Recently, I was having a debate with a few of my friends about respect. I posed a question that I thought I had a pretty popular answer to, but apparently I didn’t. The question was:
If you were a waiter and you had just finished serving a couple of people who had a very large order ($100-$200 in total), would you feel more disrespected to have been given a single dollar for a tip, or nothing at all?
I was immediately told that they would be angrier if they didn’t receive a tip at all. I, for one, would rather not get anything at all in that situation. It was really strange to me that my point of view was so rare and unpopular.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
What the argument boiled down to was respect. In my opinion, it’s more disrespectful to “half-ass” something than it is to not do it at all.
I started thinking about why I thought this way. What could have shaped this way of thinking into my head?
The answer is simple; it’s the Washington Redskins.
The franchise that I’ve followed my whole life has taught me a lot about respect.
It stems from situations where doing nothing would’ve been better than doing something awful. From the lies about fan attendance to the lies about asking Alabama alumni for their opinions on Reuben Foster, there’s a common theme. If the team didn’t do anything at all, it would’ve been better than what it did do.
Some of the other guys I polled were fans of teams like New England, or Philly; they wouldn’t understand. It’s a mentality that has been encrypted into the fan base over the last two decades, and it’s incredibly demoralizing.
It’s no surprise that fans are rebelling against the team. The actions of just the last two seasons are enough to warrant an uprising.
And the unnecessary “improvements” will continue.
Splish Splash?
It has been reported that the team is looking to make a “splash move” in order to win the fans back. The team is desperate to draw fans back in and desperation leads to impulsive action.
I can’t speak for everyone. But, I know plenty of people who would rather the heads of the team come out of hiding, and just admit “We messed up.” They would tell the fans that they are going to try again, and this time it’s going to be done correctly. It won’t be pretty or exceptionally entertaining for the first few seasons, but a winner is going to be built. That’s how to reunite the fan base. Show some respect and it will be reciprocated.
