We lost Sonny Jurgensen.
Jurgy was an institution in Washington.
The Community has been having a sort of wake for the Big Redhead. As is proper.
There are a lot of theories as to when football went crazy in D.C. And somebody said after Sonny passed that it wasn't when Lombardi came to town. It wasn't when George Allen came to town.
It was when the Skins traded for Jurgy.
And I think that was spot on.
In every successful NFL town, there is always somebody who gets Fans through the inevitable hard times.
Sonny. Bobby Mitchell. Charley Taylor. They did that during the Sixties. They didn't win much. But the chance to see the Big Redhead sling it to Bobby and Charley. You always thought: One year Sonny is going to take us to the Promised Land.
He proceeded to do exactly that.
Then Lombardi came and Sonny got in the best shape of his life. Sam Huff was back. Sonny and Sam went 7-5-2. And the air was light in Washington for a season. It wasn't the last time Sonny and Sam would team up.
We lost Coach Lombardi. Things dipped under Bill Austin.
Then we hired George Allen.
Who was a legend in his own right. Run the ball. Play defense. He converted me at the time. But it wasn't the best philosophy for the Big Redhead. There was even the time Sonny threw a TD pass. Came off the field. And Allen goes I wanted a field goal.
The guy Allen preferred was Billy Kilmer. Old Whiskey. Who was a beer drinker. Former running back. Involved in the creation of the Shotgun formation. Another legend.
With all the Sonny versus Billy debates in D.C. at the time, you'd think their relationship would be contentious.
No. One of the staples of Skins Folklore is that Jurgy and Billy were great friends. It was a legendary friendship. One that at the end of Sonny's career featured a legendary third wheel: Joe Theismann. Who was just a future NFL MVP, that's all.
Sonny made his way into Broadcasting and eventually became part of a legendary broadcast team: Frank, Sam, and Sonny. The air was whimsical and light, breathable, again in Washington.
The Gods were made by Ovid. Virgil. Homer. Who spun tales about them making them legendary.
The Football Gods are made the same way. The Team Broadcasters spin campfire tales during the season. The Lore builds. The Spirit of the Age is created.
The Skins were the campfire we gathered around. Frank, Sam, and Sonny told us stories about them. Like Roosevelt's fireside chats.
Sonny was part campfire part campfire storyteller. It made him a linchpin of the Franchise and its Burgundy and Golden Era.
Washington was as vicious and divided in the 80s as it is today.
But Sonny helped make us One People.
And that was truly legendary.
They say Forty Men Together Can't Lose.
How much more so Four Million?
