Happy New Year 2025

Tag: Redskins

  • Matthew McConaughey touts Redskins fandom as Commanders prep for NFC title game

    Matthew McConaughey touts Redskins fandom as Commanders prep for NFC title game

    Actor Matthew McConaughey showed off his lifelong Washington Redskins fandom on Sunday as the team, now known as the Commanders, got set to play in the NFC Championship.

    McConaughey posted a photo of a tiny letterman jacket with the Redskins logo on the left side.

    SIGN UP FOR TUBI AND STREAM SUPER BOWL LIX FOR FREE

    Matthew McConaughey attends the game between the Washington Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, Sept. 12, 2016. (Brad Mills-USA Today Sports)

    “Hailing since 1974,” he captioned the post on X.

    While it appeared to surprise fans of the “Interstellar” star that he would be a fan of Washington, McConaughey talked about his support for the NFL team in 2014. 

    He told GQ magazine he became a fan because of old Western movies. He said he “rooted for the Indians” and that because he liked hamburgers, he liked the Redskins because of their linebacker Chris Hanburger.

    At the time, he also expressed support for keeping the Redskins nickname. Then-team owner Daniel Snyder had vowed not to change the name but did in 2020 amid a summer of racial tension in the U.S.

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

    Matthew McConaughey looks on

    Matthew McConaughey smiles before the Washington Redskins play the Pittsburgh Steelers at FedEx Field on Sept. 12, 2016. (Brad Mills-USA Today Sports)

    “What interests me is how quickly it got pushed into the social consciousness,” he told the magazine at the time. “We were all fine with it since the 1930s, and all of a sudden we go, ‘No, gotta change it?’ It seems like when the first levee breaks, everybody gets on board. I know a lot of Native Americans don’t have a problem with it, but they’re not going to say, ‘No, we really want the name.’ That’s not how they’re going to use their pulpit. 

    “It’s like my feeling about gun control: ‘I get it. You have the right to have guns. But look, let’s forget that right. Let’s forget the pleasure you get safely on your range, because it’s in the wrong hands in other places.’”

    The Redskins name is still a hot-button issue for fans of the franchise. It appeared the old logo will be honored in some way as the franchise looks to build a new stadium on the old RFK site.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    Tubi promo

    Stream Super Bowl LIX for free on Tubi. (Tubi)

    Now as the Commanders, McConaughey still supports the team and will be watching closely as Washington looks to make the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1991 season.

    Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

    Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

  • Philadelphia Rocky statue dressed in Redskins gear ahead of NFC title game between Eagles and Commanders

    Philadelphia Rocky statue dressed in Redskins gear ahead of NFC title game between Eagles and Commanders

    A rivalry has been renewed. 

    Philadelphia will host the NFC championship game between the Eagles and the visiting Washington Commanders Sunday. 

    Ahead of the game, the famous Rocky statue in downtown Philadelphia was dressed in gear representing the Commanders’ former identity, the Redskins. 

    SIGN UP FOR TUBI AND STREAM SUPER BOWL LIX FOR FREE

    The culprit is unknown. 

    Dressing the statue in opposing teams’ gear has become a tradition in recent years ahead of big Eagles playoff games. Each time its happened, the Eagles have come away with wins. 

    In 2022, the statue was dressed in New York Giants gear ahead of their matchup against the Eagles in the divisional round. The Eagles won that game 38-7. The following week, the statue was dressed in San Francisco 49ers gear before Niners arrived in Philadelphia for the NFC championship game. The Eagles won that game, 31-7. 

    CONNECTICUT LAWMAKER INTRODUCES BILL THAT WOULD LEGALIZE SPORTS BETTING ON FLIGHTS TO, FROM STATE

    When the Eagles won their first Super Bowl in the 2017 season, the statue was also dressed in opposing teams’ gear. 

    Ahead of that season’s NFC championship game between the Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings, the statue was draped in a Vikings jersey, and the Eagles won 38-7. Before the Super Bowl, someone placed a New England Patriots jersey on the statue, and the Eagles beat the Patriots 41-33 to claim their first Super Bowl title. 

    The vandalism became so frequent that Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce pleaded with his own fan base not to do dress the statue in any Chiefs gear ahead of the 2023 Super Bowl. The Chiefs won that game 38-35.

    “Chiefs, do not touch the f—ing Rocky memorial!” Kelce said during a February 2023 episode of his podcast, “New Heights.”  

    “Do not do that and definitely don’t put an No. 87 on it!”

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    Former Eagles center Jason Kelce, who played against Travis and the Chiefs in that game, theorized the culprit was an Eagles fan. 

    “I’m gonna be honest. I think somebody from Philadelphia is doing this now,” Jason Kelce said. 

    “I don’t think this is an opposing team thing at this point. There’s no way opposing teams continue to do this. I’m convinced there is a Philadelphia fan who is putting these shirts on the Rocky statue just to get everyone fired up, and it’s working tremendously. 

    “So, keep doing it. I guarantee it. There’s no way. Because it’s happened every single game. The Giants did it. The 49ers did it. There will probably be a Chiefs jersey on it this week.”

    Now, Washington is up, and will look to break the trend. 

    It will be the first time the rivals have met in a conference championship game and marks a high point for a rivalry that has been dormant in recent decades due to Washington’s inability to win in the playoffs since the 1990s. 

    The 2024 season was the first since 2005 that Washington won a playoff game, and the first since 1991 that the franchise reached the conference championship. 

    Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

    Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.