As a young boy (already a die-hard Redskins fan, why I did not know, but I knew that I was because my entire family told me so) I remember catching a glimpse of a Florida State football game and noticing how much they reminded me of the Redskins.  From that day on my teams were, and would always be, the Redskins and Seminoles.  For the most part it always worked out, having teams that were similar has always been fun.  But recently, all the fun and games stopped, and I had to make some serious decisions. 

The Redskins grabbed up three Miami Hurricanes in two consecutive offseasons via trade and the draft .  Clinton Portis, Santana Moss, and Sean Taylor became the face of the franchise and were formerly players I loved to hate.  Especially Taylor, because the images of him shutting down the Florida State passing game single-handedly every time we played the 'Canes, was still fresh in my mind.  I found myself in a conundrum, should I root against these three players and wait for their time with the franchise to pass, like I did with the joke of an NFL coach Steve Spurrier, or should I embrace these three players no matter where they went to school.

Two seasons ago the Redskins had Taylor and Portis, but no Moss.  The team finished 6-10, Portis ran below what was expected of him, and Taylor played well but had some problems off the field early on.  The impact of players from the U was not a big deal until last offseason when Santana Moss came over in a trade from the Jets for disgruntled receiver Laveranues Coles. 

When the season began Moss, Portis, and Taylor took over.  This became obvious in week two when Santana Moss caught two long bombs in the final five minutes against the Cowboys, and Sean Taylor laid the boom on Patrick Crayton while he was trying to make a catch.  The catch was one the Cowboys needed to have a shot to win, and the hit sent the ball, and Crayton, flying in the wrong direction.  From that point on these three players became the face of the franchise.  Moss and Portis each set single season team records for receiving and rushing yards---and were arguably the two most important players in the Skins six game winning streak at the end of the season.  All Sean Taylor did was become the biggest playmaker on D, delivering huge blows and making big time plays against opposing offenses.  In the Redskins final game of the season Taylor picked up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown to seal a win against the Eagles.  The next week he did the same thing against the Bucs, in an even more dramatic fashion, scooping the ball after Marcus Washington lost control, and taking it to the house for a score.  These two scores were the two biggest touchdowns of the year for the Skins.  The first was the touchdown that guarunteed a playoff birth, for the first time since 1999, and the second was the lone touchdown of the defensive battle between the Skins and Bucs in the first round. 

Before last season, I was unsure of the players from "The U", and was unsure of the direction my feelings for them would take.   After the season, however, I realized it does not matter where they played in college, because they are true Skins now.  True Skins who have the potential to help this organization do something it hasn't done since 1991, win a ring. 

So I have decided that on Saturday's I can still hate the Hurricanes, but on Sunday's, I gotta let the players from the U do what they do baby.