The graduation of 1000 Redskins

There was (is? kinda) a controversy on a popular blog about stereotyping Native Americans.  I personally think stereotypes are stupid- especially since EVERY single race has them.  In the midst of this, my precious oldest child graduated from highschool in a sea of 1000 Redskins.  Their motto: "Redskins for life".  I think this should be true of everything, if you feel prejudiced against- don't.  Someone else is being prejudiced about something else somewhere else. (Huh?)

Regardless of controversy (not on this blog which is read by 5 people): I would like to show you some pictures of my baby's graduation (and, my camera is an asshole, and won't flash in many situations that require flash unless it's on manual focus and my husband insists "IT SHOULD ALWAYS WORK ON AUTO",) so we (he) missed some of the big pics (like, ya know- walking the stage *sigh*)

A ridiculously large amount of chairs- for an equally enormous graduating class.

The stage.  Why are there sparkly palm trees? I do not know.  I do think I could probably right a Dr Suess-ish book about it though.  My boys insisted they were fireworks, but that's just silly- fireworks aren't attached to the ground.  Duh.

Since I don't have a picture of my child WALKING THE STAGE (GIB!), I will just show you her gorgeous, mature face that has been shown on this blog for over 3 years.  She's so grown, so pretty, so confident, and surprisingly tougher than I ever thought she'd be.  I adore this kid... Adore with every OUNCE of my being!

She's the one in red.

I love this pic!  It was obviously NOT taken by the hairy faced man formerly known as Gib (I have a theory that he's all sad that his head won't grown hair, so he's growing it the only place he can.  His face (and arms and hands and legs, but not his head).

I am so proud of my baby girl!

Ravens, Redskins and tax revenue

Franchot is the Maryland Comptroller. One of his key duties as the Old Line State's chief financial officer is to collect revenue.

And thanks to the NFL teams that play within Maryland's borders, his office is bringing in more tax money right now.

Maryland is the only state with two teams in the NFL playoffs this year. That both the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Redskins have first round home games is a tax bonus.

Based on a study by the Comptroller's office a few years ago, today's two games are expected to boost Maryland's bottom line by a combined $5 million in sales and other taxes.

Kickoff time and taxes: The Ravens, AFC North champions, host the Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium. The game begins at 1 p.m. Eastern time. It will be on CBS if you can't make it to Charm City.

Around 30 miles to the south at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., the Washington Redskins, winners of the NFC East, host the Seattle Seahawks. The day's second NFL playoff match starts at 4:30 p.m. ET and is on Fox if you prefer to watch it from the comfort of your own couch.

Ticket sales for the two games could bring in more than $1 million in amusement and admission taxes alone, reports Jack Lambert, digital producer for the Baltimore Business Journal.

The Maryland Stadium Authority gets 8 percent of Ravens ticket revenue because M&T Bank Stadium is publicly owned. The city of Baltimore receives 2 percent of ticket revenue.

Prince George's County, where FedEx Field is located, gets a share of admission and amusement taxes from the Redskins' game.

Beyond the gates: State and local tax collectors then get to add to their accounts thanks to the assorted taxes on other game-associated expenditures.

There's all the food and beverages that will be consumed at both stadiums, as well as in nearby restaurants and bars.

Out-of-town fans who stay over a day or two will shell out accommodation taxes for their lodging.

Don't forget about all the replica jerseys, hats, foam fingers and other souvenirs that fans will be buying to prove their loyalty.

And, as Sean Packard in his Twitter persona AthleteTax points out, don't forget about the income from the players, coaches et al that is subject to the jock tax. Packard knows of what he tweets; he's tax director for OFS, a financial planning and wealth management firm specializing in professional athletes' special money needs.

Yep, Maryland's top tax man is loving life, his work and both teams this weekend.

Franchot usually saves all his cheering for the Redskins, but he'll be pulling for the Ravens today, too.

"When both teams are in the playoffs, there's a synergistic impact where folks just feel better in Maryland, and when folks feel better there's more economic activity," Franchot told Washington Post blogger Michael S. Rosenwald.

"Maryland citizens will be stepping a little more lightly because they are happy for their football teams. We have this silver lining to the playoffs," Franchot said. "Thank you very much Ravens and Redskins."

Showdown: JFK and the Integration of the Washington Redskins

In 1961-as America crackled with racial tension-the Washington Redskins stood alone as the only professional football team without a black player on its roster. In fact, during the entire twenty-five-year history of the franchise, no African American had ever played for George Preston Marshall, the Redskins' cantankerous principal owner. With slicked-down white hair and angular facial features, the nattily attired, sixty-four-year-old NFL team owner already had a well-deserved reputation for flamboyance, showmanship, and erratic behavior. And like other Southern-born segregationists, Marshall stood firm against race-mixing. "We'll start signing Negroes," he once boasted, "when the Harlem Globetrotters start signing whites." But that was about to change.

Opposing Marshall was Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, whose determination that the Redskins-or "Paleskins," as he called them-reflect John F. Kennedy's New Frontier ideals led to one of the most high-profile contests to spill beyond the sports pages. Realizing that racial justice and gridiron success had the potential either to dovetail or take an ugly turn, civil rights advocates and sports fans alike anxiously turned their eyes toward the nation's capital. There was always the possibility that Marshall-one of the NFL's most influential and dominating founding fathers-might defy demands from the Kennedy administration to desegregate his lily-white team. When further pressured to desegregate by the press, Marshall remained defiant, declaring that no one, including the White House, could tell him how to run his business.

In Showdown: JFK and the Integration of the Washington Redskins, sports historian Thomas G. Smith captures this striking moment, one that held sweeping implications not only for one team's racist policy but also for a sharply segregated city and for the nation as a whole. Part sports history, part civil rights story, this compelling and untold narrative serves as a powerful lens onto racism in sport, illustrating how, in microcosm, the fight to desegregate the Redskins was part of a wider struggle against racial injustice in America.

Redskins Reprogramming

As an 80's school girl living a stone's throw from the White House, saying no to drugs was just about as important as the Redskins. Just about.

Being a Redskins fan came as naturally to me as breathing and hauling ass after the ice cream man. Back when we had men in our family, they were all die hard fans. Seeing as though I hung out with the men on Sunday afternoons, due to the cooking and knitting that went on upstairs, it rubbed off very early and heavily. Sundays were sacred: mass and football. Combine them both and it was almost a High Holy Day in our modest middle class abode. Hail Mary and Hail to the Redskins. Amen.

In school, the season was held up on an altar as well. If the Redskins won, we received a homework free night. When the team made the playoffs, we would get extra credit for watching the game. No kidding. And even though we wore putrid green plaid uniforms, we were allowed to accessorize only during football season - and only in burgundy and gold. After morning prayers on Fridays, which included praying for the players, the team's fight song would echo over the loudspeaker. Every mouth sang with fervor except for the few hated Dallas fans in the school. Football season sucked fat cactus cowboy hats for them and then some.

In 1983, the Redskins triumphed over the Miami Dolphins 27-17 and it was like a snowy Christmas in January. Besides getting no homework for an entire week, those of us lucky enough to go to the post game parade received an excused absence from school. The kids that didn't attend, watched it on TV from the classroom. This was HUGE because the only other time we were allowed to watch TV in school was when the Space Shuttle launched. So, in my mind as well as in many of my peers, the Washington Redskins were right up there with the astronauts. Real American heroes.

I guess it no wonder why I am the fan I am today. I was brainwashed - pure and simple. Will the Redskins ever reenter the glory days of my youth? Stayed tuned this season to find out.

Go Skins! (Amen.)