ok, not that I'm that into pro football or anything (even tho I think most pro football players are crybabies and they think millions of dollars isn't enough to feed their families so they go on strike...cough*T.O.*cough...at least college athletes play for the love of the game so I must contest amongst both the cowboys and 'skins)...but I'm not that into pro football so I won't go there.
and another thing, not that I'm taking sides here or anything, Jill, but I think I would have to disagree with you on the Redskins being a "racial slur". Let me ask this, is the glass half empty or half full? Are the Redskins a racial slur or symbol of success?
Some critics believe it is racist and that's the reason for the name. But, in all actuality, would we really sit down and say...Gee, what kind of name can we give this team that will really piss people off and possibly cause a public uproar....let's go for something racist and catchy! Contrary to popular belief, it was meant to honor the American Indians and by naming a professional team after their spirit, it's a symbol of success, pride, courage and achievement!
But on the flip side of things, if someone named a professional team after me, let's go with "Whitegirl", and they were horrible I might say I was pretty offended. However, if someone was to mention "Whitegirl" and thoughts of a successful professionally structured team with thousands of dollars invested, top athletes, coaches and fans, I might blush and admit, I kinda like the ring of it and would even offer my face as the logo.
The name "Redskins" brings up thoughts of football. It is not used as a racial slur as it may have been in the past, as some want to believe. Let's be optimistic here, the glass is half full!
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Joey, although I'm glad to see you drinking from the optimistic glass, aside from biased critics and/or the Redskins PR team (where it loooks like you may have done your research), if you just open up the unbiased dictionary you will find this as your definition of a Redskin. "Redskin: Noun: Informal, slang, offensive, a Native American." Compliments of "copy and paste".
I do agree that pro football players are overpaid and some maybe even overrated, but that does not change the debate of topic. Dad was claiming the Cowboys were dirty players and that their name defies their title as "America's Team". I am simply trying to open his eyes to see that the Cowboys are to be judged no differently than the Redskins because each team has embarrassing players, as conveyed by Santana Moss in last week's game, and all of the NFL team names reflect a history associated with their hometown. However, the Redskins team name is, by dictionary, a currently offensive and slang term describing Native Americans. If you look to ol' Webster for a cowboy definition, you'll find this: "A hired man, especially in the western United States, who tends cattle and performs many of his duties on horseback." This term describes a history of southern culture without directly insulting a nationality.
You are relating to the team by suggesting that it would be similar if you were on a team called "Whitegirl". First off, if you were a member of the team, at least the name would be accurately depicting ONE of the team members. There is not a soul on the Redskins that is Native American, so would you want your team "Whitegirl" to be represented by African Americans and every other race other than your own?! And if your face was the symbol, wouldn't you want it to be a picture that you gave them permission to use? What if they mass marketed your Fred Savage picture? The Native Americans have written a petition to Daniel Snyder, over the years, trying to get their face and slanderous name out of the NFL world http://www.petitiononline.com/wr3s6651/petition.html.
In 1933, George Preston Marshall, the owner of the team, which was then located in Boston, renamed it the Boston Redskins in honor of the head coach, William "Lone Star" Dietz, an American Indian. When the team moved to Washington in 1937 it was renamed the Washington Redskins. George Marshall clearly did not consider the name disparaging. Even before that, the term redskin is a translation from native American languages of a term used by native Americans for themselves. In the early- to mid-nineteenth century the term was neutral, not pejorative, and indeed was often used in contexts in which whites spoke of Indians in positive terms. The use of redskin as a Native American in-group term was entirely authentic, reflecting both the accurate perception of the Indian self-image and the evolving respect among whites for the Indians' distinct cultural perspective, whatever its prospects. The descent of this word into obloquy is a phenomenon of more recent times.
Hey Jessica! This isn't a football comment. I'm your Dad's cousin- Percy & Jeannette's daughter. Adam is my son and is going to TQ in January. As you can see, I have a blog and you might find some interesting family pictures and news on there from time to time. My e-mail is nancy@slowlanecafe.com. Mom and Dad enjoyed your letter! That was very kind of you to remember him.
A few comments on what Jillian said...
--Santana Moss is not a "team embarrassment," in fact, he is just the opposite. He messed up one time by being provoked to throw a punch that was so unlikely from this player that the refs penalized but did not throw him out of the game. A well-known sports columnist wrote about it this way: "Moss, frustrated with tight coverage all game, got sick of [Seattle's] face guarding and taunting from the Seattle secondary...and let loose with this punch, which CLEARLY made contact with an opponents facemask. Santana isn't a problem and this looked like a one-time deal. Maybe his reputation proceeded him..." but the refs let it go. "...Moss apologized after the game and said he let his emotions get the best of him (and it was a real apology, not one of those - "I'm sorry it happened" and "if you were offended" ones). Santana knew he was wrong." Now then, take those "I-got-away-with-it-once-so-I'll-keep-on-doing-it" Cowboys ... that's what you call a problem and an embarrassment! The difference is that many of the Cowboy's wrongs end up in court!
Also, please visit a great NFL moment (note how Santana's facemask was pulled): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKCvtoFqWOQ&eurl=http://www.playerhatersball.com/&feature=player_embedded
--I went to my "unbiased dictionary" and it does not have a definition of the proper name "Redskin," and I suspect your Webster does not either. My Webster does include "redskin" which it defines as "often" offensive (declining from the absolute). A few Native American groups (principally the Cheyenne) claim that the name "insults them and holds them up to ridicule." Clearly, on any given Fall Sunday in WashDC as well as throughout the year, the most venerable and honored name in town is "Redskins" ...check out a few lines of "Hail to the Redskins" if you need proof. Is it a cut of the annual $5m in memorabilia sales that the Cheyenne really want? It wasn't an issue for the first 65yrs of the team! Moreover, skin pigmentation descriptions are not pejorative unless specifically used in a pejorative fashion. There may not be any Native Americans in the NFL today, but one of the all-time greatest football players and the first president of the NFL--as well as being considered as the greatest athlete of all time--was the legendary Jim Thorpe, Native American.
--Compare apples to apples not formal defs. to slang defs. If your argument is going to be based on slang definitions from Webster, please note that slang for "cowboy" is defined as "a reckless or irresponsible person, esp. a show-off" and without any respect for rules; in cyberpunk, "cowboy" is a synonym for "hacker." The proper noun "Cowboy" historically was "one of the marauders who, in the Revolutionary War infested the neutral ground between the American and British lines, and committed depredations on the Americans." "America's team"?...hah!...a team, i.e., an "infestation," who commits depredations on Americans (with a 232yr-old legacy for doing so)!
--If this is not enough to convince you the Cowboys are bad and Redskins are good, please note: cowboys are also known as "cowpunchers"...now I ask you in all seriousness, what kind of person would punch an innocent, docile cow?! For your information, your great-grandfather Deane had a RED cow named, "Reddy," who contentedly chewed her cud and unconditionally provided tons of milk, cream, and butter. No one would ever have thought of punching Reddy--except maybe one of those d--n [darn] Cowboys trying to get her RED SKIN to tan it into leather for sale! Faq, I remember getting my hide "tanned" with a willow switch for "dissing" Reddy by attempting to take a reckless little ride on her--just like an irresponsible Cowboy! It was explained to me that Reddy was productive, and my Cowboy ways were not!
--And to milk it for all its worth, lift your milk bottles in a toast to a team as rich as cream, smooth as butter, and as cool as ice cream ...“HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!” d
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