Fair warning: like much of what I write, this is a long article — in the neighborhood of 5,000 words. It’ll probably demand 20 minutes of your time. If you can’t spare the time, or simply don’t have the interest or patience to read that much, now would be the time to close the article and go elsewhere in search of sports news, reporting and analysis in 700 words or less. There’s plenty of that to be had.
The good, the bad and the ugly
For years, fans of the Washington Redskins lived through horrible football experiences.