Just got around to reading the lengthy (different) post below on the hatred of/for the Yanks and/or Red So. I'd forgotten one thng about why Fly and perhaps some others may hate the Redskins: George Preston Marshall, the owner who brought the franchise down to DC from Boston in early 1937 (same year I moved here from Worcester). Marshall was largely responsible for popularizing the Skins in DC, as they became world champions in their first season here and went to five championship games in their first nine years.
But he was also a blatant self-promoter and and even more blatant racist. When the late bandleader Barnee Breeskin wrote and arranged "Hail to the Redskins", Marshall made sure a riff from "Diie" was added after the first eight bars. For many years, he held "days" dedicated to various southern states -- logical perhaps, given that Washington was the farthest-south team in the league. But -- and this is the key point, he was the last owner in the league to integrate his team, with first Ernie Davis (who died before he ever played here) and then Bobby Mitchell, who came in 1962. And he integrated only after he was ordered to do so by the Secretary of the Interior, who threatened to forbid Marshall to use the then-DC Stadium (later changed to RFK).
The late great Shirley Povich of the Post had a running war with Marshall. As a somewhat cloistered white youngster, I wouldn't haved understood the problem were it not for Povich.
About seven years ago I got into a heated discussion with a black Cowboys fan over the relative merits of our two teams, as we shared a cab ride from downtown to the Hill. After about ten minutes and eight standoff arguments, he finally owned up that he'd always hate the Skins because of -- and only because of -- George Preston Marshall. Some sores fester longer than others, and I can understand that.