ASHBURN, VA (WTKR)- More than an hour before the Commanders' 9:00 AM practice Saturday morning, a long line of fans snaked through the parking area of the team's headquarters.
It was just one example of the excitement surrounding the squad entering a season filled with new faces, new energy and new hope. A sold-out crowd took in Washington's first open practice of its 2024 training camp. For newcomers like head coach Dan Quinn, it's a chance to experience a tradition about of which they've only heard.
"Honestly, I felt it early this morning driving in and seeing people parking up on the grass to get here early," he shared. "It's such a cool reminder to know this historic fanbase here and knowing finally you're a real part of that."
"I've always had respect for this fanbase," linebacker Bobby Wagner added after practice. "Growing up I watched Sean Taylor and those guys play, so I know this is a very good, historic franchise, so I'm just excited to be a part of it."
There was no shortage of energy before, during and after the practice session. Fans from the Washington area to the 757 to New England to the West Coast all convened on the team's headquarters to take it all in. Commanders' quarterback Marcus Mariota, a native of Hawaii, also noticed some welcome signs as he took the field.
"It's also cool for me to see Hawaii flags," he noted. "We're all the way here on the East Coast and you have people bringing Hawaii flags or are from Hawaii coming to practice."
"That is the man in the arena," added center Tyler Biadasz of having fans at practice. "It's great to have that feeling back. We had a couple practices for family. Now having the full crowd and the community, that's what it's all about."
Coaches and players hope that atmosphere can carry over to Sundays in the fall. Commanders Field, formerly FedEx Field, developed a reputation for being dominated by opposing fans. The new Washington regime hopes to make the fanbase a part of their equation for success, creating an environment feared by incoming foes.
"You go out and everybody has a gameplan every single game, but they have a freaking gameplan, too, and they're trying to take you down and when you have the fans on your side and you just roll with the punches... I think that's the biggest difference is you just feel that momentum that they can bring that carries you throughout the year," punter Tress Way noted.
"Hey man, this is going to be a hard day," Quinn added about what he hopes the home field reputation can become. "It's the team, it's the fanbase, it's the noise, it's all of that wrapped into competing and the more our fans live that and understand that, it'll help the on-field performance."
As for Quinn, he's getting ready to kickoff his DC debut, but even venturing around town, the new head coach is feeling the support of the burgundy and gold faithful.
"See that when you're part of the community, it feels good," he said. "When you're in the office and you're just here to home, you don't feel it on a regular basis, so being out and seeing some people and feeling that support, it's really a cool thing."
The Commanders have four more training camp practices open to the general public, but fans must have a free ticket. All sessions are currently listed as sold out on the team's training camp website. The next open practice kicks off Monday at 9:00 AM.
