It's Commanders Week... Part II

[Hostile]

http://i6.***BLOCKED***/albums/y244/2Hostile/helmets/CowboysVersusRedskins.jpg
​

Yesterday I asked several Commanders fans to tell us about the peanuts. They wouldn't, so I will. I have shared snippets of this story before, but never the whole story.

I used to work construction, and in the field I always wore a Dallas Cowboys ball cap. One day we were having a load of lumber delivered and the driver notices my cap and proceeds to dazzle me with his brilliance. You will soon discover I am being very sarcastic about his brillaince.

I am sorry to say he was the dumbest football fan I have ever met. It is a wide gap to the second dumbest. To this day I continue to hope that this man never has children. That would be cruel.

You see, he told me about the peanuts. I have never been quite the same.

As you have undoubtedly guessed he was a Commanders fan. I do not know why, but out of the clear blue after he made a remark about my cap he began to tell me that the mascot Commanders was not a slight of Native Americans. You see, the name actually comes from a brand of peanut that is indigenous (hell no he didn't use that word, he was an idiot) only to the area around Washington, DC.

Sadly, he wasn't kidding. He proceeded to describe for me the red skin of this particular peanut and even told me how I have probably eaten these peanuts and didn't know that they were Commander peanuts from that area.

I was fascinated. Not so much by his story as I was that he could actually form words into sentences. Quite a feat for someone of such low intelligence quotient. He ended by telling me that whenever he had the chance to do so, he told people the true meaning of the word Commanders that is the team mascot.

Then he did the dumbest thing of all. He asked me what I thought.

So, I told him.

The first thing I asked him was if he thought the Commanders had always been in the District of Columbia. I could tell by his blank expression that he had no idea where I was going. I honestly don't think he knew DC stood for District of Columbia.

The fact of the matter is, the team originated from Boston and their first year, 1932, they were the Boston Football Braves. The word Football was there to distinguish them from the baseball team of the same name.

I asked him if there was a Braves peanut indigenous to the Boston area. He stuttered and stammered a couple of guttural grunting noises, but it was clear immediately that he was completely unaware of this fact about his team.

I then told him that after the inaugural year as the Braves they moved across Boston to Fenway Park and instead of calling themselves the Boston Football Red Sox, they went with Commanders. It was at this time that the theory began that the name Commanders was in honor of coach Sonny Dietz, a man who was part Sioux Indian. Quite a tribute given they fired the man right after the very next year. Two years before they moved to DC and kept the mascot name. I tend to doubt the name is really a tribute to Dietz.

How prescient of the team to know that four years before they would ever move to the area where this rare peanut is found and apparently revered enough to be anonymous to the rest of the thinking world, that the team would go ahead and honor this peanut with its own NFL mascot. That is the essence of omniscience.

You see, you did not know this yesterday but that logo on the sides of their helmets is actually a peanut. Chief Zee (whom I really respect by the way) is actually merely another variation of the Planters peanut man. It's just that instead of a top hat, tuxedo, cane, and monocle he has a headdress, buckskins, tomahawk, and glasses.

I believe this Forrest Gump-like Commanders fan wanted to leave right then and there, but I was not going to let that happen.

I asked him if he liked the song "Hail to the Commanders." Of course he did. The best damn fight song in the NFL. I briefly considered telling him that his precious fight song is directly responsible for the Dallas Cowboys landing a team, but I felt that might crush him. I love that story though. I did ask him to tell me about the peanut lines in the song. I figured since he knew it and loved it this would be an easy task.

He said that the words of the song didn't say anything about peanuts, but that the name Commanders still wasn't an insult.

Here are the original words to that song...

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Hail to the Commanders![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Hail Victory![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Braves on the Warpath![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Fight for old Dixie![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Run or pass and score -- we want a lot more![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Scalp 'em, swamp 'em -- We will take 'em big score[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Read 'em, weep 'em, touchdown - we want heap more[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Fight on, Fight on -- 'Till you have won[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Sons of Wash-ing-ton. Rah!, Rah!, Rah![/FONT]​

Yeah, those words were not meant to perpetrate a stereotype at all.

It was already clear to me that he had no idea of the study of etymology, which is the origin of words. If he had known of it he would have found that there was no such thing as a Commander peanut. I am sorry to tell you that. I know you were all adding it to your grocery lists. However, just like no California team has an avocado mascot, no Washington team has an apple mascot, no Florida team has a citrus mascot, the Commanders have nothing to do with peanuts.

You see, the word actually comes from the time of the trappers. They sold wolf skins, beaver skins, bearskins, and some sold Commanders. Those were Indian scalps. Of course the word is meant as a slight against Native Americans. Some will argue that the original intent of the word has evolved, and that is fine if they choose to believe that, but folks it never had anything to do with peanuts. I am sure you already knew that.

Delivery boy didn't. I asked him to tell me about George Preston Marshall. He said he didn't even know what position he played. So I told him he was the founder of the Washington Commanders. I also told him that GP Marshall was also the biggest racist in the History of the NFL. The Grand Wizard. He was directly responsible for the ostracism of Blacks from the NFL though they had originally been welcome to play and did play for a time until he intervened and used his incredible pressure to take those opportunities away.

You see, Marshall was by far the most powerful owner in the entire NFL. Even more powerful than the Papa Bear, George Halas. For a time, the NFL followed his lead. From 1933 to 1946 the NFL did not allow integration of Blacks in the NFL. After this teams began to integrate. Not the Commanders. GP Marshall did not integrate until pressure from the Kennedy Administration forced him to.

In 1962 the team drafted Syracuse RB, Ernie Davis in the first round. Davis was the first Black to win the Heisman Trophy. There is a new movie about him getting ready to hit theaters. He was not the first Black man to play for the Commanders. He said, "I will not play for that son of a *****." He meant George Preston Marshall.

Sadly, Ernie Davis never did play in the NFL at all. He got leukemia and died at the age of 23. His rights were traded o the Cleveland Browns for Bobby Mitchell. He would be the first Black man to play for the Commanders and he would go on to have a Hall of Fame career.

Ever since that day I have made sure one thing is on my game day menu. Peanuts. Get your fresh hot peanuts.

 

[zrinkill]

 

[trickblue]

Here's a great quote from GPM:

"We'll start signing Negroes, when the Harlem Globetrotters start signing whites."
​

In 1961, the Commanders were the only team in professional football without a black player. In fact, in the 25-year history of the franchise, no black had ever played for George Marshall. Sam Lacy, the gifted black sportswriter for the Baltimore Afro-American, called the Commanders football's "lone wolf in lily-whiteism." Their owner was "the one operator in the whole structure of major-league sports who has openly flouted his distaste for tan athletes."

 

[Chief]

Here's a great quote from GPM:

"We'll start signing Negroes, when the Harlem Globetrotters start signing whites."
​

In 1961, the Commanders were the only team in professional football without a black player. In fact, in the 25-year history of the franchise, no black had ever played for George Marshall. Sam Lacy, the gifted black sportswriter for the Baltimore Afro-American, called the Commanders football's "lone wolf in lily-whiteism." Their owner was "the one operator in the whole structure of major-league sports who has openly flouted his distaste for tan athletes."

What a legacy for a franchise to have.

 

[Hostile]

Here's a great quote from GPM:

"We'll start signing Negroes, when the Harlem Globetrotters start signing whites."
​

In 1961, the Commanders were the only team in professional football without a black player. In fact, in the 25-year history of the franchise, no black had ever played for George Marshall. Sam Lacy, the gifted black sportswriter for the Baltimore Afro-American, called the Commanders football's "lone wolf in lily-whiteism." Their owner was "the one operator in the whole structure of major-league sports who has openly flouted his distaste for tan athletes."

I almost included that quote in my post.

By the way, the very first Harlem Globetrotter was Abe Saperstein, a White Jew. So Marshall's excuse didn't even hold water from the word go.

 

[tomson75]

Oh wow. That's a home run. Well done. Well done.

 

[SkinsHokieFan]

Nice history lesson. We can just hope we all learn from the failures of the past

 

[Hostile]

Nice history lesson. We can just hope we all learn from the failures of the past

I do hope that.

Peace.

Now stop telling people at ES not to link threads form this site.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Excellent post Hos. That's two extremely good posts for this Rivalry week. Nice job.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

good one Hos........Go Cowboys!

 

[gambit187]

Thanks for the History lesson. I slay Skins fans with the Song Trivia part, I knew some of this but now I know it all and will committ it to memory and add it to my arsonal of weapons.

Because I am from South jersey and spent lots of time growing up in philly and NY. My little 5'11" and 165lb frame loves to talk loud, brazzen and fast especally when bigger people try to out talk me. You guys should see the look on Skins fans face when I go off on them or start spitting past Commander history.

 

[adamknite]

Scalp 'em, swamp 'em -- We will take 'em big score
Read 'em, weep 'em, touchdown - we want heap more

wow.......

 

[zrinkill]

Excellent post Hos. That's two extremely good posts for this Rivalry week. Nice job.

Best thing is how bad he makes the trolls look when they try to refute him.

Hos knows more about their team than they do.

 

[Hostile]

Best thing is how bad he makes the trolls look when they try to refute him.

Hos knows more about their team than they do.

Just a by-product of their habit of bringing a flyswatter to a gunfight.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Best thing is how bad he makes the trolls look when they try to refute him.

Hos knows more about their team than they do.

That is truly the best part of it that Hos has actually taken so much time to learn the history of other teams so that he can make those who really don't know much about their team (And note that I'm not saying this is all Commanders fans or only a Skins fan problem) look uneducated on their own team history.

Good stuff.

 

[Hostile]

That is truly the best part of it that Hos has actually taken so much time to learn the history of other teams so that he can make those who really don't know much about their team (And note that I'm not saying this is all Commanders fans or only a Skins fan problem) look uneducated on their own team history.

Good stuff.

The thing is, a truly educated fan will never go on another team's fan website and act like a troll. There are Commanders fans who I consider to be really bright, intelligent, articulate guys. They don't come here shooting their mouths off about how our last playoff win was in 1996. All that posters who do that want is to try and look smart and funny on a rival team's forum and they fail miserably. They simply do not know enough about the game to appreciate the History of it.

I respect a fan who thinks their team is the best in the world and can intelligently explain why they love their team. I have nothing but disdain for anyone who thinks they can holler about a bandwagon, not know what the hell they are talking about, and then disappears to let their fanny cool down after I spank them like an ugly stepchild.

 

[ethiostar]

:write:

This is why i like this forum, i come here to learn about the game, every aspect of it. Thanks for the lesson Hos.

BTW Hos, if ever you hear that argument again, and i hope you don't for i fear you might do some bodily harm to someone, tell them peanuts are actually indigenous to Latin America, more specifically South America.

 

[gambit187]

That is truly the best part of it that Hos has actually taken so much time to learn the history of other teams so that he can make those who really don't know much about their team (And note that I'm not saying this is all Commanders fans or only a Skins fan problem) look uneducated on their own team history.

Good stuff.

Lets see, i been in the DC area since 95, I would say 1 out of every 10 actually know more about their history then I do.

 

[Hostile]

:write:

This is why i like this forum, i come here to learn about the game, every aspect of it. Thanks for the lesson Hos.

BTW Hos, if ever you hear that argument again, and i hope you don't for i fear you might do some bodily harm to someone, tell them peanuts are actually indigenous to Latin America, more specifically South America.

I get to learn something today too, as I did not know that.

Thank you.

 

[ethiostar]

I get to learn something today too, as I did not know that.

Thank you.

Sure thing..... now about my post count