After players criticized fans last week, FedExField yesterday appeared to be at about two thirds capacityGETTY IMAGES
After several Redskins players last week criticized the team's fanbase for a lack of home-field advantage, FedExField yesterday "wasn't packed" for Texans-Redskins, but the "fans that were there cheered loudly," according to JP Finlay of NBC SPORTS WASHINGTON. Much discussion of the last week "centered around Redskins fans involvement at home games." This after Redskins CB Josh Norman and S D.J. Swearinger said that they "wanted more from fans, more cheering and no booing." On multiple occasions yesterday, Redskins defensive players "exhorted the crowd for loud applause, especially on big third down plays, and the crowd responded" (NBCSPORTSWASHINGTON.com, 11/18). Norman "gave out 40 tickets to fans" leading up to the game, and afterwards "thanked 'Redskins Nation' for an atmosphere he considered an improvement" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 11/19). In DC, Les Carpenter notes with the Redskins up 21-20 in the 4th quarter, a crowd that "filled two-thirds" of FedExField "roared with hope." Carpenter: "Arms waved. Fans sang. It was probably as loud as the stadium has been all season" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/19).
TIME FOR CHANGE: The WASHINGTON TIMES' Zielonka & Paras write 21-year-old FedExField has "become a central character in the story of the Redskins season, as players criticize the fans for a supposed lack of support at home games, fans diss the experience of attending a game there and rumors swirl about where and when the team could move to a new home." The Redskins "made a series of changes this season -- making new hires on the business side, shifting its ticket-selling philosophy and reworking the game day experience." Under President of Business Operations & COO Brian Lafemina, hired in May, the Redskins have "declared they want to 'grab back' home-field advantage." The team "reduced the number of in-game advertisements on the jumbotron, incorporated the use of pyrotechnics and added new food and beverage options." Yesterday, the team "made a cognizant effort to have an in-stadium host interview fans on camera." The changes "were made in order to entice fans back." But that is something CMO Steve Ziff "acknowledged would take time" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 11/19).
LONGTERM ISSUES: The POST's Carpenter wrote it is fair to wonder if FedExField can "ever provide the home-field advantage that Norman seems to want." The stadium's "open design and stands that pull away from the action has never truly scared opponents." FedExField has "never seemed popular with Redskins fans," as "cries to tear it down arrived less than 10 years after it opened" in '97. HOK, which designed FedExField, has "made the argument" that FedExField's extra seats -- 23,000 more than RFK Stadium -- would make it "even louder" than the Redskins' former home. But complaints about a "lack of noise have lingered." Recent game-day changes are "more cosmetic," as the issues with FedExField are "bigger than a marketing team can fix" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/17).
