority of all D.C. area sports fans hold unfavorable views of Snyder, with more than one in three having 'strongly' negative impressions." Just "3 percent express strongly negative views toward" Nationals Owner Mark Lerner and "less than 1 percent express this view toward" Capitals Owner Ted Leonsis. Fans cited a "variety of complaints about the Redskins owner, from his recent lawsuit filed against the Washington City Paper to a perception of impatience and meddling." The poll was conducted by telephone and online July 29 to Aug. 29, among a sample of 1,010 DC-area adults. The results of have a margin of error of "4.5 percentage points and five points for the 806 sports fans surveyed" (WASHINGTON POST, 9/18).
| Overall, what's your impression of the Redskins? |
| RESPONSE | % |
| Somewhat favorable | 31% |
| Strongly favorable | 24% |
| Somewhat unfavorable | 20% |
| Strongly unfavorable | 14% |
| No opinion | 11% |
| What's your impression of other D.C. area sports teams? |
| TEAM | FAVORABLE | UNFAVORABLE | NO OPINION |
| Wizards | 44% | 26% | 30% |
| Nationals | 61% | 12% | 27% |
| DC United | 43% | 5% | 53% |
| Capitals | 61% | 3% | 35% |
| What's your impression of…. |
| OWNER/COACH | FAVORABLE | UNFAVORABLE | NO OPINION |
| Redskins Owner Daniel Snyder | 20% | 54% | 26% |
| Redskins coach Mike Shanahan | 48% | 25% | 27% |
| Nationals Owner Ted Lerner | 27% | 9% | 64% |
| Capitals, Wizards Owner Ted Leonsis | 41% | 4% | 55% |
