Fans are back at Commanders camp and they are back in a BIG way – with roughly 10,000 showing up for Saturday's "Back Together Weekend" event!
"To see them come out in force today, that was excellent. Our players really appreciate it, I know ownership appreciates the renewed interest, and I really appreciate it," Ron Rivera said Saturday after seeing that attendance on an awfully hot day in Ashburn.
Kevin Sheehan, as he started his show on Monday, said he was also really happy for the Commanders, 'and in some ways for all of us,' seeing that turnout – which just shows the vibe around the team thanks to the ownership change.
"There's a mass feeling about this franchise right now that has not existed for a long time, and I think we saw that reflected in the crowds on Thursday and Friday, which are work days," Sheehan said. "And then Saturday, we have not seen that in a decade. The masses are now feeling it again; not the niche group that never gave up, but the masses. It was part relief, part joy, and a reflection of this opportunity that many in the fan base are now willing to give the organization."
Sheehan knows many are giving the franchise a chance 'to win their hearts and wallets again,' which did not exist at the end of the Dan Snyder era, 'because even the smallest of successes would go straight to Dan's head and embolden him."
But now, he's gone, the new era is in progress, and while it could've been anybody as long as it wasn't Snyder, this group is ensuring that the honeymoon period will last for quite a while.
"Those who are excited today won't turn on the new group for a long time," Sheehan said. "Expectations will be conservative for a while, but after paying $6 billion and talking about being patient, that doesn't mean they don't see a chance right now to pounce on this level of euphoria and turn it into revenue."
And that's exactly what Harris and company could've hoped for as a best-case scenario.
"While they believe that the long game is the way they're going to proceed, and as much as they're talking that, they are excited about the last week, and a little bit surprised too, about the immediate opportunity that exists that is even bigger than the business plan said," Sheehan said. "There is an unbridled optimism, and for that to be harnessed and taken advantage of by the new ownership, the team has to start quickly – and I would even say that these pre-season games have a big opportunity to significantly influence ticket sales and sponsorships."
Take a listen to Sheehan's entire opening monologue on the mass return of fans to the Commanders' good graces above!
Follow The Kevin Sheehan Show on Twitter: @kevinsheehandc & @sheehanpodcast
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