It is only 600 miles from Indianapolis to Washington, a drive we were able to split into two segments, which allowed us to arrive at our hotel close to FedExField in the early afternoon. The hotel offers a shuttle to a nearby Metro station, from where it is about a half-mile to the stadium, so we took that and arrived at 4 pm for the 7:10 kickoff.
The tailgating scene here was very impressive, with thousands of fans already set up and enjoying themselves.
The Redskins had been kind enough to offer us a tour, which got us into the venue early. The lower concourses are fairly barren, with just the concession stands and advertising to add a bit of colour to the drab surroundings.
We were then shown the club section, which is the area with the yellow seats below, which is known as the 300 level. I was given a pass here and spent the second half hobnobbing with Washington's power brokers.
The inside of the club has a few interesting elements (unfortunately these are not available to those without a club ticket). Below is the history wall, which documents the team's achievements from way back in 1932. Did you know the team was originally the Boston Braves and became the Redskins when they moved stadiums from Braves Field to Fenway Park?
Below is Sean Taylor's locker. In 2006, he was killed by an intruder while in his home and the Redskins have set up his locker as a memorial. The NFL has had more than its share of tragic stories, but this is one where the player was the victim.
When the tour was completed, we were left to our own devices, so we wandered the seating bowl taking pictures.
My first half location was in the upper SRO section, which is far from the field but gives you a lot of space as the fans there are usually moving around rather than sitting down.
In the second half, I enjoyed a more relaxed view from the corner of the club section, which also allowed me to take a few snaps of the lovely Redskins' cheerleaders.
The game was exhausting to watch because the Eagles broke out their hurry-up read-option offense (HURO?) which dominated the first half. Michael Vick (below) was effective but LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson were the stars, no doubt since I (MeSean MacDonald now) was in attendance.
The Redskins were down 33-7 early in the second half but came back to make it close as RGIII began to get comfortable, but they fell a TD short in losing 33-27.
The picture above is the TD pass to Leonard Hankerson in the 4th quarter, while below is a nice completion to Fred Davis in the 3rd.
The final score is below. Not a great game for either team but the Eagles are going to be a lot of fun to watch this season.
I'm taking a couple of days off, visiting Washington today and then driving up to Boston tomorrow. We have tickets for the Patriots and Jets battle on Thursday night, check back Friday for another photo post.
Best,
Sean
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