Thomas Warren, wtop.com
ARLINGTON, Va. – Die-hard Washington Redskins fan Mary Holt is not giving up on her team, despite its 24-14 playoff loss on Sunday, Jan. 6 to the Seattle Seahawks.
In fact, she has her sights set on the Super Bowl for next season.
“I really think next year we’ll hit the Super Bowl,” says Holt of Arlington.
Redskins fans’ hopes for Sunday’s game were shattered when quarterback Robert Griffin III went down with an injury.
His right knee, despite the bulky knee brace, buckled in his effort to recover a botched snap from center in the fourth quarter.
Griffin first injured his knee in the Dec. 9 game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Holt, 89, had the foresight to know that something was not right with Griffin. Before kickoff she said, “I’m worried today that (RG3’s) knee is not going to let him be good enough to win it for us today.”
But, ever the Redskins optimist, Holt still predicted a 28-21 win for the burgundy and gold.
Her prediction looked good at the start after the Redskins took a 7-0 lead on a four-yard touchdown pass from Griffin III to tight end Logan Paulson.
“I always say whoever scores first is going to win,” says Holt, who wore her Redskins Super Bowl XXVI sweater as good luck.
The Redskins added a second first-quarter touchdown to take a 14-0 lead. That was the last time they scored. The Seahawks then racked-up 24 points.
Holt, sitting in her Redskins blanketed game-day chair, agonized as the team’s lead became an eventual defeat.
“This will be the worst day of my life if we lose this game tonight,” she says.
She watched Sunday’s game where she watches all of her sporting events in her Arlington home – in a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling Redskins memorabilia-covered “woman cave.”
“I’ve been collecting stuff for more than 40 years,” says Holt.
She estimates she has more than 1,500 Redskins items, from an official Redskins game helmet, to signed photos from Darrell Green and even a hand-crafted stool her husband Roger made.
Her first piece of memorabilia was a wreath covered with red flowers and miniature hog faces. Her latest addition is a personalized autographed football from wide receiver Santana Moss.
“And, he put my name on it,” says Holt.
There’s not much space left, but she has plans to add Griffin and Alfred Morris pieces to the room. She’s a big fan of both.
Speaking of Morris she says, “Every time he runs, he reminds me of John Riggins.”
Holt sees both players as cornerstones to returning the franchise to prominence. After a 13-year absence from the playoffs, this year may very well be the start, at least Holt believes so.
“Next year we’ll be back, and we’re going to go all the way,” she says.
See one of Holt’s Redskins’ toys in action:
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