Imagine if you could high five the Fun Bunch. Join the Hogs in the huddle. Race Darrell Green.
The Washington Football Team is planning a memorial for the late Sean Taylor next spring after a botched recent retirement ceremony of his number. That often means a statue, but not always. Sometimes it's a park or bench.
Well, make it something bigger. Create a Land of Legends that funnels fans into the four corners of the coming stadium in 2027. Let supporters feel the legends as they enter and exit games. Make it that fun experience that has been missing for so long inside the stadium by bringing legends to the new venue.
The New York Yankees' Monument Park of its immortals is impressive, but old technology. With 5G capabilities capable of transforming living rooms into playing fields via VR headsets, why not create an interactive experience with the team's legends?
Want to race Green down a 40-yard wall to see just how fast he was? Maybe stand in front of Dexter Manley as he brawls past you? See Vince Lombardi just inches away as he delivers a locker room talk?
This is all possible with emerging technologies. Forget granite markers or marble statues. Those are your grandfather's memorials. Think of new, interactive experiences like bouncing in the stands of RFK Stadium or seeing seat cushions rain down from the upper deck.
The Museum of the Bible in Washington touches on some of these technologies where you see the Sistine Chapel one moment and feel like you're in Bethlehem the next. That's the starting point of what the Washington Football Team can do for its fans.
The team lost its connection to the past when purging the front office after an alleged sexual harassment scandal and understandably so. But, with no success in the past generation, the team repeatedly sells the greatness of three Super Bowls. The only problem is fans from that generation are fading away and the younger generation has no connection. But, they would love a chance to feel the 1980s when greatness came each Sunday.
The new park would be a 365-day experience outside the stadium desperately needed to justify spending more than $1 billion on a venue. Ten football games and a couple concerts aren't enough and sports betting parlors are just the start.
Fans love to linger in parking lots before games, so give them a place to go. When drive-in movie theaters were popular in the 1950s-70s, operators often installed a playground in front of the big screen so kids could hit the swings and slides before the movies. This is the same thing. Let grownups become kids playing in this park.
It's a combination of statues and interactive experiences. First up is coach Joe Gibbs. Anyone else coach three Super Bowls? But, go beyond a statue. Have a 5G projection of Gibbs delivering one of his talks so fans feel the goose bumps.
Next is John Riggins as he runs for a touchdown against Miami. Think you could have tackled him better than the Dolphins' Don McNeal? The run should go 43 yards like the most famous play in team history, and fans can feel like they're on the field seeing Riggo go by.
See Sammy Baugh revolutionize the game by throwing a pass that was so different than today's football. Without Baugh, the team might not have stayed in Washington.
Joining the Fun Bunch jumping to high five would be crazy fun for fans to attempt. The Hogs in a huddle would provide a real appreciation for just how big they were.
Think you can get past Taylor running down the field? Imagine him coming at you and suddenly you'll know the truth.
The absolute key to this experience is the new 5G technologies that will certainly grow in coming years. Standing by a marker is so 1945. Think Star Trek, transporters and transmissions. Imagine things and then use that as a jumping point to the next experience. This is Field of Dreams stuff, only you get to play against those ghosts.
There are people capable of creating a memorable experience for fans. It won't come cheaply, but certainly less than a $70 million yacht. If Washington wants fans to return, winning is only the start for the next generation of fans. They want experiences. This gives it to them.
Rick Snider has covered Washington sports since 1978. Follow him on Twitter: @Snide_Remarks.
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