From the FedEx Lots, Part IV

The weather was fine, the grills were hot, the shots were cold, the pink jerseys were, um, pink, and the diehards were abundantly optimistic. And so, I bring you Scenes From the Tailgate: Attempting to argue, in seven parts, that NFL fans are, in many cases, clinically insane. In a good way. Note: if you're included in any of these items, I'm not talking about you. And by the way, D.C. was ranked 12th among the 31 NFL cities for tailgating prowess in a survey released today. Baltimore was first.

Part IV: The Veterans

Donald Sigmund has been quoted in the media repeatedly over the past half-century of Redskins fandom. Apparently media people just can't resist the insurance broker with the massive headdress who's been going to games since the FDR administration. In fact, he once made the cover of USA Today.

He used to wear a full-length headdress, but that one's been retired. His buddy, Pierson Mapes from New York City, carries around a bugle (Bugel?) and plays things like "To the Races" and "First Call."

Donald said he's been wearing a headdress to games for about 57 years, since he was about 13 years old. I sort of tried to ask whether anyone has ever wondered about the socio-cultural underpinnings of such a get-up, but he wasn't feeling me.

"People have only felt good things about our spirit," he said. "Never a negative thought."

Pier, by the way, was wearing a No. 19 Redskins jersey. I asked whose jersey that was, admitting that I had no idea.

"I don't either," he said. "I got this in 1969. This shirt is older than you are."