Fans Encouraged to Vote Redskins to the 2009 Pro Bowl on www.redskins.com

With online fan voting officially underway, the Washington Redskins have announced a new campaign encouraging fans to vote Redskins players to the 2009 Pro Bowl.

To help kick off the campaign, the Redskins will promote Pro Bowl voting at this Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns at FedExField.

-- The Redskins will unveil a 2,500 square foot “Vote the Redskins Ticket” tower banner at FedExField that encourages fans to vote Redskins to the 2009 Pro Bowl.

-- The first 25,000 fans entering FedExField will receive a “Vote the Redskins Ticket for the 2009 Pro Bowl” button.

-- Fans will also be eligible to receive a “Vote the Redskins Ticket for the 2009 Pro Bowl” bumper sticker with any merchandise purchase at the Redskins Hall of Fame Store at FedExField.

Fans can vote Redskins to the Pro Bowl by visiting Redskins.com or www.redskins.com/probowl. Online voting continues through Dec. 9.

The NFL’s best will meet in Hawaii on Sunday, Feb. 8 for the 2009 Pro Bowl.

The selection process for the NFC and AFC squads consists of votes from coaches, players and fans. The consensus ballots of NFL fans, players and coaches each count one-third towards determining the rosters.

Fans can start voting NOW at Redskins.com.

WASHINGTON, DC – If the overwhelming turnout to elect Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America proves anything, it's that Americans really love voting. Many Americans no doubt believe that they have to wait two more years before they can vote again, and four more before they can vote for something of this magnitude.

But balloting for the 2009 Pro Bowl is far from over, and people can prolong that thrilled feeling that only voting can provide by voting for the Redskins Ticket at redskins.com.

Unlike the presidential elections, which allow you to vote only once and then provide the results promptly, fans can vote for the Redskins Ticket as often as they'd like for almost five more weeks. It won't determine who gets to go to Washington, but it will determine who gets sent from Washington to Honolulu for the Pro Bowl.

Here's what Redskins tight end – and proud member of the Redskins Ticket – Chris Cooley had to say about the joy of voting yesterday. "It was way cool, but so much easier than I expected." He also added, "I was proud as hell to wear my 'I voted' stickers around for the rest of the day."

Voting for the Redskins Ticket won't give you a sticker (although fans can pick up lawn signs at FedExField during regular business hours), but it is way cool, and much easier than you expect.

Recapture the pleasure of the polling booth by voting for the Redskins Ticket at Redskins.com.

ASHBURN, VA – On his way out of Redskins Park on Friday, October 31, center Casey Rabach grabbed a whole armful of the Vote the Redskins Ticket lawn signs.

It seemed likely that Rabach, a notorious prankster, had some nefarious plan for the signs, but it turned out he just wanted to decorate his house and encourage his trick-or-treating neighbors to vote for the Pro Bowl.

Here’s how Coach Jim Zorn describes Rabach’s role in the offense: “He has to get us going in the right direction, he has to have that no-nonsense attitude, he has to communicate well on the sidelines.” And you can be just like him by picking up and displaying your lawn signs starting on Tuesday. The Redskins Ticket lawn signs will be available free to all fans at the FedExField ticket office from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Washington Wizards forward Caron Butler endorses the Redskins Ticket for the 2009 Pro Bowl.

Butler's endorsement carries serious weight, according to veteran campaign analysts, because he himself is a two-time All-Star. "Sure, basketball and football are two different sports," the analyst said, speaking on condition of anonymity, "and, sure, one game is the 'All-Star' game and the other is the 'Pro Bowl,' but all these players breathe the same rarefied air."

DETROIT, MI – There was an element of this weekend's game against the Detroit Lions that was somewhat overshadowed by Santana Moss's acrobatics and Clinton Portis's bruising running: the "Vote the Redskins Ticket for the 2009 Pro Bowl" campaign established itself in America's industrial heart.

Redskins Ticket signs and bumper stickers dotted the Midwestern landscape as fans from as far north as Canada and as far west as Chicago embraced the campaign, promising to vote early and often for the Redskins for the 2009 Pro Bowl.

"When Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff tell you to do something," said Jared Sax, a young voter from Illinois, "you do it. You don't ask questions, and you don't wait around."

In a scene somewhat reminiscent of the classic "V-J Day in Times Square" picture of the soldier kissing the nurse, Tim Allen of Chicago pinned a Redskins Ticket button onto his wife Laura.

"We'll be voting regularly," Allen said, "and we'll be putting signs up on The Loop."

You don't have to live near Redskins Park to vote NOW at Redskins.com.

When fans vote for the 2009 Pro Bowl squads, they may notice that one position is missing: long snapper.

The Pro Bowl long snapper for both squads is usually decided about two weeks before the game is played in early February.

Who decides who makes it? The head coach of the team that loses the NFC Championship game.

Traditionally, coaches have chosen a long snapper who has had the longest tenure in the league. Sometimes, though, they ask one of the Pro Bowl centers to perform the honor. Or they go with the long snapper from their own team.

Last year, it was Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy who decided the long snapper for the NFC Pro Bowl squad.

McCarthy turned to his special teams coach Mike Stock for advice.

Stock put in a good word for Redskins long-time long snapper Ethan Albright. Stock was Albright’s position coach with the Redskins from 2001-03.

That’s how Albright was named to the Pro Bowl on Jan. 24, 2008.

Long snapper may not be included in Pro Bowl online voting, but fans can still elect players at every other position. Vote the Redskins Ticket for the 2009 Pro Bowl by visiting www.redskins.com.

The 6-5, 265-pound Albright, signed by the Redskins last offseason for his eighth season in Washington, earned it.

He plays his specialty position as well as any of his peers, much better than most, and he's done so for 14 years in the NFL.

No one can really remember a snap of his that was not on its target. Holders, punters and field goal kickers have been saying for years that his reliable snaps have made their jobs somewhat easier.

"We're glad to have Ethan on this team--that's for sure," said Redskins special teams coach Danny Smith. "His consistency is phenomenal. Plus, he's a consummate professional."

Albright hasn't missed a game since the start of the 1995 season.

"You know what, I'm living a dream playing in the NFL," he said last season. "I'm still going strong. I've got plenty of years left in me. My position is fine. I can handle that. To some extent I guess my job is black and white--either I got the job done or I didn't. There's no gray area. If we get the kick executed, I've done my job."

Added center Casey Rabach: "Nobody outside the team understands how much we appreciate Ethan. That guy is basically automatic each and every play."

A North Carolina native, Albright began learning the technique of long snapping in his youth. He earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors at North Carolina before signing with Miami as an undrafted free agent in 1994.

He saw limited action with the Dolphins in his first two years and was waived. But he signed with the Bills in training camp before the 1996 season and was immediately tapped as their long snapper on all kicks.

The red-haired Albright played in all 16 games in each of the next five seasons and earned recognition as one of the league's most talented players at his position.

The Redskins signed Albright as a free agent in March 2001 to shore up one of the team's lingering problems, inconsistency with long snaps, and No. 67 hasn't missed an opportunity since.

LANDOVER, MD – The roads leading into FedExField were lined with signs Sunday morning, all encouraging fans to "Vote the Redskins Ticket for the 2009 Pro Bowl." These signs apparently struck a chord with the members of Redskins Nation, as fewer than 20 out of more than 3,400 signs remained by the time the parking lots had emptied.

"Well, I wasn't entirely upset," said Tucker Stone, a member of the FedExField groundscrew, "since that meant 3,380 signs I didn't have to collect, AND it means that people are encouraging their neighbors to vote the Redskins Ticket. Everyone wins!"

Collin Marfeld of Urbana, Md., agreed. Marfeld was spotted taking three signs from alongside Brightseat Road, which he planned to use "all over my neighborhood. People in Urbana arean't going to see these things here, and we need to make sure we encourage everyone to vote."

Marfeld's girlfriend Sarina Roosevelt was driving the car, which stood idling as Marfeld pulled out the signs. "Not voting is one of the greatest acts of social irresponsibility possible in modern society," said Roosevelt, a junior sociology major at Hood College in Frederick, Md. "Anything we can do to encourage people to vote is worth it, even acts of mild civil disobedience like taking these signs."

The signs have been spotted as far east as Ocean City, Md., and as far west as Morgantown, West Virginia, and they're definitely having an effect.

"I knew that I had to vote," said Morgantown resident Stuart Van Aiken, "but I didn't realize I could do it repeatedly. Now I know, AND my lawn is much more visually appealing."

Even fans without a sign on their lawn can vote NOW at Redskins.com.

ASHBURN, VA – Staged photo opportunities are a staple of political life, and the Redskins Ticket participated in an impressive one on Monday.

The initial idea seemed simple enough: have the entire Redskins Ticket, all the twenty-plus players who have earned Pro Bowl consideration with their play, assemble outside a local steel mill just at the change of shifts. As the workmen came and went, they would have the opportunity to meet their candidates, and the candidates would have a chance to thank those members of Redskins Nation who have been diligently voting for them. The media would be alerted, and would have a chance to take photographs. Simple, even classic.

Unfortunately, the team’s legal department decided that letting the players loose at a foundry was not the best idea, so the whole thing was scrapped and the team elected to demonstrate their unity with a classic group shot at Redskins Park, all choreographed with characteristic intensity by Coach Zorn. “He likes to be specific about little things,” said wide receiver Antwaan Randle El.

Kick returner Rock Cartwright appreciated Zorn’s efforts to ensure equality -- an important value on the Redskins Ticket. “Coach was like, ‘No long-sleeved shirts, no shirts underneath your jersey.’ He wanted everyone to look the same, and I understand that.”

“Everyone looked professional,” said defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin. “I thought it was nice.”

Everyone did look professional, the weather cooperated, and the image was captured for eternity. Despite all the pomp and circumstance, cornerback Fred Smoot tried to keep the moment in perspective: “We’ll think about the team picture if we become a special team, like if we go to the Super Bowl, something, then the team picture becomes special.”

Redskins Nation can’t legislate who goes to the Super Bowl, but they can certainly help send players to the Pro Bowl, by voting the Redskins ticket at Redskins.com.

First, you need a bumper. Then you need a sticker.

Once you meld the two, you undoubtedly create something that ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous. But hopefully, from the ridiculous to the sublime on occasion.

This election season, political bumper stickers don’t dot the landscape as much as they dominate it.

On Sunday at FedExField, fans received a Redskins Bumper Sticker, imploring them to "Vote the Redskins Ticket" for the 2009 Pro Bowl.

Pro Bowl voting is underway, and Redskins fans can show their support for their favorite team and players by voting The Redskins Ticket at www.redskins.com. Fans are encouraged to vote early and often.

The 2009 Pro Bowl is set for Sunday, Feb. 9, in Honolulu's Aloha Stadium. Four Redskins were selected for last year's game--Chris Cooley, Sean Taylor, Ethan Albright and Chris Samuels. Considering the team's outstanding 5-2 start this year, the Redskins have many candidates for the 2009 Pro Bowl.

As far as political bumper stickers, next time you’re driving down the highway, continue to proceed cautiously. Then, at the traffic light, have a brief look around.

Check out the political messages on the backs of those Volvos and BMWs, those Chevys and Buicks.

These days you’ll spot more ways to think about Barack Obama and John McCain, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin, than you could ever imagine.

Some of it actually makes sense, too.

“This is the time of the year,” says the Redskins’ Leigh Torrence, “when those bumper stickers seem to jump out at you from everywhere.”

Torrence ought to know. He’s a bright young man out of Atlanta and Stanford University who is politically attuned. Torrence once served as a Capitol Hill intern for Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., of Georgia.

“The idea with a political bumper sticker,” notes Torrence, “is to express a big idea in a small way. That’s hard.”

Historians tell us that the first automobiles in this country didn’t actually have bumper stickers. In such instances, it was difficult to impart a political message via the emerging mode of transportation.

But then Henry Ford came out with his Model A. It featured a bumper.

The year was 1927, and the political bumper sticker was born.

Most of the first ones were rather crude-looking appendages, tacked on with chicken wire of some sort, perhaps.

They first hailed the virtures of Al Smith, for instance, if you can remember New York politics from back in the 1930s.

Truth of the matter, all they said was “Al Smith.” It was up to the Irish-American political figure known as “The Happy Warrior” to do the rest.

So, what was more significant regarding the overall political influence of Al Smith: the fact that he appeared on some of the first American political bumper stickers or the fact that he built the Empire State Building?

That question is so complex it may take several more generations before it is “fully vetted,” as they say in political lexicon.

Before getting carried awy with all the emphasis on the political bumper sticker, bear in mind that U.S. political campaigns have stood out for their lavish use of political button and pins as well.

Buttons and pins have a longer shelf life, of course. Ask your grandmother or grandfather. Or just go look in their attic. You just might come upon “I Like Ike.”

Some say bumper stickers express the deep urges and motivations of each and every one of us. They speak to our interior lives.

Take this into account the next time you come upon, “Friends don’t let friends vote Republican!” or its obvious alternative.

As any close observer has come to realize, the use of bumper stickers is not limited to policital campaigns or to cars. You can campaign for just about anything on the back of your car, truck, bus, motorcycle, skateboard, etc.

This country’s sports fans long have been a party to the trend.

Phil Esposito once dominated the NHL as a goal scorer for the Boston Bruins back in the 1970s. Esposito would position himself close to the goal, pick up the loose puck, and fire it into the net.

He was so good at the close-in, goal-scoring method, in fact, that New Englanders produced one of the best bumper stickers in the history of sport to honor him.

It read: “Jesus Saves…But Esposito scores on the rebound.”

Boston hockey fans celebrated. Theologians cringed.

They are wild and crazy. They are creative and inane. They make clever points. They say nothing at all.

America is the land of the political bumper sticker. If you don’t like it, blame Henry Ford.

It was great that Redskins fans helped send four Washington players to last year’s Pro Bowl. This year, they can do even better.

The NFC and AFC All-Star squads are made up of the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches. Each group’s vote counts one-third towards determining the 43-man rosters that represent the two conferences at the Pro Bowl.

To a man, Washington players appreciate your vote. Last year, for instance, offensive tackle Chris Samuels called it “a blessing” to have been named to his fifth Pro Bowl.

The 2009 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl is set for Sunday, Feb. 9, at Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium. Teams will be announced on Tuesday, Dec. 9.

So, Redskins fans, the ball largely is in your court. You have about seven weeks to get involved and vote the straight Redskins ticket.

Why is your vote so important? Because it’s a numbers game. And sometimes the numbers are very close.

The NFL is the only sports league that combines voting by fans, coaches and players to determine its all-star teams. It was the first professional sports league to offer online all-star voting, in 1995.

A year ago, a record 83.7 million votes were cast from NFL fans.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre received 1,140,863 votes from fans to lead all NFL All-Stars. Favre outdistanced New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (1,037,608 votes) and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (991,418 votes).

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (830,789 votes) and New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss (806,455 votes) rounded out the top five.

The Redskins had four representatives in last year’s Pro Bowl, won by the NFC 42-30. They were free safety Sean Taylor, Samuels, tight end Chris Cooley and long snapper Ethan Albright.

Taylor received 258,544 votes from fans, which was well ahead of the second-place finisher in the NFC, Philadelphia’s Brian Dawkins (163,623 votes). Taylor was honored at the game in posthumous celebrations.

Cooley made his first Pro Bowl with 310,805 votes and had a touchdown in the game. In voting involving NFC players, the Cowboys’ Jason Witten (596,867 votes) and the Giants’ Jeremy Shockey (346,246 votes) were the top tight ends.

Samuels started for the NFC at right tackle and Albright was named as the long snapper for the conference.

Samuels was the eighth-highest vote-getter among NFC tackles from fan votes on NFL.com last year. Of course, that did not include the players' and coaches' votes, which each count for one-third of the total vote.

A number of Washington players really could have used additional help from Redskins fans a year ago.

As far as the fullback situation in the NFC, Mike Sellers finished fourth, with 147, 725 votes. With a solid push, Sellers may have been able to contend with top vote-getters Tony Richardson of Minnesota (204,168 votes), Oliver Hoyte of Dallas (164,031 votes) or Korey Hall of Green Bay (152,278 votes).

At strong safety for the NFC squad, LaRon Landry of the Redskins picked up 113,195 votes as a rookie. He didn’t come close to Roy Williams of the Cowboys (271,505 votes) but Landry was right on the heels of second-place finisher Atari Bigby of the Packers (116,199 votes).

In such instances, Redskins fans, you can really make a difference.

Clinton Portis really could have used your help, too. Portis was fifth among NFC running backs, with 180,352 votes. He trailed Adrian Peterson of Minnesota (753,294 votes), Marion Barber of Dallas (503,786 votes), Brian Westbrook of Philadelphia (463,383 votes) and Reggie Bush of New Orleans (302,694 votes).

Traditionally, the NFL releases the top vote-getters after four weeks of voting (with four weeks to go), after six weeks of voting (two weeks to go), after seven weeks of voting (one week to go), and when the polls close.

The Redskins sent a franchise-high eight players to the 1992 Pro Bowl. They were Jim Lachey, Darrell Green, Earnest Byner, Chip Lohmiller, Gary Clark, Charles Mann, Mark Rypien and Mark Schlereth.

With the help of Washington fans, that number can be challenged this year, especially with the Redskins off to a solid 4-2 start and getting contributions from so many players.

The year 1992, like 2008, was an election year. And in the 1992 Pro Bowl, the Redskins reached their high-water mark by sending no less than eight representatives to Hawaii.

Earnest Byner went, and so did Gary Clark. Darrell Green, Jim Lachey and Chip Lohmiller earned spots, too. And don’t forget Charles Mann, Mark Rypien and Mark Schlereth.

Spin ahead five presidential election seasons. The Redskins of 2008 are looking to challenge their predecessors from 16 years ago who sent a franchise-high eight players to the ’92 post-season, all-star game.

This election season, get out and vote. It’s not hard to find eight or more candidates from the Redskins’ 2008 ticket. See if you can help them top the 1992 contingent of Pro Bowlers.

As far as the 1992 Pro Bowl, the Redskins were coming off one of the outstanding seasons in team history. It culminated with the 37-24 win over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The date of that game was Jan. 26, 1992.

Six days later, in Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium, those eight players representing the Redskins helped the NFC to a 21-15 win over the AFC.

Clark says it stands to reason that so many Redskins from that year were elevated to Pro Bowl status.

“If you analyze it,” Clark began, “we played in an era when the NFC East was the best division in football. From 1987 to 1996, a team from the NFC East won the Super Bowl seven times.”

Washington players figured prominently in that 1992 Pro Bowl game. Rypien, the Super Bowl MVP just a week earlier, completed 11 of 18 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns. Clark was on the receiving end of one of those throws, a 35-yard pass from Rypien in the second quarter.

Lohmiller hit three extra points for the NFC. Unfortunately, Byner was tackled in the NFC end zone by Oakland’s Greg Townsend for a safety.

For Byner, the third of the Redskins’ three Super Bowl championships was the bookend accomplishment of a dynasty.

“No question,” said Byner. “The way we finished those years. We had a good team and foundation and looking forward to some great years ahead.

On five other occasions in Redskins history, the Redskins sent seven players to the game, which has been referred to as the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl since 1971.

Those years with seven Washington players associated were 1956, 1957, 1965, 1984 and 1987.

Green recalls that that 1991 Redskins team started 11-0 and talk of an undefeated season was in the air. He tried to dissuade it.

“We were a veteran group of guys,” said the Hall of Fame cornerback. “We were a mature group of guys. We had some kids here and there, but we were pretty seasoned guys and we were focused. But 16-0, 17-0? You don’t discuss that stuff.”

Dallas upset the 11-0 Redskins 24-21 and Philadelphia edged Washington late in the regular season 24-22. The Redskins finished 14-2 in the regular season before rolling past Atlanta (24-7), Detroit (41-10) and Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVI.

“That was a special group of players,” Rypien said. Being the quarterback, you get a lot of the limelight. But a lot of guys played great that year. What a great experience to have been a part of it.”

So, there you have it. The bar has been set, and set very high, by an outstanding Redskins team that produced eight Pro Bowlers.

Is that one of those team records that will stand forever? With the help of Redskins fans who get involved in this year’s Pro Bowl balloting, it’s a standard that can be pushed and possibly even overcome this year.

When you vote, vote for that Redskins ticket.