Many longtime Washington football fans haven’t felt this level of optimism and excitement since 1992, when the team was coming off its third Super Bowl victory in 10 years.
And few are more eager for the new season to kick off than Berryville’s John Keim. The ESPN beat reporter has been covering the team for more than 30 years. But he’s wisely approaching the Washington Commanders season with caution.
“Last year, people didn’t see it coming,” he says of the Commanders’ remarkable 12 and 5 record with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and first-year head coach Dan Quinn. “The expectations were not grandiose, right? Who was expecting an NFC championship game? The only way you can top that now is by winning the Super Bowl.”
It was also a season that turned Rookie of the Year quarterback Daniels into a folk hero.
“No one anticipated all the fourth-quarter heroics” from Daniels, Keim says. “All those close wins and getting into the championship game by winning a couple of road games — I just don’t see how you can repeat that year. And you can’t.”
Beyond the win-loss record, there truly was “winning off the field as well.” Keim was witness to what he calls “the rebirth and reawakening of the fan base.”
“I felt like it was the first year of a renewed relationship between the fans and the team,” he says. “Where does it go from here? It was like a [romantic] relationship. There was magic to last year. Everything was a surprise, everything was new. Now, if you lose a game this year, people are going to be [annoyed]. And that’s a good thing! It means expectations are high.”
Let the games begin.
Feature image, Cal Sports Media/Alamy Stock Photo
This story originally ran in our August issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
