Snyder: Mea Culpa - NOT

OK, Danny Boy listened to Charlie Brotman (and everyone else having even a miniscule understanding of PR) and SPOKE TO THE PRESS! Glory, glory hallelujah! The millennium has arrived! Stop the presses! Dismiss those lawsuits! Take off the armbands! Give back the signs and T-shirts! Reignite those charcoal grilles! Tone down the bootjacks! Give Jason and Jim their testicles back! All is well! Danny Boy speaks!

Goodness, gracious, god almighty! What did he say? What has caused thousands of Redskins fans to take to the streets in an unprecedented demonstration of loyalty and support for the team, and yes, love for Danny Boy?

He said: KEEP ON SHOVELING YOUR MONEY MY WAY! I LOVE YOUR MONEY, I CARE ABOUT YOUR MONEY, PLEASE PLEASE KEEP SPENDING IT ON ME, I'VE MADE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, AND IF THINGS KEEP GOING DOWNHILL, I'LL LOSE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

OK, maybe I exaggerate just a tad. But, that's everyone's interpretation of what he actually did say, which is, as quoted from today's Washington Post, as follows [editorial comments inserted for clarity]:

"I feel bad for the fans [who have made me millions of dollars]. I feel sorry for the fans [who have made me millions of dollars]. And we're very, very appreciative of our great, loyal fan base [who have made me millions of dollars]. And I'm understanding [that I'm losing millions of dollars]. I mean, we just feel terrible [that I'm losing millions of dollars]. We're disappointed [that I'm losing millions of dollars], and we're embarrassed [that I'm losing millions of dollars]. And we hope to get it [the fan-based money machine] going soon. We're disappointed [that I'm losing millions of dollars]."

"It hurts [that I'm losing millions of dollars]. I mean, it really hurts [that I'm losing millions of dollars]. We are really trying very, very hard [not to lose millions of dollars]."

So, in the great Joe Gibbs tradition, Danny Boy then proceeded to take personal responsibility for the team's failure. After you get up off the floor from laughing, let me tell you what he actually did say (right after "We are really trying very, very hard."):

"Everyone at Redskins Park [but me] - the coaches, the players. The organization [that would be me] has held up really, quite frankly, held up well [since none of this, none, is my fault]."

It could not be more clear, to anyone with a first grade education or better, that Snyder thinks none of this is his fault. Snyder's thought process would be something like this:

>>It's the players' fault (especially Campbell who I tried mightily to replace, twice, in the off-season), it's Zorn's fault (who I stripped of play-calling, the only thing he really did), it's Vinny's fault (even though he's my hand-picked snychopant, one of my favoritists), it's Sherman's fault (nobody told me play-calling was any different from Bingo), it's the other Sherman's fault (he will soon be marching across Georgia), it's SOMEONE ELSE'S FAULT, DAMMIT. I'm brilliant, I'm smart, I'm rich, and I don't make mistakes. Even if I do (and I would only admit this to Nichole Kidman behind closed doors), I would never admit it publicly since I'm a macho-macho man (I used to be the Redskin Chief for the Village People just so I could wear that Indian headdress).<<

So, despite the fact that today is the first anniversary of perhaps the most significant change in American politics, nothing is going to change in the Redskins organization anytime soon because the owner (that would be Danny Boy) won't admit to himself (much less the fans who are making him millions of dollars) that his gross mismanagement and poor, bordering upon negligent judgment is what put the team in its current condition.

Sigh.