THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 8, 1995 TAG: 9512080648
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long : 121 lines
Nigel Vickerstaff's friends couldn't believe it when he told them he was traveling to Washington, D.C., for a November vacation. Their idea of an early-winter break was a dash to the Canary Islands, someplace warm.
``They think I'm a total nut case,'' Vickerstaff said, smiling. ``Always have.''
In Vickerstaff's case ``always'' means 12 years. That's how long the 47-year-old computer operator from Manchester, England, has been among the leaders of the Washington Redskins United Kingdom Supporters Club, membership 315.
The ``vacation'' was two weeks spent in and around the nation's capital. He and other club members had tickets for the Redskins game against Seattle. Most returned to the U.K. after Washington's 27-20 loss. Vickerstaff stayed behind and attended the next Sunday's 14-7 loss to Philadelphia.
It wasn't Vickerstaff's first trip to the stadium - he saw Washington beat the Seahawks by five points in 1986. But it was his first trip back since then, and he wouldn't allow himself to be disappointed. It didn't matter to him that these Redskins, 4-9 this season, were a far cry from the '86 team that lost in the NFC title game to the New York Giants.
``There's a buzz you get just from walking into something like this,'' he said while standing outside RFK Stadium biding his time before approaching a scalper. ``A certain feeling. The people, the noises, the hot dogs, the TV cameras, journalists all over the place, the fans in their gear.
``I mean, over there a few minutes ago, a couple of Eagles fans were buying hot dogs and no one was bothering them, even though they were on Redskins turf. Where I live, you could never do that.''
In Manchester, the soccer rivalry between United (his favorite team) and City is fierce, sometimes downright dangerous. The civility of the American crowd amazes him.
``The (soccer) fans literally hate each other,'' Vickerstaff said. ``They work side by side during the week, but they play two times a year and on game days, they hate each other. A lot of it has to do with the drink, of course.''
Vickerstaff first fell for the Redskins in late 1983. They were, and weren't, easy to like back then.
The Redskins won 14 of 16 regular-season games on their way to a Super Bowl appearance. They took the ball from opponents like no other team in the league - 61 times - while losing it just 18. Joe Gibbs was Coach of the Year, quarterback Joe Theismann was the NFL's Most Valuable Player and cornerback Darrell Green was an All-Rookie selection.
But all Vickerstaff knew was what he saw on a 30-minute weekly show devoted to an NFL game of the week. He liked the pageantry surrounding the game and the Redskins had more of that than any other team as far as he could tell. But he rarely saw more than a few plays from each game they played.
``I was totally taken up by the atmosphere,'' he said. ``All the typical American razzmatazz. What it did, though, was plant the seed for me to learn more about the game.''
That 30-minute program soon was extended to an hour in a late Sunday-night slot. Though it showed highlights of every game, Vickerstaff still found himself drawn to the Redskins. Then he heard of a U.K. Redskins fan club starting.
He was among its first members, then, for three years, president. The club had a monthly newsletter - a couple of legal-sized sheets of paper folded and stapled together - that contained capsule summaries of Redskins games. Vickerstaff expanded that publication to about 35 pages, ``nicking the information from The Washington Post and The Washington Times,'' which were sent to him by fans from D.C.
One day, he called an all-sports station in Washington seeking bumper stickers to give to his members. When he explained who he was and his position with the fan club, the station interviewed him on the air. Vickerstaff asked for Redskins fans to write his members, teaching them more about the NFL.
Eventually, he was contacted by Norfolk resident Jean Cochran, who offered to mail Vickerstaff cassettes of every Redskins game so the club wouldn't have to settle for the scraps British television offers.
Now, they hold a monthly meeting at a pub in Manchester or Leeds. The videos are shown, food and drink are available and members engage in the same type of arguments as the fans here. Those who can't attend often write the fan-club publication.
About Heath Shuler vs. Gus Frerotte.
``I almost dare (coach Norv) Turner to replace Gus,'' Michael Mulchrone wrote in the November edition of Redskins Review. ``If he does and Heath flops (as I think he will), I can't see (owner) Jack (Kent Cooke) being too pleased. Gus is the man.''
And Art Monk.
``With (Michael) Westbrook out for four weeks, why no return for Art Monk?'' Dave Peggs wrote. ``Surely, we'd all welcome his presence and confirm his opportunity to retire in a Redskins shirt.''
And the team's shoddy tackling.
``I see that (middle linebacker) Rod Stephens is the leading tackler,'' wrote Chris Brophy. ``How about including a `missed tackle' chart as well and I'm sure Stephens will lead this as well, but he faces stiff competition from Stanley Richard.''
Vickerstaff differed from many of the Redskins fans on hand for the game against the Seahawks. He didn't boo Shuler. But he formed a definite opinion as to the second-year pro's troubles.
``I watched him closely, and I felt he was staring at one receiver to the throw to,'' Vickerstaff said. ``Gus stares around and the defensive backs don't get the same look.''
With a tone of resignation in his voice, Vickerstaff doesn't see NFL coverage improving in Great Britain.
``Sadly, interest seems to be on the decline,'' Vickerstaff said. ``The bubble's burst. With the WLAF, they were getting 40,000 people into stadiums for a minority sport they played on Sundays. Saturday's our big sports day. It was run superbly for two years, then they pulled the plug on it. That ------ us off. A lot of people who had been interested said it was just a marketing exercise, and they said, `You're not going to play us like that.' ''
No matter what happens, Vickerstaff will be back. In Washington. With the Redskins. It's just a question of when.
``Last January I gave up smoking, and I took the money I'd spend on cigarettes and dropped it into a large jar next to my headboard,'' Vickerstaff said. ``That money paid for the airfare and my expenses. Now that jar has to fill up again.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Nigel Vickerstaff, a 47-year-old computer operator, endured losses
to Seattle and Philadelphia.
by CNB