ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 22, 1996 TAG: 9612230130
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
Joe Gibbs, who guided the Redskins to three Super Bowl titles as coach from 1981-92: ``I think that one of the greatest things about my coaching career was getting to coach at RFK. These days, these big modern stadiums all feel the same, all look the same. RFK was totally different. Crummy seats, crud hanging from the ceilings, people hanging on top of you, but that was a special feeling.''
Assistant coach Russ Grimm, one of the so-called ``Hogs'' who played for Gibbs: ``The locker room's cold. From the time you walked out, it's a cold, eerie feeling. You come through the tunnel, it's damp, it's got moss growing on it. You walk out on the field. In the early '80s, it looked good on TV, but it was painted dirt. The fans are up close, they're screaming and yelling. I see people with hog noses, and stands bouncing up and down, and that's what football's all about. It was a great place to play.''.
Redskins coach and former Dallas assistant Norv Turner: ``I know in '91 we came in here and the Redskins were undefeated and, shoot, that first quarter I don't think we got a first down. We had guys jumping offsides. We had missed audibles, those things. It wasn't until we made a big play and got a big first down that the thing finally quieted down enough where we could operate.''.
Dallas safety Bill Bates, whose wife once made the mistake of wearing a Cowboys jacket in the stands: ``When she got home, there were a lot of cigarette burns in the back of her jacket where the fans put their butts out. Now that's good old-fashioned hate.''
Return specialist Brian Mitchell, recalling the Seat Cushion Game, a 24-7 victory over Atlanta in the 1992 playoffs in which fans tossed yellow seat cushions onto the field in the fourth quarter: ``When that happened, it was just amazing. It was so spontaneous. It was like it was planned. Just one guy started throwing them, and everybody else joined in. If they had planned it, it probably wouldn't have worked out as good.''
Hall of Fame receiver Bobby Mitchell on the 72-41 victory over the New York Giants in 1966, still the highest-scoring game in NFL history: ``That was one of those crazy days. I was put into the backfield - I hadn't been back there in some years - and as soon as I touched the ball, I ran for a touchdown.''
Dallas coach Barry Switzer: ``It's the only stadium where I had to leave the sideline to go to the bathroom.''
Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman: ``There is a lot of history in that place. I think it will be tough going to Washington and not playing there. I enjoyed going to the stadium even though I've been hurt there a lot.''
Cornerback Darrell Green on the temporary stands that shake when the crowd gets raucous: ``The way they've been bouncing on that thing for years, those slats have got to be about to break by now, so maybe we're getting out right on time.''
Former Redskins general manager Bobby Beathard: ``You can't survive in a stadium like RFK, but when you get into these new stadiums, these state-of-the-art facilities, they are nice, but there's something missing.''
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines KEYWORDS: FOOTBALLby CNB