Dan Snyder: Beloved Owner

I’ve never really been a fan of the Redskins, though I root for them sometimes because they’re “local” to us here in Virginia, and always when they play the Cowboys. Ever since Dan Snyder bought the team, they seemed to have acquired the consistent capability to be sub-par, even when they pay huge sums for stellar talent. Perhaps this has something to do with his meddling and eccentricities as owner.

By Spc. Eric Rutherford

Washington CityPaper writer Dave McKenna has prepared an exhaustive litany of Snyder’s, um, activities since he took over the team. Must beaccurate; Snyder wants to sue City Paper. Here’s a random sampling:

$30: Price Snyder charges for a doll of Fox Sports’ Cleatus the Robot in Redskins colors. Same doll is available on Fox’s website for $23.96. [I HATE that stupid robot, by the way. When is Fox going to dump that stupid thing?]

31-36: Record Joe Gibbs had as coach with Dan Snyder as owner; Gibbs went 140-65 without Snyder as owner.

“A Long Time”: Thirteen weeks, in Snyder-speak. During training camp in 2000, ESPN asked Snyder how long Norv Turner, who had just coached the Redskins to an NFC East title, would be in his employ. “A long time,” Snyder said. He fired Turner with three games left in the season, despite the Redskins’ winning record.

Dan-Jazeera: How Al Koken, a former employee of Snyder-owned sports station WTEM, describes the Redskins owner’s media operation.

Dumb and Dumber: Nickname fans gave Snyder and longtime racquetball/Six Flags investment partner Vinny Cerrato in 2009 season.

Vanilla: Flavor of ice cream that Snyder left to thaw in defensive coordinator Mike Nolan’s office TWICE in one season to let the coach know the owner felt his schemes were simplistic, or vanilla. John Feinstein wrote that Snyder’s second delivery, after a loss to Dallas, consisted of “three giant canisters of melting 31 Flavors ice cream” and a note that said “I do not like vanilla.”