Burgundy & Gold Reaction: Sean Taylor Immortalized

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October 19, 2021

by David Earl

Fans Pay Their Respect

The fans showed their appreciation for Redskins great Sean Taylor in what was a week of frustration and anger over the announcement of the retirement of his jersey just 3 days prior to the game. Sean was easily one of the most beloved players in team history, something which was readily apparent during Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. Fans reminisced about a young dynamic player out of Miami who became one of the most revered safeties in the NFL at a meteoric rate. Sean was a beacon of hope in an organization that was quickly nose-diving into mediocrity which, as we all know it today, has sadly been its destiny to this day. The return of Joe Gibbs and the rise of Taylor brought about an essence within this team most fans had not felt for over 10 years at the time. I mean here was a guy, Sean Taylor, who was well on his way to becoming this generation’s Lawrence Taylor (yeah he was that good) and was about to change the game unlike any safety before him until tragedy ripped out our soul to the very core. His accolades on the field were undeniable and his trajectory was near-certainly on the path of football immortality before that horrible night that rocked the football world. Knowing just how much he meant to this fan base and the emotions wrapped around his death by us all, the lackluster halftime ceremony did not go unnoticed.

Yes, the ceremony felt rushed and begs the question: was it quickly arranged in order to to distract from the team’s recent email scandals which forced John Gruden to resign? While the team assured us that this had been planned for months and Jason Wright gave a written apology for the mishandling, Sean Taylor‘s legacy surely would have resulted in far more if planning had been done months prior. Although some of the earlier anger was smoothed over and fans simply wanted to just focus on honoring a Redskins legend, it was a poorly done ceremony that ripped the bandage off of a fresh-made wound and fans let that be known.

Let’s be honest here, as skepticism reasonably surrounds this team’s planned ceremony for Taylor. In what was supposedly weeks and months of planning, all the team could muster was a 60 second video tribute and the family posing next to a framed jersey? It just felt entirely too impersonal for a player of Sean’s impact. So many understandably, felt this was Dan Snyder using a beloved figure to cover up this organization’s most recent sins. Regardless of what the brass says at Ashburn about how one had nothing to do with the other, the sad reality is that in many fans eyes Sean’s name has now become indirectly associated with the organization’s dirty laundry. Probably the most infuriating aspect of this reprehensible change of events is that it could have been so much better – just look back on the ceremony for Brian Dawkins in Philadelphia when they retired his number back in 2012. That was planned, prepared, and delivered in a way a franchise’s beloved player deserves:

Jackson Mahomes Personified Disrespectful

There really isn’t much more to say. Jackson Mahomes knew what he was doing when performed this Tik Tok video. To be that unaware of the magnitude of what the Sean Taylor ceremony meant to the fans and this organization is a blissful ignorance that I refuse to accept. His recent apology falls on deaf ears to this fan because, if he was truly remorseful, Jackson would have taken down this video accompanied with a full heartfelt apology that just didn’t happen. When the situation couldn’t be even worse, Jackson and his family claimed they were assigned that area of the field to stand by the organization. So not only did Washington leadership drop the news of a ceremony that was nothing short of disgraceful just 3 days in advance, they possibly allowed the visiting team’s family members access to the roped-off Sean Taylor memorial on the field. That might be the most egregious act of the weekend. This ceremony wrapped up a horrific week of controversy and a questionable “long-planned” retirement of Sean Taylor’s number in simply an unforgivable fashion. While this was a long-overdue ceremony, Dan Snyder and this organization did Sean Taylor’s family, the fans, and his legacy a serious injustice that unfortunately taints his name in many eyes.

BTW…There Was A Game Played

Every week there’s been mostly frustration from the fans over this underperforming team, especially on defense, which clearly carried over against the Chiefs. While I had many comments lined up for this section, it just seemed too predictable to write about again. Then, like many others, I saw this segment by the great Brian Mitchell speaking the truth. The product on the field is just abysmal as they seem to play with no heart while living off their hyped preseason status. Brian is absolutely right in regards to how stagnant this team has played – if Ron is repeating his comments at the pressers in the locker room it’s clear why they seem to be going the other way. To be shut out in the second half by the NFL’s 32nd ranked defense and to continuously fail to convert on multiple Chiefs miscues shows just how far this team is from any level of success. Brian is also correct on how Philadelphia fans will tell you exactly how they feel, especially when you simply suck. This is the same realization these players need to hear, not just from the fans but from Ron Rivera as well. Accountability can never exist when professional players are not held to a level of excellence that involves the harsh truths.

Final Thoughts

Going back to the Sean Taylor ceremony, I was one of the more vocal fans on Twitter and showed my disgust at how the team just dropped this 3 days prior to the game. While I am still a bit frustrated over this, I’ve also realized just how bitter and petty I sounded. I still believe I was warranted in my frustration and if given enough time to prepare I definitely would have been at the game. While part of my anger came from the fact that I procrastinated all those years ago and failed to see him live, the actions this past week just compounded my regret. As I was beginning to transition from traveling as an active duty Air Force member to the Air National Guard, I knew there was time to see Sean and my favorite team. Seriously; whoever expects a young franchise player loved by all of us to have his life tragically cut short. Like most of you, that shook me hard at the time, especially watching a young athlete turning into a role model and father. Needless to say, my initial reaction was emotionally driven and irrational in many ways but Jason Wright handled it as well as he could. He genuinely came across as sincere and candid addressing us fans over this mishandling. Although this is a blunder that will take time to get over, I believe Jason Wright understands the role he has played in this sequence of events leading to Sunday and is not avoiding accountability for this mismanagement. I trust he will do all that he can to make this right for not only us as fans but for everyone in the near future.