Superman?

On Monday, I attended my first Monday Night Football game at FedEx Field: Redskins vs. Giants. I was so excited to go, but I was nervous for the Redskins. We had not won a MNF game since 1997. That's FIFTEEN years!! We also had a tendency to totally embarrass ourselves on national TV when we play on the big stage. All I could think was "Oh goodness, I just hope we don't get obliterated. We are playing the defending Super Bowl champions!!" I have had more hope this season because RG III has not only kept us in games, but given us a chance to win! So I had hope, but I was cautious.

I left work right on time so I that I could be sure to bundle up before the big game. It was hard to figure out what to wear because it was 63 degrees. On December 3. Crazy! I put something together and the Cordells and I headed to the stadium. We did everything as we traditionally do it. Tailgate before the game with all of the staples -- hamburgers, chips and carrots with french onion dip, pasta salad, and cookies. Delicious as always, but we didn't add anything special. It was the same as it always is.
The stadium was chaotic! It was as if people had been drinking all day long! Shouldn't they have been at work? You had to zigzag around people just to navigate your way to your seat, but cheers of" RG III!!!" "RG III" bounced off the walls! The atmosphere was different. It was hopeful. Exciting. Even though we had done everything just as we normally do, something was very different about this night. Little did I know at that moment, there would be a LOT different about the Redskins' eleventh appearance on MNF.

I took the photo above at a pre-season game I attended. Here I had hope, but wasn't sure Robert Griffin III would live up to the hype. My friend, Jason, had seen him play at Baylor and was excited that he would suit up in burgundy and gold, but I hadn't followed him at all, so I wasn't quite sure what all of this was about then. Boy, am I thrilled that RG III is a Redskin. He has brought excitement and hope to a city that had loyal fans cheering for a sluggish and unmotivated sports team.

The stadium was electric! It was packed and people cheered their hearts out! It was particularly entertaining to watch Eli Manning get bothered by the crowd noise and do his crazy hand gestures. He also had some sad looks on his face. Sorry buddy, you thought you'd kill us. I admit. I was worried. But, not this time, Eli! We have a new leader, committed and motivated players and the 12th man is energized! Over eighty five thousand people stood almost the whole game to watch RG III, Alfred Morris and the rest of the Redskins take it to the Giants!

Watching RG III on the field in person is awesome. He is so fast! He played football and ran track at Baylor. His speed and accuracy with the ball are two huge contributions to the team. As a  22 year old rookie, he is looked to as the leader of the team. He encourages, motivates and challenges his teammates. He is also an eloquent speaker and is grounded with a strong faith.   RG III is a true role model. People look up to athletes all of the time for no reason at all. Robert Griffin III is worth emulating.

I did some more research and found out that he writes songs and can sing. When he proposed to his fiance he wrote a song and sang it to her before he gave her the ring. He also had his teammates play the guitar and take photos of the proposal. As if that wasn't enough, he had invited both families to be there for the big event. This is the stuff dreams are made of. I've dreamed of a proposal like that, but do I actually think it will happen? Nope. I've been trying to google a picture of the ring to no avail. Is it a three stone ring? Three carats? Is he artistic and he designed it?

This man is a humble superstar. He is confident, motivated and motivational, a strong Christian, an incredible talent, intelligent, grounded, can run - fast -, practically play a whole football game by himself AND he writes songs and can sing them, too.

Who IS this guy? Superman??

He brings something special. With his leadership, we will not be the same old Redskins!

HAIL.