We're not serious sports fans, but being as my wife's from Baltimore and I've lived most of the last 15 years around Washington, DC, a little friendly rivalry developed.
She'd root for the Orioles and Ravens; I'd side with the Nationals and Redskins. We'd rib each other, with our Baltimore-born daughter usually chiming in on her mother's side. It was all in good fun.
Today, though, I'm as committed a Ravens fan as you can find. The Washington Redskins — and owner Dan Snyder — can count me out.
Somehow I figure I'm not the only one, either. Most anyone who saw the same huge photo of a weeping Pat Hill on the front page of today's Washington Post likely feels the same way.
The Post reported how the Redskins filed suit against the 72-year-old Hill and others like her who could no longer afford the expensive tickets they had purchased in advance years earlier in better economic times.
But there Hill sat in that picture of her crying amid all of the Redskins memorabilia she'd collected over decades of being a serious fan.
Hill and others tried to work things out with team, but were served with lawsuits, instead. Hill, a real estate agent whose business went bust with the recession, couldn't even afford to hire an attorney to defend herself.
She didn't even try to fight the suit. In the end, a judge granted the Redskins a $66,364 default judgment against Hill. Today, Hill faces bankruptcy.
In an industry where it can be make or break for a team based on superior relations with its home community, this is the kind of support Snyder offers.
The lawsuits aren't even recouping the lost ticket revenue for the 'Skins — the team's attorney admits in the Post that "Getting a judgment is not getting paid."
Article comments
1 - Ben
She signed a contract. Sorry. That's the way it is. Please go wear purple, you're obviously a poser fan anyway.
2 - Ashley fletcher
She is 72 years old Ben who lost her job because of the recession you inconsiderate scum-bag. Dan Snyder's so hard up for cash because his team sucks!
3 - mike
Maybe we should start selling psl's like the ravens or raising ticket prices like they did this season. Football is a business and life is unfair but there aare still 90,000 screaming redskins fans at the game showing their support unlike the classless Colt fans that kept them in Baltimore.
4 - Ben
She lost her job because she was a house flipping scumbag who helped inflate home prices and then got screwed when it burst.
5 - patt
snyder has stooped so low this time, total bs, sell the tickets to someone who can pay for them. go to bsflag.com and throw an email flag at danny boy.
6 - Scott
I think several of you are violating the "personal attacks" comment policy. But Ben, you don't know she's a house flipper. You made that up. If you had read the story, you would know she tried to work with the team but couldn't make headway. I know Snyder has a business to run, but running a business and being a decent citizen are not mutually exclusive.