OPINION:
The last time Washington Commanders fans saw their team on the field, it was during an almost surreal NFC championship game nearly six months ago.
Sure, they lost 55-23 to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. But from the minute the final gun sounded, fans have anticipated seeing their team and quarterback sensation Jayden Daniels back on the field, probably more than at any time since Robert Griffin’s rookie season 15 years ago.
A surprising 12-5 season left Washington fans salivating for more. The preliminaries begin next week when training camp opens for rookies on July 18, followed by the veterans reporting four days later.
Fans will be invited starting July 27, the first of three open practices at the team’s headquarters in Ashburn – July 27, July 29 and Aug. 2, with another three set aside for season ticket holders July 28, July 31 and Aug. 4. The team will host a Military Appreciation Day for service members, veterans and their families on Aug. 10. And the team said it will be hosting local youth football and community groups.
The July 29 date may pose a conflict for Commanders fans. It is the same day the D.C. Council will be holding a public hearing on the proposed RFK stadium site deal.
Maybe the Commanders could run shuttle buses back and forth. Or else open up more practices to fans.
For a team trying to win as much public support as it can for the $3.8 billion stadium, the more exposure to the savior, Daniels, the better. And despite all the good feelings surrounding the release of the Commanders’ “Super Bowl Era” alternate uniforms, this is still a team that finished 30th in attendance last year, worse than the previous 4-13 season, and in some ways is being treated like an expansion team by customers. Being selective about your exposure when you’re trying to sell not just a stadium, but also a product, seems foolish.
Open training camp policies vary in the NFL. In the NFC East, the Dallas Cowboys will hold 15 open practices at their Oxnard, California, training camp. The New York Giants have 11 open practices scheduled at their training center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. But the Philadelphia Eagles have just one public practice scheduled – on Aug. 10, a Saturday night at Lincoln Financial Field, with a $10.25 ticket charge that will benefit the Eagles Autism Foundation.
Tickets (no admission charge) for Washington’s open training camp dates were available on the Commanders website. Fans could claim up to six free tickets and one parking pass for one training camp date. The practice facility can hold up to 6,000 fans, and all open practices dates are filled except for the July 31 season ticket holder date, according to a team spokesman.
When I posed the question to Commanders officials about why there aren’t more open training camp dates, a spokesperson responded only, “We’re excited to host training camp at the OrthoVirginia Training Center in Ashburn again this summer as we prepare for the 2025 season. We’re pleased to once again offer our fans, including season ticket holders, the opportunity to see the team practice this summer along with hosting a day for our military. We also look forward to welcoming those attending training camp and our joint practice with New England this summer.”
You’ll have to gas up the car for that joint practice with the Patriots. It’s Aug. 6 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
OK, here’s the reason: George Allen is alive and well in Ashburn.
The legendary Washington coach was paranoid about spies at practices and had his own security guy, Ed Boyton, known to the players as Double O, watch out for spies from other teams.
Commanders coach Dan Quinn is also worried about spies – but in this case, unwitting spies, perhaps among their own supporters.
They don’t want your iPhone videos showing up in the offices of the Cowboys or another 2025 opponent.
I’ve been told that the technology of hand-held videos has become so good that NFL scouts often go through fan websites looking for video nuggets that would give their team a competitive advantage, and that the Commanders do this as well.
While the team loves the energy of open practices, it must balance them with the need to install systems and plays coaches will use for the coming season, and these generally are not done in a public setting, a team source said.
You could give owner Josh Harris credit for deferring to his football people on this. This summer, though, the balance of the scales might have favored swinging the doors open and welcoming all with open arms – and handing out phone numbers of D.C. Council members.
• Catch Thom Loverro on “The Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast.