The hysteria began with George Allen in 1971. He turned a garbage team into a perennial playoff team. They won their first five in '71; i was there at the fourth game and I had never seen such pure hysteria. Joe Gibbs merely continued the process. But the hysteria hasn't let up, except for brief periods when the team has been very bad; 45 years of (mostly) hysteria.
1971 was also the year the Senators left. I think that had something to do w/increased interest in the Redskins back then. The fact that the '71 team made the playoffs was huge for DC, first postseason appearance since the 1940's in any sport. Also there were no Bullets, no Caps, the Skins were literally the only game in town.
