You don’t get the passion an NFL team can generate until you have one in your own backyard. Back in Memphis I knew guys that were football fans, and that was pretty much the talk on Monday mornings at the office. But the local paper never really gave the NFL much coverage outside of the Sunday morning lineups.

Here in DC it’s a totally different atmosphere. The Redskins pre-season games get more coverage in the Post than the war in Iraq. Everybody on the Metro has an opinion of Patrick Ramsey and Mark Brunell. Last year Brunell couldn’t get a free cup of coffee in this town and Ramsey was the ‘Savior on the Sidelines’. Joe Gibbs finally gave up on the veteran Brunell and gave Ramsey a shot. The kid did pretty well, the team lost all except the final game, but he got better every week. And he beat the Cowboys to end the year. Always a good thing.

Now, two weeks into the pre-season, the Monday morning quarterbacks want Ramsey’s head on a plate. Brunell is looking good for an old guy playing against the second and third string defenses giving more ammo to the Ramsey-haters in the red and yellow seats. These of course being the people that were ready to topple the team bus last year if that would have gotten Brunell benched. These are also the people that are suspect Gibbs used a first round pick on Jason Campbell of Auburn because Ramsey is so inadequate.

Personally, I think Ramsey is the way to go for this team. The kid is strong, he’s smart, and he’s got as much heart as anybody playing the position today, save maybe Green Bay’s living legend. Ramsey endured two years of beat downs under Spurrier and had to carry a clipboard for the bulk of a season under Gibbs. Give him a chance and he’ll get the team to at least 7 – 9, which would be a step up over the last three years; and a step in the right direction at long last.

The real problems with the Redskins are in the personnel department. Somebody let the likes of Fred Smoot, a core player, get away and are now hoping that a rookie can live up to Smoot’s role on the team. Then there are the new wide receivers that Ramsey is throwing to. Neither of them was on the team last year and neither of them is over six feet tall. When a quarterback is trying to hit someone in the back of the end zone for some points, it would be nice if they were at least as big a target as the goons defending them.

Boy that ran longer than I expected.

Back in the 1950’s while Congress still had tons of momentum from hunting down Communists in Hollywood, they decided that the next big threat to the morals of American kids was comic books. This led to a series of investigations and to the comic book industry promising to police itself and become a bastion of moral righteousness. Which led us to all those cheesy “POW”, “BAM”, and “WHAM” moments of the 1960’s and characters that were all mom, apple pie and the American flag. The industry agreed to cut down on the gore, violence (using the above sound effects to cover up fist fights) and impure sex (no more tying up of Wonder Woman and all kisses would be chaste).

And no homos. Ever.

That last part was Batman’s fault. See, he was a single guy, living all alone in a big house out in the country that took in an orphan boy and stood really close to him while they were both wearing tights. Plus, he’d put his hand on the lad’s shoulder and call him “Chum” or “Little Buddy”. The kid wore a really bright yellow and red costume and stood with his legs apart all the time. Clearly the two were gay lovers and being May – December gay lovers made it doubly wrong.

Now there’s a pervert by the name of Mark Chamberlain who has taken that theme to the extreme. He’s has an exhibit in New York of water colors depicting the Dynamic Duo in the buff and engaged in homo-erotic acts.

Thankfully, DC Comics, the corporation that owns Batman and all associated rights have their lawyers all over it. This thing should wrap up pretty quick since the perv can’t pony up for the court battle ahead. Expect a couple of Gay Rights groups to make some noise, but they’ll back down too.

Out.